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#1161544 24-Oct-2014 16:50

Elpie:
Geektastic:
One of the differences between NZ and the UK is that almost no property will be sold without at least one genuine valuation (i.e. not a guess by a useless estate agent!) because no bank in the UK will lend you a bean until they have had the house surveyed and valued to determine if it is in good order and worth enough to cover the loan.

That's happening in NZ now too. It might not be happening so much in Auckland in Christchurch where a shortage means jumping in fast if you find the right property but certainly in other places banks are insisting on a registered valuation and building inspection.
The sad thing for sellers is that it's not worth getting a registered valuation in order to set a price. Buyers tend to look at RV and base their prices a certain percentage below RV because the media has filled them with the idea that prices in the provinces have dropped since the last general rating valuations. Everybody wants a bargain.

The Warehouse is that way...!! ;-)

RV is a guesstimate spewed out by a computer: to call it a valuation is stretching the definition of that word paper thin....

Elpie

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#1161547 24-Oct-2014 16:51

Geektastic:
khull: Also don't forget that auctions usually carry the term of unconditional offers which means winning bidder must settle immediately. Sellers love it because it will most likely go in the super heated Auckland market, and exceptionally great if you are trying to rid a problematic problem e.g. leaky home due to the unconditional terms.

Although selling something you know is a leaky home and failing to disclose that fact could well get you into trouble, I imagine.

If your home is even possibly a leaky home you are liable. Property sales definitely protect buyers these days and sellers need to be very aware of any problems or potential problems and disclose them. Buyers can (and do) take legal action if they find problems later that had existed at the time of purchase. Leaky homes is one of the issues that is covered by NZ real estate laws and non-disclosure could cost a seller big time.

Geektastic

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#1161548 24-Oct-2014 16:54

Elpie:
Geektastic:
khull: Also don't forget that auctions usually carry the term of unconditional offers which means winning bidder must settle immediately. Sellers love it because it will most likely go in the super heated Auckland market, and exceptionally great if you are trying to rid a problematic problem e.g. leaky home due to the unconditional terms.

Although selling something you know is a leaky home and failing to disclose that fact could well get you into trouble, I imagine.

If your home is even possibly a leaky home you are liable. Property sales definitely protect buyers these days and sellers need to be very aware of any problems or potential problems and disclose them. Buyers can (and do) take legal action if they find problems later that had existed at the time of purchase. Leaky homes is one of the issues that is covered by NZ real estate laws and non-disclosure could cost a seller big time.

Our house is made of concrete so probably not an issue for us.

I am stunned that the law allowed the responsible parties to get off with so little liability. The homeowners should have had zero cost to rectify that problem.

mattwnz

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#1161567 24-Oct-2014 17:05

Geektastic:
Elpie:
Geektastic:
khull: Also don't forget that auctions usually carry the term of unconditional offers which means winning bidder must settle immediately. Sellers love it because it will most likely go in the super heated Auckland market, and exceptionally great if you are trying to rid a problematic problem e.g. leaky home due to the unconditional terms.

Although selling something you know is a leaky home and failing to disclose that fact could well get you into trouble, I imagine.

If your home is even possibly a leaky home you are liable. Property sales definitely protect buyers these days and sellers need to be very aware of any problems or potential problems and disclose them. Buyers can (and do) take legal action if they find problems later that had existed at the time of purchase. Leaky homes is one of the issues that is covered by NZ real estate laws and non-disclosure could cost a seller big time.

Our house is made of concrete so probably not an issue for us.

I am stunned that the law allowed the responsible parties to get off with so little liability. The homeowners should have had zero cost to rectify that problem.

Concrete block/tilt slab houses though still can leak, especially if poorly detailed and there aren't any eaves.But it usually it won't cause structural problems for a long time.

Geektastic

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#1161571 24-Oct-2014 17:08

mattwnz:
Geektastic:
Elpie:
Geektastic:
khull: Also don't forget that auctions usually carry the term of unconditional offers which means winning bidder must settle immediately. Sellers love it because it will most likely go in the super heated Auckland market, and exceptionally great if you are trying to rid a problematic problem e.g. leaky home due to the unconditional terms.

