Selwyn Times: June 06, 2017

12
Selling property without a real estate
agent – what you need to know
If you’re selling an old appliance,
or even a second-hand car, it’s fairly
safe to assume you can do it yourself
without much hassle. You advertise it;
find a buyer, exchange the goods for
the money and it’s all sorted. There’s
no need for a third party to manage
the process.
But things get a bit more complicated
when it comes to selling property. Get
this kind of transaction wrong and
you could be paying the price for years
to come.
The Real Estate Agents Authority
(REAA), the independent Crown
entity that’s responsible for New
Zealand’s licensed real estate agents,
wants people to be as informed as
possible about buying and selling
property. It recommends working
with a licensed real estate agent when
you’re selling.
“Property transactions involve
professional experts at every stage – as
well as real estate agents, people are
likely to engage with valuers, building
inspectors, engineers and lawyers,”
REAA chief executive Kevin Lampen-
Smith says.
“Real estate agents are expected to
continually upskill to stay on top of
changes to legislation and current
requirements, so working with a
licensed agent gives you improved
security. If you sell your home
privately you do not have the same
access to redress if things go wrong.
A real estate agent is there to help you
navigate the process and get the best
result.”
If you want to sell privately – without
the help of a licensed real estate agent -
you need to weigh up the pros and cons
of doing it yourself. There’s more to
selling your home than just putting up
a sign and showing prospective buyers
around; you need to understand the
value of your property, set a price and
choose the best way to sell it (such
as by auction or tender). You have to
choose a method of marketing and
answer questions from prospective
buyers. You also need to organise the
sale and purchase agreement, which is
the legal document that transfers the
property from one owner to another.
This includes negotiating conditions
of the sale, such as what chattels will
be included, the sale timeline and any
other variations. Even if you choose to
proceed with a private sale, it’s a good
idea to engage a lawyer at an early stage
to handle the paperwork. A lawyer will
generally need to be involved to carry
out the actual settlement.
As a seller, you are legally obliged to
share all relevant information about a
property to prospective buyers, such as
whether or not it is subject to weathertightness
issues, for example. If you
mislead a potential buyer, they can
seek to cancel the sale and purchase
agreement. They can even take you to
court later if you’ve misinformed them
about the state of the property
and they suffer subsequent
financial loss.
Lampen-Smith
says people should
also be aware of
their obligations,
particularly regarding
commission, if a
property had been first
listed with an agent.
“Make sure you
are aware of the
cancellation terms
of your agreement as
these vary between
agencies. If the
agent has done
some work to
market your
property, but
you then sell it
privately, you
may still have
to pay them a
commission.”
If you decide to
sell with the assistance
of a real estate agent,
make sure they are licensed. You
can check out the REAA’s free online
public register of licensed real estate
agents, and get more information
about buying and selling property, at
www.reaa.govt.nz.