YOUR PROPERTY IS AS UNIQUE AS YOU AND THE BEST ADVICE ON HOW TO SELL YOUR PROPERTY WILL BE TAILORED TO YOUR PARTICULAR HOME AND YOUR PARTICULAR NEEDS.
That said, we are not averse to sharing small pearls of wisdom from our various experience on such things, to consider before and during the marketing process.
- Preparation
- Timing the Launch
- Presentation
- Setting Your Asking Price
- Sale Agreed
- Your Agent
PREPARATION
Before you launch, instruct your Solicitor to prepare all the documentation, so that a contract can be sent out with no delay once we have found a buyer for your property.
We will write to your Solicitor on receipt of your instructions to offer the property for sale, requesting him to undertake this process, but he will also require instructions from you in the first instance.
TIMING THE LAUNCH
The best time to launch most properties is usually from mid January to mid May and from mid August to early November. That said, the market never stops and circumstances may dictate that you need to put your property on the market outside these times, and we will of course ensure that it gets the best possible exposure to interested parties to ensure the quickest possible sale.
If you have a particularly special garden or feature which is at its best at a certain time of the year and have the time to offer the property when it is looking at its best, it is worth ensuring the property is on the market at this time.
Equally so, if you wish us to take photographs of your garden when it is looking its best, in preparation to offering your house for sale in the near future - we will happily organise our professional photographers to call out with you.
PRESENTATION
Presentation needn't be time consuming or expensive, but it does, in every case, make the whole difference.
1. It is worth metaphorically stepping outside your front door and looking in, and considering what you yourself as a perspective purchaser would expect to see in a house for the first time.
2. In particular if there are the odd DIY jobs which have not been finished, it is worth completing these jobs. If the decor in a specific room looks a little bit tired or tatty, a coat of paint can make a considerable difference. However, remember that a new purchaser will, when they move into your house, probably re-decorate the property from one end to the other to put their own stamp on same, and therefore if the decor is in reasonably good condition there probably is no great advantage in a complete redecoration prior to offering your house to the market.
3. You often hear on property programmes that one should de-clutter each room and certainly this is reasonably good advice. However, a word of caution, you and your family need to live in the house until such times as the property has been sold, and therefore by shoving everything into cupboards and roofspace etc., only has the effect of adding to your frustrations when you attempt to find the personal effects most dear to you which are no longer where they should be!
4. If the property is offered for sale outside the summer time, and in particular on a cold day, it is important to have the house pleasantly warm and ideally a fire going, if appropriate, so a perspective purchaser can feel that the house is cosy when entering same. If it is a dark day, have the lights on in order that the perspective purchaser can get a good impression of the house in normal light conditions.
5. Many of us are animal lovers, but there are those who are not and therefore the perspective purchaser greeted at the front gate by a barking dog or by eau de cat or dog in the house, are not welcome additions and it is always advisable to have animals caged or with a neighbour and any potential odours removed to ensure that there are not a distraction to a perspective purchaser.
6. Kerb appeal, ie what the perspective purchaser sees when slowly driving past the front of the residence is perhaps one of the most important impressions that is formulated in their mind. It is vitally important that the front of the house, ie. paint work, garden, etc are tidy, well trimmed and pleasantly presented, to ensure that they contact the agent to make an appointment to see the property. An overgrown garden, flaky paint work or obvious damage to and around the property can have a major off putting effect on some purchasers, particularly if they do not have the time and energy to undertake DIY projects and even if they do they are likely to immediately want to reduce the asking price to take into effect the additional work that this required, even if your asking price takes into consideration the general condition of the property. Equally so general rubbish, grass / hedge cuttings, excess toys etc, all of which can present an untidy look to the property.
7. Don't be afraid to ask us if there is anything that we as Agents see which would present your house in a better light or if you need help with obtaining the name of a local handy man who will undertake some work on your behalf at a realistic figure.
SETTING YOUR ASKING PRICE
It is always sensible to get more than one opinion and do not fall in to the trap of simply choosing your Estate Agent because they gave you the highest valuation. Ensure they back their opinion up with reliable evidence and have a good working knowledge of your local market.
It is easy to provide glib answers and advise that every enquiry from a perspective purchaser starts from the big city and works out to the suburbs! Experience has shown us what most perspective purchasers require of their selling agent is those with an indepth knowledge of the local market, the local area, the immediate facilities, primary and secondary schools, public transfer to and from further afield grammar schools in towns and in the city, access to sports facilities, quiet roads to hack their horse or walk their dog, potential environmental or noise issues in the immediate area which may affect your enjoyment of your new property and/or potential planning or neighbourhood disputes on going in the immediate area of interest to you.
If we as Agents can assure a perspective purchaser of the facilities available to them and allay any potential fears they may have about some of the above issues, this can have a major effect on a purchaser deciding to place an offer on your property.
The more offers you receive on your property, the better price you will achieve, and the better satisfaction you will have that you have achieved the best possible price in the market at the time.
SALE AGREED
On agreeing the sale of your property, the second stage of the work undertaken by us whereby we instruct your Solicitor and the purchaser's Solicitor to prepare the necessary contract to transfer the property to your purchaser, together with any particular conditions which have been agreed during the negotiations.
If a vendor is selling only a portion of their property then we would normally arrange to have the area to be transferred measured by a mapping surveyor and agree conditions for the inclusion of easements, rights of ways, fencing of the agreed area to be sold, and forward all conditions to the respective Solicitors.
Negotiations will continue with the Building Society Surveyor to ensure as far as possible that the best possible survey report is received from that surveyor to assist with obtaining a mortgage for the purchaser.
As Chartered Surveyors, we will negotiate on a level basis with the Building Society Surveyor the merits of your property to obtain the best possible result.
YOUR AGENT
On picking an agent to sell your property, it is important that the Agent has a good track record on selling properties like your own and preferably one that is recommended to you. It is important that you have a good interaction with your chosen agent and one who you feel has a sound depth and knowledge and experienced staff who will project your property in its best possible light. Remember – your purchaser is often relying on the information supplied by your agent and the answers and information they provide on your property can be the difference between a successful sale and a disappointing outcome.
We, as agents, are heavily involved with your solicitor and your purchasers solicitor in the final stages of the sale leading up to the signing of a sale contract by both parties. Local knowledge and an in-depth understanding of such things as rights of ways, easements, land registry mapping, leasehold interests and above all history of previous sales of your property or properties immediately around it, can often make the difference between a successful sale or bitter disappointment.
The down turn in the property market in recent years has resulted in purchasers and their lenders putting enormous pressure on their solicitor to ensure that the title to your property is impeccable, which can add much time and frustration to obtaining a completed sale and where we as agents work tirelessly to ensure, as far as possible, that you get a good result.