Although selling something you know is a leaky home and failing to disclose that fact could well get you into trouble, I imagine.

If your home is even possibly a leaky home you are liable. Property sales definitely protect buyers these days and sellers need to be very aware of any problems or potential problems and disclose them. Buyers can (and do) take legal action if they find problems later that had existed at the time of purchase. Leaky homes is one of the issues that is covered by NZ real estate laws and non-disclosure could cost a seller big time.

Our house is made of concrete so probably not an issue for us.

I am stunned that the law allowed the responsible parties to get off with so little liability. The homeowners should have had zero cost to rectify that problem.

Concrete block/tilt slab houses though still can leak, especially if poorly detailed and there aren't any eaves.But it usually it won't cause structural problems for a long time.

Sure but not for the reasons that caused the 'leaky homes' crisis.

Elpie

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#1161572 24-Oct-2014 17:08

Geektastic:
Elpie:
Geektastic:
One of the differences between NZ and the UK is that almost no property will be sold without at least one genuine valuation (i.e. not a guess by a useless estate agent!) because no bank in the UK will lend you a bean until they have had the house surveyed and valued to determine if it is in good order and worth enough to cover the loan.

That's happening in NZ now too. It might not be happening so much in Auckland in Christchurch where a shortage means jumping in fast if you find the right property but certainly in other places banks are insisting on a registered valuation and building inspection.
The sad thing for sellers is that it's not worth getting a registered valuation in order to set a price. Buyers tend to look at RV and base their prices a certain percentage below RV because the media has filled them with the idea that prices in the provinces have dropped since the last general rating valuations. Everybody wants a bargain.

The Warehouse is that way...!! ;-)

RV is a guesstimate spewed out by a computer: to call it a valuation is stretching the definition of that word paper thin....

Yes. But its the basis for sales in most of NZ outside the hot spots.

Just call me bitter and twisted. The valuation on my house is over a year old. It's almost $100,000 higher than RV. Since then, another $60,000 went into the place. Then the Eketahuna quake struck and my house was damaged. EQC will be coming out with their final decision over repair or pay-out in August 2015. So, I've had to go to market with a quake-damaged house (which will be fixed with a jack and pack where ground has dropped under one row of foundations, plus replacement of two internal wall gib, and painting of those) and have had offers ranging from $75,000 below RV to $20,000 below.

My house in the provinces has not appreciated in value since I bought it in 1997. I've spent $150,000 in alterations, extension and improvements, plus the usual maintenance you have to do with character houses. On the other hand, the house I sold in Auckland in '97 for just over $400,000 last sold for over $4 million. It's apparently had no work done to it since I sold it.

Somebody should have sold me a crystal ball way back when ;)

mattwnz

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#1161576 24-Oct-2014 17:14

Elpie:
Geektastic:
davidcole:
joker97: in Australia they have professional bidders. just you wait till it comes to that.

in the states they have proper commissioned buyer agents (not sure who they're paid from).

They actually seem to work to get the cheapest deal. And in most states (CA exempt) the agent isn't allowed to work both sides of the deal.

But have seen some dodgy practices. In a multi offer situation, 2 offers presented, one for over the asking price, the other below....vendor took the higher one (of course), then at inspection time, took dollars off in "repair credits" till it was under the other lower offer. Apparently a technique.

Admittedly it was on that reality show million dollar listings....but if you want some idea of bits the US real estate market, watch season one....where they show getting the deal, and the conditional stage etc. Later seasons they only care about the deals and the dollar amounts.

In the US both parties usually have agents and each pays their own bill I think. My brother in California says it works quite well.

We are currently negotiating with an agent here to sell our place - their opening commission suggestion would have seen us handing them $40,000! And of course they expect us to pay for advertising on top - another $7,000.

Talk to at least three different agencies and consider carefully what you get for your advertising/promotion costs. Agents advertise anyway, so find out what promotion is included if you don't opt for an advertising package. Between their standard property press type ads, their own website, and the general real estate site you may get enough advertising without paying much more. Agents that still have deals in place with TradeMe are able to list a house on TradeMe for around $50. Depending on your market you may not need to spend more than a couple of half-page property press type ads, around $1,000.

