Phase 2: Planning & Execution (Months 3-4)

Now that you have a clear picture of your property’s current state and market position, this phase focuses on the tangible actions to get your home “market-ready.” This is where you bring your plans to life and invest in improvements.

Step 1: Detailed Planning & Sourcing

• Create a Renovation/Maintenance Checklist: Based on agent feedback and the building inspection report, create a detailed list of all required and recommended improvements.
• Product & Service Sourcing:
  • Products: If you need new appliances, hardware, fixtures, flooring (vinyl, wood, carpet), paint, wallpaper, or materials for roof repairs, etc., start researching and visiting showrooms.
  • Services: Reach out for quotes and estimates from the home services providers you identified earlier.
• Trends Property Guides: Utilize Trends Property’s guides (e.g., for kitchens, bathrooms, flooring) to help you through various aspects of what to do and what products to consider. Researching thoroughly now is vital.

Time Check: Allow approximately one month for planning and securing quotes. This brings us to three months since you started the process.

Step 2: Undertake the Work & Financials

• Commissioning Work: Allow approximately eight weeks for the work to be undertaken. This involves confirming quotes, binding contracts, coordinating tradespeople, and managing their availability.
• Budgeting & Financing:
  • This is an ideal time to formalize your budget for the improvements.
  • Re-engage with your mortgage broker and bank to explore whether you can borrow additional funds against your existing mortgage to cover these costs (e.g., up to $30,000 for basic maintenance and upkeep).
  • [Image: Infographic of a budget breakdown for home improvements]
• Storage Solutions: Start researching and booking local storage facilities. It’s common to have a gap between leaving your current property and moving into a new one. Early booking allows you to secure a preferred location and potentially take advantage of special offers. Check if they offer fixed or open contracts.
• Rubbish & Decluttering: Begin the process of clearing out unwanted items.
  • Assess rubbish in and around the property, including attic, garage, and under the house.
  • Consider various disposal methods: skip bins, flexible bags (purchased from DIY retailers), or same-day pick-up services.
  • Aim to have this organised towards the end of any renovation work, allowing for the disposal of building materials and general junk. Getting on top of this sooner rather than later makes the final clean-out much easier. Reduce what you’re living with to bare necessities for the last few weeks.

Phase 3: Marketing & Offers (Approx. 5-Week Campaign)

This is the high-visibility phase where your prepared property is presented to the market. This phase is intense and requires close collaboration with your chosen real estate agent.

Step 1: Engage Your Agent & Set the Strategy

• Final Agent Selection: After your research, engage the agent you feel will do the best job and truly suits your needs. Trust is paramount, as you’ll be relying heavily on their advice and expertise. They will be your primary guide through what can be a quick, fast, and stressful period. Choose someone you can rely on as a “beacon of hope and clarity.”
• Selling Process Discussion: Your agent will discuss the most suitable selling process based on current market conditions in New Zealand. The two major methods are:
  • Deadline Sale: Typically involves a series of open homes (e.g., over three weekends) followed by a specific date for buyers to submit their best offers.
  • Auction: Involves a marketing program (often three weekends of open homes) culminating in a live auction event where unconditional bids are made.

Step 2: Staging & Photography

• Professional Staging: Your agent will usually connect you with a staging provider. They will advise on what existing furniture should be moved into storage and what staging furniture needs to be brought in. Factor the budget for staging into your plans.
  • Important: Your early organization of storage facilities will be crucial here for moving out existing furniture and personal items.
• Professional Cleaning: It’s highly recommended to have a professional cleaner come in the week you are staging. This ensures the property is pristine after staging materials are placed.
• Photography & Videography: Following staging, professional photography and, in some cases, videography will be shot to create the marketing material. This is typically done on a Wednesday or Thursday of the first week of your marketing cycle.
  • [Image: High-quality professional real estate photo of a staged living room]

Step 3: Launching Your Campaign

• Go-to-Market: Your property will generally go live on real estate platforms and begin its marketing campaign the following Tuesday or Wednesday after photography.
• First Open Home: The first Saturday of your open home campaign will occur at the end of Week 2 of your marketing/preparation cycle.
• Campaign Management: Through the campaign (typically 3-4 weeks of open homes), it’s vital to keep the property as pristine and presentable as possible. This can be challenging amidst daily life, so dedicate time each Saturday morning for final preparations.

Time Check: The period from staging and photography through to the final open home weekend for a deadline sale or auction typically runs for about five weeks. The deadline/auction day usually falls on the Tuesday or Thursday of the following week.

