Once you’ve decided to sell there are some simple things that can be done to help you get it right first time:
1. Get your home ready for sale. It is vital that your home looks at its best for photographs and then also for viewings. It may take some time and effort, but getting this right will make all the difference.
- Ask friends to look at your home as if they were a buyer, and ask for blunt, honest opinions of your home and anything that they would change. Bold colours and patterns in your decorations or floor coverings won’t be to everyone’s taste, but neutral tones will be acceptable to a wide audience.
- Look at the condition of your home, is it as good as can be? The patch of damp that doesn’t bother you, or the slipped roof tile that isn’t yet leaking will make most buyers walk away, or at the very least reduce their offer after a survey. Get a reputable builder to check over the property and provide some recommendations.
- First impressions count, as buyers walk from their car to your door are they going to be thinking ‘Wow, this looks lovely’, or ‘I hope it gets better inside’? Tidy the garden, make sure that the access to the entrance door is clear, and clean the windows. Does the front door need a new coat of paint?
- Clear away any clutter from all the rooms, you’re trying to promote a feeling of space within your home, not one of a lack of storage. Thin out and pack away most ornaments, and make sure kitchen worktops and bathroom surfaces are reasonably empty.
- Dress to impress! – Having made the interior clean and tidy, it’s time to sell the lifestyle. Think of potential buyers as having very little imagination, will they be able to visualise living in your home? Dressing your home will help viewers to feel comfortable and ‘at home’, and when they feel relaxed they are far more likely to want to buy. You could set the table for dinner, put colourful fresh flowers in the entrance hall, neatly fold fresh towels in the bathroom, all these things will help your photographs to stand out, and create a home that viewers will aspire to buy. If you’re struggling with the idea of dressing your home please ask the team at Alexander Gibson for help and advice.
2. Do your research before calling in the estate agents, and be prepared for over-valuing (or under-valuing!)
By far the biggest problem that sellers encounter with selling a property is setting the price too high. Whether the price is set high by the seller themselves or the agent, if the price is too high then the buyers won’t come to view, within quite a short space of time the property will look ‘stale’ on the property portals, and interest will dry up altogether. A little research and some straight talking with the estate agents that come to value your property can make a huge difference to how successful your sale will be.
- It is easy to research what comparable properties have sold for, putting your postcode into http://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices.html will give the most recent information available. Check how similar these properties are to yours, if they have a different age of kitchen, bathroom, or a dramatically different floor area, for example, then there will be a difference in value.
- Look at similar properties that are for sale in your area, and think about why they haven’t sold. Does the price seem right to you? Is the price higher or lower than others have sold for in your area? You could call the agent involved and ask them why the property hasn’t sold, you may find that there’s a good reason for a price difference, and the answer you get will tell you a lot about the agent!
- Use the valuation tool here - Quick Online Estimate page - to get our opinion on a guide price for your home.
When you’ve done the above you should have a fairly good idea of a realistic value for your home, and will now be ready to call in some agents for valuations.
- Over-valuing of homes does happen. It is only natural for a seller to want to make the highest sale price possible, and some agents use this to get sellers to tie themselves into a contract. Months down the line, the agent will tell you that your house is over-priced, it will cost you possibly a couple of hundred pounds to release yourself from the contract, and most importantly you will have missed out on lots of potential buyers.
- Under-valuing also occurs. Large agents rely on high turnover of properties, it is often more important to them to sell property quickly than it is to get the best price for their clients. If the agent thinks that their reputation or valuation pitch is stronger than the competition’s, the temptation is there to pick up a commission for no effort by pricing low.
Some other points to consider when choosing your agents for valuations:
- If you do a search on Rightmove in your location http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale.html, which agent’s adverts catch your eye? If you have a closer look at those adverts are they interesting and informative, with clear pictures and descriptions? Try to think like a buyer, and pick the agents that would entice you to pick up the phone for a viewing.
- How many unsold properties does the agent have on their books? It might seem that an agent with 100 For Sale boards out on the street is successful, but it says a lot more for their abilities at talking sellers in to listing with them than it does for their talents at actually selling homes! If an agent has that many properties on their books will yours get the attention and level of service that you need?
- How easy was it for you to make a valuation appointment, and was it made to suit your schedule or theirs? Was it a pleasant experience to talk to them when making the appointment? The answers to these questions will tell you what a potential buyer is going to experience when they make contact with the agent to view your home.