Myths Of The Real Estate Industry Exposed

By Philip Horan

Myths Of The Real Estate Industry Exposed is written for people who really want to be in control of their own financial destiny, it is for those who know that they can actually do a much better job of selling their own home than a total stranger who has no real information in regard to living in their property. The real estate industry has created a great deal of cynicism surrounding their ethics so there are many people who are actively looking for alternatives to selling. Buyers are also embracing the opportunity to deal direct with the vendor, thus cutting out the complications and doubts created by third party negotiations.

For most people the concept of selling their own home seems just too daunting, they are in a real dilemma about how to accurately price their property, where to market it, how to negotiate the final sale and numerous other challenges in the process. This book is all about dispelling the myths surrounding these very easily solved, perceived problems and it provides real options and processes which will inspire and empower the reader to want to sell their own home. The book includes real information on the latest in Best Practice methods of marketing & selling homes. It focuses on the way you “feel” about the sales process and it provides real advice on how to prepare and present your home right through to final price negotiation techniques.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Philip Horan
• Release date: May 15, 2017
• ISBN: 9780992321314

Philip Horan

Philip Horan has spent most of his working life dealing in the property market both as a developer and a seller. He is passionate about the value of clear human communication and the emotional drivers, which are at the very heart of selling anything. Philip developed and on sold numerous properties both residential and commercial including over 3000 square metres of commercial space on King Street Wharf in Sydney as a pre & post Olympic project. He has also purchased renovated rented and on-sold housing projects including the subdivision of land and establishment of micro community developments. After many years of dealing with real estate agents Philip realized that there were serious shortcomings in the industry that were calling out for change. In simple terms Philip loves dealing with the challenges of new business philosophies and processes, he thrives on new frontiers and embraces change as the way of the future for successful business.

Book preview

Introduction

For years real estate agents have been convincing people that they have a special ‘secret’ that gives them an edge when it comes to selling your home. This book will unravel these claims. I will show you just how easy it is to sell your own home in a personally rewarding way saving you thousands of dollars in the process.

Many real estate agents are living in the past, promoting a myth that they think will keep them in work. In fact; perpetuating this myth is only serving to alienate their clients and is destroying the business they love, yes love!

How many times have you been at a social function or a dinner party where you have heard someone say; I really love my real estate agent? I certainly haven’t heard this one, most people complain about the agent selling their home. You mostly hear horror stories about calls not returned and lack of communication, unrealistic price expectations and price corrections; overall it has been a negative and frustrating experience.

The classic examples of myths real estate agents promote is I can get you more for your home than my competitor down the road and this one; I have buyers waiting for a property just like this one. Have you ever heard any of these? I have, many times, and they are simply … stories to get you to list!

Selling your own home is something that most people can do effortlessly, much like hosting a BBQ, drinks or a dinner party. You clean up, you tidy the garden, you put all of your old junk away or take it to the dump and you greet your guests with a warm smile. This may sound over simplified to some people and it certainly will horrify and dismay all of the real estate agents who are reading this book, however, if you ‘chunk it down’ selling a property is a very straightforward exercise. All you need is great advice and support and a group of professional service providers, to guide you to achieve your sale.

Why did I write this book? What motivated me to do so? Well this is my story.

I’ve spent the major part of my business life in real estate development. I’ve been involved in various capacities with developments from Malaysia through to the Middle East including major re-development projects in Kuwait after the first Gulf War for a Family Business Group that owned and operated many International brands in Kuwait such as, Pizza Hut, Pepsi and Ikea.

I’ve carried out developments in Australia from a pre-Olympic project on King Street Wharf through to subdivisions in Adelaide.

I have dealt with a myriad of different real estate agencies and operators. I’ve sold by auction, private treaty, tender and expression of interest. I’ve sold for cash, I’ve funded projects for buyers with vendor finance and I’ve sold hard to shift properties on rent to buy schemes.

So, I’ve seen the industry close up and personal for many years!

One thing that I have observed over the years is that real estate agencies have never really moved with the times, nothing has changed. The way real estate is sold today in 2016 is no different to how it was sold in 1965!

The only thing that has really changed, and changed radically is the way we can all find properties for sale on the Internet. We can view the property details, see it from the street view and instantly calculate our repayment level if we want to buy it.

In 1965, the only way to sell or find a property for sale was through your local newspaper, it was full of ads for real estate. Whole fortunes have been built on revenue from real estate ads; companies such as News Ltd, Fairfax and many others owe much of their financial success to real estate advertising.

What I started to realise was that there was a real opportunity to develop a much more efficient way of selling houses. If you are selling your home, you contract the services of a real estate agent who in many cases is a total stranger to you. You then set about preparing your house for sale spending a significant amount of time and money on cleaning, painting and repairs.

