I dedicate this book to all people who have faith in themselves to control their own destiny and provide for their family’s future.

To all of those who accept that we are living in rapidly changing times and who are embracing the excitement and challenges that come with this change. To those who love life, love people and enjoy the greatest human interaction of all, the honest and open sharing of information in a simple, courteous and friendly discussion.

I humbly dedicate this book to you.

I hope that the ideas and information in this book will inspire and empower you to take on one of life’s biggest challenges, selling your home. 

For years real estate agents have been convincing people that they have a special ‘secret’ that gives them an edge when it comes to selling your home. This book will unravel these claims. I will show you just how easy it is to sell your own home in a personally rewarding way saving you thousands of dollars in the process.

Many real estate agents are living in the past, promoting a myth that they think will keep them in work. In fact; perpetuating this myth is only serving to alienate their clients and is destroying the business they love, yes love!

How many times have you been at a social function or a dinner party where you have heard someone say; I really love my real estate agent? I certainly haven’t heard this one, most people complain about the agent selling their home. You mostly hear horror stories about calls not returned and lack of communication, unrealistic price expectations and price corrections; overall it has been a negative and frustrating experience.

The classic examples of myths real estate agents promote is “I can get you more for your home than my competitor down the road” and this one; “I have buyers waiting for a property just like this one”. Have you ever heard any of these? I have, many times, and they are simply ...lies, lies, and lies!

Selling your own home is something that most people can do effortlessly, much like hosting a BBQ, drinks or a dinner party. You clean up, you tidy the garden, you put all of your old junk away or take it to the dump and you greet your guests with a warm smile. This may sound over simplified to some people and it certainly will horrify and dismay all of the real estate agents who are reading this book, however, if you ‘chunk it down’ selling a property is a very straightforward exercise.

Why did I write this book? What motivated me to do so? Well this is my story.

I’ve spent the major part of my business life in real estate development. I’ve been involved in various capacities with developments from Malaysia through to the Middle East including major re-development projects in Kuwait after the first Gulf War for a Family Business Group that owned and operated many of the big brands such as Pepsi and Ikea.

I’ve carried out developments in Australia from a pre-Olympic project on King Street Wharf through to subdivisions in Adelaide.

I have dealt with a myriad of different real estate agencies and operators. I’ve sold by auction, private treaty, tender and expression of interest. I’ve sold for cash, I’ve funded projects for buyers with vendor finance and I’ve sold hard to shift properties on rent to buy schemes.

So, although I am not a real estate agent I’ve seen the industry close up and personal for many years!

One thing that I have observed over the years is that real estate agencies have never really moved with the times, nothing has changed. The way real estate is sold today in 2013 is no different to how it was sold in 1965!

The only thing that has really changed, and changed radically is the way we can all find properties for sale on the Internet. We can view the property details, see it from the street view and instantly calculate our repayment level if we want to buy it.

In 1965, the only way to sell or find a property for sale was through your local newspaper, it was full of ads for real estate. Whole fortunes have been built on revenue from real estate ads; companies such as News Ltd, Fairfax and many others owe much of their financial success to real estate advertising.

What I started to realise was that there was a real opportunity to develop a much more efficient way of selling houses. If you are selling your home, you contract the services of a real estate agent who in many cases is a total stranger to you. You then set about preparing your house for sale spending a significant amount of time and money on cleaning, painting and repairs.

Once your home is ready, you agree to let the real estate agent conduct Open Inspections of your property. This in itself is a bit strange as you are allowing a total stranger to show other total strangers through your house.

You get up early on inspection days, you clean and tidy up. If you have a pool, you vacuum it. You rake the leaves and mow the lawn. You put fresh flowers around your house and you light some candles.

Then the real estate agent arrives five minutes before the open inspection and insists that you, your children and your dog, go and hide in the local park, or at the shopping centre, whilst the agent shows total strangers through ‘your’ house!

These strangers, many who are out looking for a new home have myriads of questions about your property. They have probably spent hours researching the local area and other properties for sale around your home. They have looked at the photos of your house, the floor plan and read the description many times. They have discussed your house with their partner, their kids, Aunty Mable and possibly their dog. The more serious these people are about buying your house, the more questions they have.

The potential buyers searched through properties online and really liked the look of your property amongst the myriad of others they reviewed on the net and so here they are in ‘your’ house asking questions that only you can answer. These questions; however, are being directed to a person, who has never slept a night in your house, cooked in your kitchen, showered in your bathroom or planted a tree in your garden! It is a bit of a ‘strange concept’, don’t you think?

The very person who can answer all of their questions; and who can ‘really’ sell the property’s best features to them, is hiding around the corner. What would be wrong with the vendors sitting in their garden in the sun reading a book? Washing their car, sweeping the veranda or simply playing catch with their kids in the yard? This would save an amazing amount of time and also it would save a lot of inconvenience and frustration caused by a third-party being the proxy conductor of a back and forth question and answer game.

All of these questions led me to think that there must be a more effective way of selling your property. This is how the idea came about to develop the business of Hello Real Estate. I decided to help others sell their own homes in a way that is more effective, and make sure that it could even be fun. Hello provides a system that anyone can use to sell his or her own home. The unique feature of the system is that we provide a mentor for every client to act as a support person and sounding board. We are astonished on a daily basis as to the various different people who use the Hello services. We have had clients ranging from a young lady selling a property for a friend living in China, through to 70-year-old couples that are downsizing and getting ready for independent living accommodation. Why do they use the Hello system? The answer is simple; selling your own home is a very rewarding experience, both personally and monetarily.

You may already be thinking: that all sounds ok, but how could I do that? How could selling my home be fun? Am I a masochist? What about the word stress!

Well, this book was written to show you just how easy it is to sell your own home. You will want to make sure you read the book as a whole, so you don’t miss any of the important parts. Through reading, you will discover you already have all the skills you need to sell your own home. You can sell your home quicker with the processes that I provide you with to price your home to sell and have a bit of fun as well. Selling your home doesn’t have to be stressful or tedious. I provide you with the truth about selling real estate, an easy to follow eight-step process along with tips and tricks of the trade.

I wrote this book to help people, like you, sell your own home. I think you will find what I write about is very true, the days of myth and misconception created by the real estate industry are well and truly over. You can sell your own home and save many thousands of dollars, it’s easier than you might think.