Real Estate Matters | The most important questions to ask when you sell: part 3

Juliet Risdon

Juliet Risdon is a Director of JML Property and a property investor.
Having established the company in 1994, JML Property offers Investment Property & Homes. It specializes in managing properties for owners and investors, and providing attractive and comfortable homes for tenants.

In the last three parts of this series we look at the final stage of home ownership or property investment. The part where you sell!
All property transactions are sizeable when compared with most other decisions.
It follows then that we should give these transactions the extra time and attention that they warrant, but this does not always happen.
In many instances it isn’t so much an issue of motivation, but rather not knowing the right questions to ask. This series deals with key questions that we can, and sometimes should, ask.
Knowing the answers to these questions can help to avoid misunderstandings and, in many cases, will save time, money or both.

The 15 questions you MUST ask when you are selling a property
If you decide to sell for whatever reason, it is natural to be concerned that you are making a good decision and getting the maximum value at the time for your property.
The trouble is you may sell and find yourself without property.
Of course it is important to do your homework about any potential property you are considering to sell, and with so many things going on you may forget to ask your agent the most important questions about selling.
Below are the final five questions in this series:
What is the sales process?
Once again, this question is really about clarifying expectations.
We have experienced sellers who thought the process could take place immediately, and were very surprised when they were informed that a normal process will take 60-90 days.
Knowing what lies ahead can help you to make plans, schedule holidays and trips, and keep ‘chunks’ of time free when you are aware of signing dates.

How will you communicate with me?
Establishing the lines of communication and what is expected up front can save hours of time and anguish.
If you let the agent know what you expect in terms of communication, they should be able to work with you on this. For example, you may prefer a weekly e mail update, or you may just want to be told when the property is sold.

What do you know about property loans?
Does your agent have a good handle on how property loans work ?
There are more cash buyers here than anywhere else, but if the agent counters with ‘no-one buys with a bank loan, people just pay cash’, then you are losing 50% of the potential market.
Hopefully the agent will recommend banks and contacts at those banks so that potential buyers can contact them and find out what they are offering.
Which Law Office are the buyers using?
If you have your own lawyers, it is worth contacting them ahead of time and let them know you are selling your property.
Strictly speaking, the seller does not require a lawyer. Most of the risk is with the buyer since they are the one handing over the money. But it is a good idea to have a lawyer cast their eye over the Provisional Agreement and the Promissory Agreement just to make sure there are no hidden surprises.

Do you represent both sides of the transaction?
This question is asked so that you know where you stand.
In some countries it is illegal for one company to represent both sides of a transaction. Frankly, it is not hard to understand why this can be a conflict of interest.
Despite the potential conflict, it has been our experience in Macau that deals are sometimes much better when they are handled by one agency rather than two.
The golden rule in that situation is to let everyone know that the agent is acting as a ‘broker’ , and make sure that they are OK with the concept.

That completes this series of ‘the most important questions to ask’.
Some previous clients have found these questions helpful, whilst others have not been so comfortable asking so many questions. Either way we are always happy to help, and you are welcome to send in questions by e-mail to the address above.

www.JMLProperty.com
info@JMLProperty.com