Once your home is ready, you agree to let the real estate agent conduct Open Inspections of your property. This in itself is a bit strange as you are allowing a total stranger to show other total strangers through your house.

You get up early on inspection days, you clean and tidy up. If you have a pool, you vacuum it. You rake the leaves and mow the lawn. You put fresh flowers around your house and you light some candles.

Then the real estate agent arrives five minutes before the open inspection and insists that you, your children and your dog, go and hide in the local park, or at the shopping centre, whilst the agent shows total strangers through ‘your’ house!

These strangers, many who are out looking for a new home have myriads of questions about your property. They have probably spent hours researching the local area and other properties for sale around your home. They have looked at the photos of your house, the floor plan and read the description many times. They have discussed your house with their partner, their kids, Aunty Mable and possibly their dog. The more serious these people are about buying your house, the more questions they have.

The potential buyers searched through properties online and really liked the look of your property amongst the myriad of others they reviewed on the net and so here they are in ‘your’ house asking questions that only you can answer. These questions; however, are being directed to a person, who has never slept a night in your house, cooked in your kitchen, showered in your bathroom or planted a tree in your garden! It is a bit of a ‘strange concept’, don’t you think?

The very person who can answer all of their questions; and who can ‘really’ sell the property’s best features to them, is hiding around the corner. What would be wrong with the vendors sitting in their garden in the sun reading a book? Washing their car, sweeping the veranda or simply playing catch with their kids in the yard? This would save an amazing amount of time and also it would save a lot of inconvenience and frustration caused by a third-party being the proxy conductor of a back and forth question and answer game.

All of these questions led me to think that there must be a more effective way of selling your property. This is how the idea came about to develop the business of Hello Real Estate. I decided to help others sell their own homes in a way that is more effective, and make sure that it could even be fun. Hello provides a system that anyone can use to sell his or her own home. The unique feature of the Hello system is that they provide a mentor for every client to act as a support person and sounding board. We are astonished on a daily basis as to the various different people who use the Hello services. We have had clients ranging from a young lady selling a property for a friend living in China, through to 70-year-old couples that are downsizing and getting ready for independent living accommodation. Why do they use the Hello system? The answer is simple; selling your own home is a very rewarding experience, both personally and monetarily.

You may already be thinking: that all sounds ok, but how could I do that? How could selling my home be fun? Am I a masochist? What about the word stress!

Well, this book was written to show you just how easy it is to sell your own home. You will want to make sure you read the book as a whole, so you don’t miss any of the important parts. Through reading, you will discover you already have all the skills you need to sell your own home. You can sell your home quicker with the processes that I provide you with to price your home to sell and have a bit of fun as well. Selling your home doesn’t have to be stressful or tedious. I provide you with the truth about selling real estate, an easy to follow eight-step process along with tips and tricks of the trade.

I wrote this book to help people, like you, sell your own home. I think you will find what I write about is very true, the days of myth and misconception created by the real estate industry are well and truly over. You can sell your own home and save many thousands of dollars, it’s easier than you might think.

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Are advances in Data availability changing how real estate is sold?

The ever-increasing volume of accurate real estate Data and freely available Information on sales, trends and other data is changing the way real estate is bought and sold.

The Real estate game has traditionally been one of good old-fashioned networking and face to face personalized hard work — deeply dependent on timing, detecting trends and requiring more than just a little bit of good luck mixed with optimism.

These outdated sales practices are not as effective as they have been in the past. They have been overtaken and eclipsed by new communication mediums such as Facebook, twitter and the myriad of social media channels which provide new ways of prospecting, pricing, preparing, presenting, selling and settling the sale of property. These channels are leading the way in how people sell real estate particularly when underpinned by the numerous emerging smart technology transaction platforms and portals.

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Data is everywhere

The availability of Data is changing the way real-estate professionals, buyers, sellers — and even banks — think about property transactions. Mortgage Brokers and real estate agents are going head on against each other to compete for customers. Major real estate franchises are developing their own Finance Divisions; some of these divisions have higher turnovers than the sales agency section of the business. The race to own the data is the new game in town, analyze, predict, find what the customer wants and market it to them in real time. It seems that new APPS are being rolled out on a weekly basis, each one claiming to be the Holy Grail of finding buyers and sellers of property.

Data providers are everywhere

There are a myriad of companies that are promoting services that plug consumers directly into very detailed data and up to date real estate information. On one view these companies are heralding a future of better education and insight into trends and emerging property markets. On another view, real estate professionals are questioning whether data generating algorithms can actually replace the human-experience side of property sales. Will Hi-Tech really replace Hi-Touch, that question is at the very heart of the debate.

Many players in the market have