How to sell your home quickly

Written on 3 October 2013 by Alistair Boscawen in Property News

Trying to sell quickly? Let us give you some tips….

If you’re thinking of selling your home, you may have already fallen in love with another property or you may still be looking, but either way the last thing you’ll want is to have your home on the market for a prolonged period of time.

If your property is on the market and it’s not selling even though others on your street or in the surrounding area are being snapped up, it would suggest that your home is missing something, that other houses are meeting the buyer demand ahead of your own. If you want to sell your home quickly, you need to ensure it is sale-ready before you even think about contacting an estate agent. This applies not only to its aesthetics and interior decor, but its structure too, given that any problems will be picked up in a survey and may delay a sale when an offer is made.

If you’re planning on moving, and you want to sell your home quickly here are some top tips to help you clinch that swift sale.

• Make sure you use a good, reputable estate agent with extensive knowledge of the local market. Make sure they take photographs of the house carefully and present the property details in a professional manner. A good agent will also know how to really sell your home and show it in its best light.
• When it comes to price, be realistic and don’t price yourself out of the market. After all, a house is only worth what someone is prepared to pay for Your estate agent will advise you on the right value, but you can do your own research too. Find out what homes similar to yours are selling for, but don’t forget that a difference in internal specification, location or layout could make a significant difference in valuations.
• Be prepared to accept a lower offer (within reason of course). If you receive an offer, your agent will discuss the pros and cons – if you want a quick sale you might have to be prepared to negotiate but don’t necessarily accept the lowest offer just to sell. There is always the middle ground.
• Presentation is key. Make sure your home looks clean and tidy from the outside. If it needs a coat of paint, it is worth doing it even if you have to hire a tradesman at your expense.
• Make sure the garden is tidy, that the widnows and UPVC is clean, and invest in a house number for the front door. Curb appeal can, afterall, sell a home to a buyer before they’ve even set foot through the front door. Look at your home from the road and ask yourself: would you buy it? Make sure your house ‘works’ properly. Make sure all window and door catches and handles work, that taps aren’t leaking, that toilets flush and that generally, your home is in a good state of repair.
• Make it look bigger by de-cluttering. Throw away anything that is broken and sell or give away what you don’t want. If you have items of furniture that are too big for the house, put them into self-storage until you move.
• Clean! Nothing will deter buyers more than a dirty house. Spend some time cleaning – bathrooms, windows and even kitchen cupboards as people will look in them to assess their condition and the space they offer.
• If you own pets, make sure that you banish any associated smells. You may not notice the smell, but people new to your home or who don’t own dogs or cats will notice it immediately and it might just put them off before they even get started.
• If your estate agent has arranged an accompanied viewing, try to be out of the way. People are a lot less shy when the owner’s not around. If your agent can’t be there and you are conducting the viewing yourself, be sure to really sell the positives of your home – what made you fall in love with it, what do you think are its best features, why has it been such a great home for you, why are you sad to be leaving and so on. Also, leave the buyers to peruse on their own too to give them chance to talk and look about in more detail.
• If you want to sell your home quickly, be prepared to move out quickly. If you want to sell straightaway, then it’s worth putting your furniture into storage and renting accommodation while you look around for a new home. If a buyer is currently renting, they could be ready to move within as little as eight weeks, sometimes less, so it’s no good if you need three or four months notice.

Images courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net