Simplicity and convenience deliver a successful sale at auction

For a 95 year old still living life to the full, but finding her 600 square metre, 3 bedroom Marsfield home somewhat impractical, it was time to move on. Thankfully Jude Clift was around to lend her mother-in-law a helping hand with the process of selling and moving.

OpenAgent review from Jude Clift

The house sale was just another thing to her to-do list. With an elderly parent in Queensland, she was juggling travelling there with raising her two high school aged boys. Jude had bought and sold numerous times in the past, but she didn’t know the area well enough to be confident in choose a local agent.  

"For prior sales I used to source agents after visiting open houses or from word of mouth. All these were not an option this time as I didn’t live in the area. We also needed to find an agent that would be patient and understanding of my mother-in-law and her circumstances."

Online savvy

Jude already does a lot online, including banking, booking tickets and researching prices in general; so began looking into agents in the local area.

"If you want a good deal these days for anything you really have to go online. I saw an ad for OpenAgent while researching local agents. I filled out an online form and got a phone call within 24 hours. In fact I was really surprised how quickly I got the call. They were sensitive to the circumstances my mother was faced with and connected us with 3 local agents."

"If you want a good deal for anything these days you really have to go online"

 Strong track record

"My mother-in-law is still very active for her age and wanted to involved with the process of choosing an agent. We interviewed all 3 agents face to face at my mother-in-laws home. Liking them was secondary to what track record they had in the local area. We were looking for an agent with a strong record of recent sales in the local area."

Jude and her mother-in-law ended up choosing Adison Cao of Ray White Riverwood. "We chose the agent who we liked, lived in the area, knew it well and was happy to negotiate on their commission. To my mind an agent has to negotiate, because the work on a $500k is pretty much the same as a $1million property. We managed to settle on a commission of just under 2% which felt was fair."

"We were looking for an agent with a strong track record of recent sales in the local area"

Auction exceeds expectations

With a very short timeframe to sell they opted for an auction. "We only had a three week timeframe to complete the sale, so we were thrilled we managed to sell $200k above reserve. This was a fantastic result and the cream on the top for my mother-in-law. She no longer qualifies for the state pension, so this result also means she has some equity to provide an income for her retirement." Jude’s mother-in-law has since moved into a one bedroomed flat in a complex of serviced apartments. It is perfectly suited to her lifestyle and has a kitchenette so she can still be self-sufficient.

"There is too much information available, so I really appreciated the simplicity and convenience the OpenAgent service offered"

"There really is too much information available these days, so I really appreciated the simplicity and convenience the OpenAgent service offered. I also liked the fact I benefitted from their insider knowledge of agents. It is also free, so what do you have to lose"

Jude appreciated OpenAgent for the:

• Convenience
• Simplicity
• Cost (free)
• Helping to sell well above reserve

Wondering why it's so important to compare agents to find the right one for your needs? Find out how the right agent can increase the selling price of your home.