Replay 61: Tonya Davidson - Tips When You’re Preparing Your Home for Settlement

I've been through a variety of different settlements throughout the years and I've definitely had my favourites and not so favourites. Every agent has their own unique way of doing a settlement and most don't give their owners advice on how they should prepare their property for settlement.

Unfortunately, there are no rule books or legislation that there is a structured way of leaving your property and by the time it comes around, it's usually quite rushed. Today, we are going to give you some great tips about how you should, in good conscience, prepare your home for settlement for the new buyer.

Tonya Davidson is an award winning auctioneer and negotiator. Tonya's career began in 1992 and throughout the years, she has won many state auctioneer awards, numerous sales awards and even voted as one of the 30 Most Successful Business Women in Cosmopolitan Magazine. Tonya has enjoyed a successful career in residential sales in Melbourne's Inner East and has also coached and trained many other agents. Throughout the years, she saw a disparity at the negotiating table, where buyers were left feeling vulnerable and bullied into paying more, so she began Davidson Property Advocates to negotiate on behalf of the buyers and help them through the buying process. 

1. What are the basic requirements vendors should do to settle a property?

2. Should buyers inspect the property a few days prior to settlement to verify that the house is how they bought it?

3. Should vendors go through the property with the new buyers to explain how the house works, like watering systems, pools/spas, heating systems, ovens etc?

4. When I bought this house, we had holes in the walls from where televisions were hung, wrongly painted patches in the walls where they tried to fix where TV's or pictures used to sit. It wasn't good. Should that be acceptable for settlement or could we run the risk of buyers asking for a reduced sales price to fix the walls properly?

5. Should all keys to the house be left? For instance do we need to call Aunty Maud, who had a key when she fed the cat when we were on holiday. Should her key be part of the package?

    a). Should all keys be labelled to which locks they open?

6. Should we be contacting suppliers to the house - pool maintenance people, newspaper delivery, mail, gardeners, cleaners etc...  to tell them that you are leaving?

    a). Should we ask the new buyers if they would like to use the same suppliers?

7. What happens if the vendor leaves items at the house? Should the property be settled? Again, could the buyers ask for a reduced price through their conveyancer to get the old items removed?

8. Kerrie from Burwood loves her ASKO Dishwasher and wants to take it to her new home, which doesn't have a dishwasher. Kerrie sold her home with the ASKO dishwasher, and is happy to replace it with another dishwasher, but it won't be an ASKO, probably something much cheaper. Kerrie wants to know if she is allowed to do this?

9. Should you leave an address or phone number for the new buyers so if they receive any mail or packages that belong to you, they can forward it to you?

10. Are there any other tips you suggest vendors should do before settlement day?

 

CONTACT:

Tonya Davidson can be contacted by email at: tonya@davidsonadvocates.com.au

or by phone on: 0417 391 987. 

 

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