10 Questions I Get Asked by Every Seller, Answered Honestly

Every week I sit at a vendor's kitchen table and we run through the same ten or so questions. The questions are great questions. Most of the answers vendors get from agents are not.

So here are the same ten questions, answered the way I would actually answer them at your kitchen table. No corporate waffle.

1. Should I renovate before I sell?

Almost never. A full kitchen or bathroom renovation rarely earns back what it costs, and you tie up the home for months while the market shifts under you. Small improvements like fresh paint, new tapware, replacing tired carpet and a tidy garden almost always pay for themselves. Big renovations almost never do.

2. Do I need to stage my home professionally?

Sometimes. Empty homes and homes with very dated furniture usually benefit from staging because buyers struggle to see the potential. Lived-in family homes that present well often need nothing more than a declutter and a deep clean. I will tell you honestly at the appraisal whether staging would lift your result or just lift your spend.

3. How do I know which repairs are worth doing?

By the cost-to-impact ratio. Anything visible at the front door, anything that smells, anything that drips, and anything broken in the kitchen or main bathroom is worth fixing. A second bathroom retile probably is not. Walk through with me before you spend anything and I will give you a prioritised list.

4. What if I think my home is worth more than your assessment?

That is a completely fair conversation and I welcome it. I will show you the comparable sales I have used, the price per square metre data, and where I think the market is heading. If after that you still want to list higher, I will tell you what I think it will cost you in time on market and lost negotiation leverage. The decision is yours, but you will have all the data.

5. Is now a good time to sell in my area?

For most south side suburbs in 2026, yes. Buyer demand is still strong, interest rates have stabilised, and stock levels in Rochedale, Kuraby and Eight Mile Plains remain below long-term averages. The honest answer though is suburb-specific. I will pull live data on your street and your property type at the appraisal and tell you exactly what your local market is doing.

6. Should I go to auction or private treaty?

In our area, auction wins in the majority of cases. A 4 week auction campaign creates urgency, lets buyers compete openly, and consistently delivers above-expectation results. Private treaty can be a better fit for unique homes with a very narrow buyer pool, or for vendors who genuinely cannot accept a 4 week campaign timeline. I will recommend whichever I genuinely think will earn you more.

7. How long does a typical campaign take?

Four weeks of marketing plus 30 to 45 days for settlement, so listing to keys is usually 8 to 10 weeks. Some campaigns finish faster with pre-auction offers, some run a touch longer. I will give you a clear timeline at the appraisal.

8. What happens if my property does not sell?

If a property passes in at auction, we go straight into private negotiation with the highest bidder while their interest is at its peak. Most passed-in properties I run end up selling within days. If a campaign genuinely stalls, we sit down, look at the data together, and decide on a clear next step. You will never be left in the dark.

9. How do you calculate my price assessment?

Recent comparable sales within 12 months, ideally on your street or in a 1km radius. Price per square metre for both land and house. Current active listings as the competition. Days on market trends. The unique features of your home (orientation, frontage, position, view, school catchment). And then a real-world adjustment based on what buyers are actually paying for in 2026. I will show you the working.

10. What makes you different from other agents?

I will be the agent who tells you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear. If your price is wrong, I will say so. If your home is not ready, I will say so. If another agent is feeding you an inflated number to win the listing, I will show you the data. The relationship you sign up for at the appraisal is the same relationship you get at settlement. That is the bit most agents get wrong.

If you have a question that is not on this list, the easiest way to get an honest answer is to ask me. Book a free appraisal at junaidally.com/appraisal or call me on 0410 218 499.