Selling Costs and Marketing: Comparison Planner

Property Guides · Selling

A useful selling proposal should let you compare the complete cost, the work included and the reason each marketing activity suits your property. Use this planner when speaking with agents about a Mangawhai home, coastal property, lifestyle block or section.

Start with an itemised proposal

Ask for the commission calculation and GST treatment in writing, alongside marketing, preparation, legal and moving expenses. Confirm when each payment is due and which costs remain payable if the property does not sell. Your lawyer can explain the agency agreement; your lender and tax adviser can confirm costs specific to your circumstances.

Independent background: Settled’s selling finances guide and agency agreement guide.

Your selling-cost worksheet

Copy these headings into your own notes. For every line, record the written quote, whether GST is included, payment date, person responsible and any assumptions. Use the same proposed sale price when comparing commission examples.

• Agency: commission formula, minimum or fixed charges, included services and any agreed discount.
• Campaign: photography, floor plan, video, online listings, print, signage and auction costs if proposed.
• Preparation: agreed maintenance, cleaning, garden work, staging and storage.
• Documents and advice: legal work, council records and any reports you choose to commission.
• Finance and settlement: lender-confirmed repayment costs and lawyer-confirmed adjustments.
• Moving: transport, storage, service connections and temporary accommodation if needed.
• Contingency: an allowance you choose for items that have not yet been quoted.

Mark each entry “quoted”, “estimated” or “not applicable”. A total built from estimates is a planning figure, not a guaranteed net return. Ask your advisers to check the final settlement calculation.

Compare the campaign, not just the package name

For every proposed activity, ask: who is this intended to reach, what will they see, what action can they take and how will we know whether it is helping? Request an itemised written marketing plan before agreeing to additional spend. Confirm what is included in the agency service and who can use the photography afterwards. See Settled’s marketing guidance.

Questions for a Mangawhai campaign

• Does the photography explain the home’s relationship to outdoor living, parking and its surroundings?
• For a lifestyle block, will buyers understand access, usable land, outbuildings and the documents available?
• For a section, how will the campaign distinguish verified property facts from a buyer’s possible building plans?
• What information can an out-of-area buyer review before arranging a visit?
• Who follows up enquiries, who reports to me and how do buyers obtain the property information?

Agree the review before launch

Write down a review date and the questions the review must answer. Compare meaningful enquiries, inspections, requests for documents, repeat visits and offers. Ask what buyers are saying about the property, presentation and price expectations. Website views alone do not explain why somebody has or has not progressed.

Keep a short decision log: observation, evidence, proposed response, cost, owner and next review date. This makes a change of strategy a considered decision rather than a reaction to a single comment.

Turn a marketing package into a buyer journey

A list of advertising channels is only a starting point. Ask how each proposed activity takes an interested person from seeing your property to obtaining information, arranging a viewing and considering an offer. Confirm availability, inclusions and costs for your particular campaign; the options below are questions to resolve, not a fixed package.

Local buyers

Ask how the campaign will reach people already looking in Mangawhai and surrounding areas, how inspection times will be presented and how enquiries will be followed up. Agree who records feedback and when you will discuss it.

Buyers coming from outside the area

Discuss which photographs, floor plans, video or other information would help a buyer decide whether to travel for a viewing. Confirm the audience and placement of any paid promotion. A large audience figure does not by itself show how many suitable buyers will enquire about your property.

Lifestyle and section buyers

Match the presentation to the questions buyers need answered: access, land use, services, outbuildings and available property documents. Our lifestyle and section checklist gives buyers a starting point; property-specific facts still need verification.

Compare two proposals using the same assumptions

1. Ask each agent to calculate the total agency fee including GST at the same two hypothetical sale prices. These are comparison scenarios, not price forecasts.
2. List the included services and optional marketing separately, with payment dates and any costs payable if the property does not sell.
3. Record the audience, duration and enquiry route for each proposed promotion.
4. Compare the person responsible for buyer follow-up and the agreed reporting arrangements.
5. Check how a campaign change is approved and costed before additional spending.

If a SuperGold benefit applies, ask for the written total after the discount and confirm which fee it applies to. Do not compare an inclusive figure with a quote that excludes GST or marketing. See our SuperGold offer and bring both sets of questions to your appraisal conversation.

Your printable notes

Print this page to complete these notes by hand, or copy the headings into your preferred notes app. Keep personal details in your own copy.

Discuss your proposal with us

Tell us the property address, likely timing and which parts of the selling process you would like explained. Request a written proposal tailored to your property through the form below, or request an appraisal. Eligible cardholders can also ask about our SuperGold benefit.

By Kaye McElwain, Licensee Agent, Ray White Mangawhai. Reviewed September 2026. General information; obtain advice for your property and circumstances.