Very best of luck. I've got my house on the market and am gutted by what is happening in the provinces. I'm going to lose big time on this house.

Have you looked at using 200square? It is a fixed price commission and they do all the negotiation with buyers, which is generally the hardest part. With them it gets listed on trademe and the realestate website. From the stats I have seen, 80% of traffic comes from trademe listings, with the realestate website in second place at less than 20%. If people are looking for houses these days trademe is generally the first place they look at.

I think RVs should be done away with, as they are solely there for ratings purposes. However at some stage in recent history, they changed to also become the 'market value' , and they even state that it is 'often used when buying and selling as an indicative price'. However RVs are done on a mass scale, so they don't actually visit your house to price it, so it is very crude.

I don't believe the RV it takes into account if your house is built from premium materials and has top quality fittings, is architectural designed, any exterior work such as landscaping and decks, nor does it include chattels. You do often seen houses that are for sale up to double their RV if it is a special house. For a basic bog standard house though, the RV maybe a fair reflection on it's value.

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#1161614 24-Oct-2014 17:46

mattwnz:
joker97: in Australia they have professional bidders. just you wait till it comes to that.

That is like shrill bidding which is forbidden on trademe. It is similar to auctioneers taking bids off the wall. Potentially it is misleading, as those buyers never exist, and it gives a false impression. Hopefully that sort of practice doesn't come here, I already have a pretty low impression of the real estate industry on NZ.

no the professional bidders bid on behalf of the buyer for a percentage commission of final sale price.

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#1161615 24-Oct-2014 17:46

mattwnz: I would never buy a house at an auction, as you have to make sure you have done full due diligence before hand, such as building inspections, lawyer checking everything, lim etc. So you are down probably more than 2k before you even put in a bid. Auctions though can be good for sellers when there is a lot of interest in the property. Tenders are also not great for buyers, although unlike an auction, you can put in conditions on the tender.

if you have this mentality it will be incredibly tough to buy a house in auckland or perhaps even christchurch

Elpie

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#1161715 24-Oct-2014 20:13

mattwnz: Have you looked at using 200square? It is a fixed price commission and they do all the negotiation with buyers, which is generally the hardest part.

In NZ, the hardest part is the actual showing of the house. NZ'ers tend to be very reticent about looking through someone's house when the owner is around. Generalising here, but most people tend to be uncomfortable in that situation which is where an agent comes in. With an agent they can open wardrobe and cupboard doors, turn on showers to check water pressure, flush loos, jump up and down to test floors and generally be as nosy as they like in checking out the property. The moment the owner shows people through it changes from a buyer looking at a house they may consider purchasing to them looking through someone's home. It puts a barrier up and while this isn't much of an issue in an overheated market like Auckland or Christchurch, anywhere else you want to be doing everything possible to encourage buyers. That means having someone else show them through and for owners to stay well away.

I wish Kiwis would get over this shyness. With the web being used for promotion it's very tempting to sell privately and save several thousands in real estate fees. For me, I won't take the risk. It's a buyers market and prices have plummeted. I haven't the luxury of sitting around for months waiting for that one good buyer so need the extra help an agent can give.

meesham

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#1161720 24-Oct-2014 20:17

Elpie:
In NZ, the hardest part is the actual showing of the house. NZ'ers tend to be very reticent about looking through someone's house when the owner is around. Generalising here, but most people tend to be uncomfortable in that situation which is where an agent comes in. With an agent they can open wardrobe and cupboard doors, turn on showers to check water pressure, flush loos, jump up and down to test floors and generally be as nosy as they like in checking out the property. The moment the owner shows people through it changes from a buyer looking at a house they may consider purchasing to them looking through someone's home. It puts a barrier up and while this isn't much of an issue in an overheated market like Auckland or Christchurch, anywhere else you want to be doing everything possible to encourage buyers. That means having someone else show them through and for owners to stay well away.
I wish Kiwis would get over this shyness. With the web being used for promotion it's very tempting to sell privately and save several thousands in real estate fees. For me, I won't take the risk. It's a buyers market and prices have plummeted. I haven't the luxury of sitting around for months waiting for that one good buyer so need the extra help an agent can give.