Step 4: Vendor Reports & Market Feedback

• Regular Updates: Your agent will provide you with regular vendor reports. These reports detail marketing performance (views, click-throughs, inquiries on real estate platforms and social media) and validate this with the number of groups attending open homes. Your agent will guide you on how these numbers compare to local norms.
• Gauging True Market Value: Agents will gather feedback from people visiting the home, often asking what they believe the property is worth. This is the first true indication of your property’s market position based on actual buyer sentiment – far more accurate than CVs or general valuations.
• Engage with Reports: It is crucial to take the time to review and analyze these reports. Property values are highly individual, even on the same street. This feedback is essential for understanding what buyers are genuinely willing to pay.
• Keep Your Financial Team Informed: Share this market feedback with your mortgage broker, lawyer, and bank. This keeps them in the loop regarding your budgeting and planning for your next property purchase.

Phase 4: Contract & Settlement (Post-Offer to Settlement Day)

This final phase is about legal finalization, payment, and the physical handover of your property.

Step 1: Receiving & Accepting Offers

• Deadline Sale Offers: Offers may come in during open homes, but the agent will work to get the highest possible price by the deadline.
• Multi-Offer Situation: If more than one offer is received, the agent is legally required to notify all parties that it is a multi-offer situation. This encourages buyers to put forward their best price, best terms (fewest restrictions), and most favorable settlement date.
• Offer Presentation: For deadline sales, the agent will typically ask you to come to their office. With an office manager present to ensure impartiality, the offers will be opened and presented to you. You then choose the offer you wish to accept.
• Common Conditions: Accepted offers often come with conditions (e.g., 5-day finance approval, legal approval, building inspection). These create a small window for the purchaser to finalize their due diligence.

Step 2: Unconditional Status

• Conditions Satisfied: Once all conditions of the accepted offer are met (verified by your lawyer and the buyer’s lawyer), the property becomes unconditional. This means both parties are legally locked into the purchase and sale agreement (Sale and Purchase Agreement).
• Deposit Payment: As part of the unconditional process, the purchaser is required to pay a 10% deposit. This sum is held in a trust account by the agent’s or Real Estate Institute’s trust account, ensuring the money is protected.

Step 3: Preparing for Settlement

• Early Clear Out: Regardless of the settlement date (commonly 30 days, but can be shorter or longer), immediately start clearing out items you can live without. This includes removing staging materials and moving any excess storage items (attic, garage, under the house) into your booked storage unit. Reduce what you’re living with to bare necessities (couches, chairs, TV, dining table, minimal pantry items). This significantly reduces last-minute stress.
• Trade Provider Availability Check: Reach out to the service providers (tradespeople, cleaners) you used for upkeep and renovation. Briefly check their availability should anything arise closer to settlement day. This proactive step ensures you have support if unexpected issues surface.

Step 4: Final Inspection & Settlement Day

• Final Professional Clean: As you get closer to the settlement date, arrange for your professional cleaners to return and thoroughly clean the house.
• Final Inspection: The purchaser will typically conduct a final inspection 24-48 hours before settlement. Their lawyers will then notify your lawyer if they are satisfied. While issues can arise, major problems (e.g., significant new damage, collapsed structures, flooding, fire) are unlikely after the unconditional status.
• Settlement Day: This can be a stressful day. Ensure you are available for phone calls and emails from your lawyer, mortgage broker, and bank. Your lawyer will confirm all paperwork is ready.
  • Money Transfer: On settlement day, the purchaser’s lawyer notifies your lawyer that funds are ready. Once settled, the money is released to your lawyer, and then to you (usually no later than 4 PM NZST).

Congratulations! Your house is sold.

Understanding the Auction Process (Key Differences)

The auction process is a distinct method of selling with specific nuances:

• Auction Date Set: An auction date is set, and your agent works to bring as many potential buyers and bidders to the room.
• Unconditional Bids: The key difference with an auction is that bidders must be able to purchase the property unconditionally. This means they must have completed all due diligence (building inspections, finance approval, legal approval) before the auction night. This provides you, the seller, with immediate certainty if the property sells “under the hammer.”
• Reserve Price: You, with your agent’s feedback from vendor reports, will set a confidential reserve price. While you only legally need to inform the auctioneer, it doesn’t hurt to make your agent aware of your target.
• If Not Sold (Passed In): It’s common for properties not to sell on the night if the bids do not meet your reserve. If passed in, it indicates the highest bid achieved in the room.
• Post-Auction Strategy:
  • You have the ability to immediately put a price on the property in the room, often at or slightly below your reserve. This signals that the property is now available for offers from that price point.
  • This can transform previous watchers into active purchasers, sometimes even sparking a “mini-campaign” with renewed interest, viewings, and potentially new open homes. People who thought it was too expensive may now realize it’s within reach.
  • From this point, the process typically flows into a multi-offer or deadline sale-like scenario, where buyers submit their best offers and conditions.
• Sold Under the Hammer: If the property sells on the night, the unconditional process instantly engages: the 10% deposit is paid, and the settlement period commences, leading to settlement.