March, April & May are the best months of the year to sell a house fast, so spend the early months of the year preparing your property for sale.
GET THE VALUE CORRECT
- This is your most important job as a house seller. Valuations from agents fluctuate wildly. It is probably best to get at least three and to select an agent who pitches in the middle. Before you ring any estate agent I would recommend that you get a free online house valuation from one of the leading AVM (Automated Valuation Modeling web-services). Trying to put your finger on what your house is worth in the current market is a tough job. In some areas of the country prices are down however, in other parts there is such a lack of stock available that due to the forces of supply & demand prices have risen considerably. As a general rule, if your property came to the market in the last quarter of 2009 and you haven’t received any offers, it’s clear that you need to reduce the price.”
BE CONFIDENT
- Remember there is a huge shortage of good houses for sale at the moment. At the moment the NAEA (National Association of Estate Agents) report that there are five buyers to every sellers. It is a sellers market for most!
CHECK YOUR BUYERS MORTGAGE STATUS
- If your house buyer is purchasing your property with a mortgage, ask to see a “mortgage in principle” letter from their lender as proof that they can indeed afford your house. Beware of so-called “cash house buyers”. Many buyers are under the illusion that just because they do not have anything to sell it makes them cash buyers and you may find that they are actually taking out a mortgage.
GOOD PRESENTATION IS EVERYTHING
- Clean it, paint it, fix it and ruthlessly remove clutter, think about first impressions. Don’t paint your front door neon yellow, it may not be to everyone’s taste.
INSTRUCT A CONVEYANCING SOLICITOR EARLY
-Once you have an offer on the table you need to be able to strike while the irons hot and move exchange of contracts as soon as is possible. Instruct your conveyancing solicitor or licensed conveyancer well in advance. That way, key information can be with their solicitors within 24 hours of an offer being accepted. Also, get your solicitors to prepare a draft contract before a buyer is found, so you are in a position to exchange within 10 days.
PROVE DEVELOPMENT POTENIAL
-Think positive, you can add value to your property by obtaining planning consent for a loft extension or rear extension, then it may be worthwhile having the drawings done and getting the consent in place. This will appeal to buyers who would be keen to do work but are concerned about whether they would get consent. Another option is to investigate the Permitted Development Rights that are attached to your property. Permitted Development Rights detail the work / extensions that can be done to your property without the need for formal planning consent. A great company to take a look at is Betternest, they are the UK’s leading experts in quantifying and revealing Permitted Development potential.
CONSIDER SELLING QUIETLY
-Off-market or under-the-counter sales are becoming popular among the country house set – so, for a top price and posh brokering, take the quiet route.
YOU CAN ALWAYS LET
-The drop in rental values is now over and prices are inching upwards again, renewed confidence in the high-finance world of corporate lets is already being felt as big family houses in leafy roads are being snapped up again.
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With trend of online conveyancing growing, you don’t necessarily need your solicitor to be local either. Simply search “find me a solicitor” and the search results list is huge!
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