I had't thought about this before but it's very true, at private sales where the owners were showing it off I wasn't quite as thorough and if they did a follow up phonecall the feedback I provided was a bit more kind about the house :)

I also went to a few open homes in Dunedin where the sellers had one of their friends do the open home instead of doing it themselves, in hindsight I think that was a pretty good idea.

Geektastic

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#1161765 24-Oct-2014 21:54

Elpie:
Geektastic:
Elpie:
Geektastic:
One of the differences between NZ and the UK is that almost no property will be sold without at least one genuine valuation (i.e. not a guess by a useless estate agent!) because no bank in the UK will lend you a bean until they have had the house surveyed and valued to determine if it is in good order and worth enough to cover the loan.

That's happening in NZ now too. It might not be happening so much in Auckland in Christchurch where a shortage means jumping in fast if you find the right property but certainly in other places banks are insisting on a registered valuation and building inspection.
The sad thing for sellers is that it's not worth getting a registered valuation in order to set a price. Buyers tend to look at RV and base their prices a certain percentage below RV because the media has filled them with the idea that prices in the provinces have dropped since the last general rating valuations. Everybody wants a bargain.

The Warehouse is that way...!! ;-)

RV is a guesstimate spewed out by a computer: to call it a valuation is stretching the definition of that word paper thin....

Yes. But its the basis for sales in most of NZ outside the hot spots.

Just call me bitter and twisted. The valuation on my house is over a year old. It's almost $100,000 higher than RV. Since then, another $60,000 went into the place. Then the Eketahuna quake struck and my house was damaged. EQC will be coming out with their final decision over repair or pay-out in August 2015. So, I've had to go to market with a quake-damaged house (which will be fixed with a jack and pack where ground has dropped under one row of foundations, plus replacement of two internal wall gib, and painting of those) and have had offers ranging from $75,000 below RV to $20,000 below.

My house in the provinces has not appreciated in value since I bought it in 1997. I've spent $150,000 in alterations, extension and improvements, plus the usual maintenance you have to do with character houses. On the other hand, the house I sold in Auckland in '97 for just over $400,000 last sold for over $4 million. It's apparently had no work done to it since I sold it.

Somebody should have sold me a crystal ball way back when ;)

Sure - if I had had the same crystal ball, I would have moved us to Auckland in 2007 and be selling up at a nice profit!

We've spent at least $200,000 on our place and won't see a bean of it I do not expect. Someone made us a cash offer for what we paid for it 2 years after we moved here and I have been kicking myself hard for not taking it as I look back through my special iHindsight app......

Geektastic

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#1161767 24-Oct-2014 21:57

mattwnz:
Elpie:
Geektastic:
davidcole:
joker97: in Australia they have professional bidders. just you wait till it comes to that.

in the states they have proper commissioned buyer agents (not sure who they're paid from).

They actually seem to work to get the cheapest deal. And in most states (CA exempt) the agent isn't allowed to work both sides of the deal.

But have seen some dodgy practices. In a multi offer situation, 2 offers presented, one for over the asking price, the other below....vendor took the higher one (of course), then at inspection time, took dollars off in "repair credits" till it was under the other lower offer. Apparently a technique.

Admittedly it was on that reality show million dollar listings....but if you want some idea of bits the US real estate market, watch season one....where they show getting the deal, and the conditional stage etc. Later seasons they only care about the deals and the dollar amounts.

In the US both parties usually have agents and each pays their own bill I think. My brother in California says it works quite well.

We are currently negotiating with an agent here to sell our place - their opening commission suggestion would have seen us handing them $40,000! And of course they expect us to pay for advertising on top - another $7,000.

Talk to at least three different agencies and consider carefully what you get for your advertising/promotion costs. Agents advertise anyway, so find out what promotion is included if you don't opt for an advertising package. Between their standard property press type ads, their own website, and the general real estate site you may get enough advertising without paying much more. Agents that still have deals in place with TradeMe are able to list a house on TradeMe for around $50. Depending on your market you may not need to spend more than a couple of half-page property press type ads, around $1,000.

Very best of luck. I've got my house on the market and am gutted by what is happening in the provinces. I'm going to lose big time on this house.

Have you looked at using 200square? It is a fixed price commission and they do all the negotiation with buyers, which is generally the hardest part. With them it gets listed on trademe and the realestate website. From the stats I have seen, 80% of traffic comes from trademe listings, with the realestate website in second place at less than 20%. If people are looking for houses these days trademe is generally the first place they look at.

I think RVs should be done away with, as they are solely there for ratings purposes. However at some stage in recent history, they changed to also become the 'market value' , and they even state that it is 'often used when buying and selling as an indicative price'. However RVs are done on a mass scale, so they don't actually visit your house to price it, so it is very crude.

I don't believe the RV it takes into account if your house is built from premium materials and has top quality fittings, is architectural designed, any exterior work such as landscaping and decks, nor does it include chattels. You do often seen houses that are for sale up to double their RV if it is a special house. For a basic bog standard house though, the RV maybe a fair reflection on it's value.

The RV takes into account nothing much - it is (literally) a computer guesstimate. No valuer has ever inspected the property to arrive at the value.

mattwnz

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#1161773 24-Oct-2014 22:16

joker97:
mattwnz: I would never buy a house at an auction, as you have to make sure you have done full due diligence before hand, such as building inspections, lawyer checking everything, lim etc. So you are down probably more than 2k before you even put in a bid. Auctions though can be good for sellers when there is a lot of interest in the property. Tenders are also not great for buyers, although unlike an auction, you can put in conditions on the tender.

if you have this mentality it will be incredibly tough to buy a house in auckland or perhaps even christchurch

That's why I wouldn't buy in those two areas. At some stage the bubble is going to burst, as the property bubble in those areas is being fueled by greed and cheap credit. As soon as interest rates rise, there will be people who will be left exposed.

mattwnz

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#1161778 24-Oct-2014 22:23

Elpie:
mattwnz: Have you looked at using 200square? It is a fixed price commission and they do all the negotiation with buyers, which is generally the hardest part.

In NZ, the hardest part is the actual showing of the house. NZ'ers tend to be very reticent about looking through someone's house when the owner is around. Generalising here, but most people tend to be uncomfortable in that situation which is where an agent comes in. With an agent they can open wardrobe and cupboard doors, turn on showers to check water pressure, flush loos, jump up and down to test floors and generally be as nosy as they like in checking out the property. The moment the owner shows people through it changes from a buyer looking at a house they may consider purchasing to them looking through someone's home. It puts a barrier up and while this isn't much of an issue in an overheated market like Auckland or Christchurch, anywhere else you want to be doing everything possible to encourage buyers. That means having someone else show them through and for owners to stay well away.
I wish Kiwis would get over this shyness. With the web being used for promotion it's very tempting to sell privately and save several thousands in real estate fees. For me, I won't take the risk. It's a buyers market and prices have plummeted. I haven't the luxury of sitting around for months waiting for that one good buyer so need the extra help an agent can give.

I haven't really come across that. Infact when I looked at a house recently, the agent had the owner with them to show us around, and he knew it all really well and could answer all the questions. Agent often don't know the answers and you have to ask them, and they then have to ask the owner, and things get lost in translation. Checking if a toilet works or taps go though are really left for a property inspection, and any defects that the owners are aware of should be disclosed in the contract prior to purchase. Buyers also need to realise that the agent is really working for themselves, but employed by the seller, and ultimately paid for by the buyer.

You can pay 200 square I believe about $50 to show people around, so that shouldn't be a problem if you don't want to show people around. You probably get best value if you do it as an open home. Alternatively you can get someone else to show them around. But at the end of the day if the buyer likes the house they will want to put in an offer no matter what. It is also the agent that contacts them, and puts the pressure on them to make an offer, which is really the hard bit.

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