http://www.ispeech.org/text.to.speech
Ruban Selvanayagam
Company: Property Solvers
This series of posts summarises the contents of our extended guide on how to sell your house fast [101 tips].
In Part 1 and Part 2 of this series, we explored how you can find the right professionals to work with, understand the local selling environment and make your property as attractive as possible.
In this third and final part, now your property is ready for market, we look at how you can start getting those all-important offers coming – and how to handle them.
Further down, we also offer some suggestions of what to do if things are still not moving in the way you want them to…
Marketing Your Property in the Best Way
So, your property looks great and you’re ready to start showing potential buyers around.
Photos should always be high quality. Decent estate agents use professional photographers who bring out the best in your home. Check the photos first before they’re shown to buyers. Nowadays, creating a floorplan is pretty easy, but check the dimensions are accurate by cross-referencing with the latest Energy Performance Certificate (EPC).
Estate agents have experience of writing property descriptions, but check you’re satisfied and make suggestions if necessary. Highlight extensions, conversion work or refurbishment/redecoration, as ‘brand new’ features always appeal.
Your marketing material should highlight amenities such as schools, parks, entertainment etc. Many buyers also want to know about community safety, crime, and antisocial behaviour.
Some home sellers add comments, under ‘What the Owner Says’ in the listing. For example, you may say how you have enjoyed living in the property, or other honest thoughts.
Depending on demand, having an open day can speed up the process. Estate agents can work up a ‘buzz’ to achieve the asking price, though the agent may also suggest allowing individual buyers to have ‘breathing space’ before making an offer.
Depending on the agreement with the estate agency, you may show potential buyers around yourself. Here are some tips:
- Be friendly and polite;
- Follow the viewer (don’t walk in front);
- Answer questions honestly;
- Get informed about your neighbourhood and what’s going on so you can relay any relevant information;
- Highlight work you’ve done / unique quirks of the property;
- Try to organise consecutive viewings so they see other people are interested;
- If asked about your selling situation, say you’re moving on. They may divulge information about their situation, but don’t feel obliged to do the same;
- Check information they give you with the estate agent afterwards;
- If your property has been on the market for a while and they mention it, explain you haven’t found the right buyer yet, but you’re sure it will happen soon. People sense desperation, so remember you’re in the driving seat;
- If they start talking about price or attempt to negotiate, explain they need to speak with the estate agent;
- At the end of the viewing, simply thank them for visiting and say goodbye.
If things are done properly, you may receive offers shortly after marketing your property, so ensure your next move is organised. Sometimes you can work with the buyer to make the transition easier, but this isn’t guaranteed.
The Offer – To Accept or Not to Accept?
The estate agent can find out information about the buyer’s circumstances which could influence how quickly you sell. Some questions worth checking include:
- Are they committed?
- How serious is the offer?
- Has the estate agent shown them other properties?
- Are they weighing up options?
- Is the buyer in a chain? If so, what progress has been achieved?
If the property hasn’t been placed on the market or there isn’t a firm buyer, alarm bells should ring. However, if an offer is in place and a solicitor can confirm that exchange of contracts is imminent, there shouldn’t be any issues.
Do they have a mortgage offer in place? Committed buyers usually have a ‘pre-application’ / ‘decision in principle’ confirmation from the lender.
Have they suggested a ‘subject to’ offer? (i.e. they would like to check some things before fully committing). If your property needs work this is fair, but if it sounds like an excuse to get time, it probably is!
Are they first-time buyers? If so, do they have their finances together or will they use the government’s Help to Buy scheme? In the latter case, is the equity loan agreement firmly in place? How will they pay for the deposit? Find out how much they’ll be putting into the property and whether their funds are secure.
If you are selling a rented property or the buyer is a landlord, the rules governing buy-to-let purchases are stricter nowadays. It’s a good idea to ask your solicitor to check the buyer’s solvency and ensure issues have been accounted for.
Who is their solicitor? Check the firm’s reputation online. How quickly do they want to complete? If people say months later without a genuine reason, there may be cause for concern. Most serious buyers are proactive and wouldn’t oppose a timeline for the sale.
If you aren’t sure, tell the estate agent to leave the property on the market longer. This can be an incentive for the buyer to get moving.
Estate agents may contact you with feedback, but unless there is something obvious or an issue is continually mentioned, we suggest ignoring many comments. Indeed, it can be used as a tactic to force down the price.
It’s easy to forget that this is often the largest purchase buyers ever make, so people may ask questions and ‘nit-pick’, but serious buyers will want to get things done just as much as you.
Still Can’t Sell Your House?
If you’re still having difficulties selling, don’t panic, there’s often a simple solution. It can be worth taking the following steps…
Speak with the Estate Agency Manager who can give the best advice. Remember it’s in their interest to sell your property. They want their fee and don’t want competitors to know they’re struggling. Explain frustrations, make suggestions, and don’t be afraid to call whenever you need – it’s what they’re paid for.
If the estate agent still isn’t performing, and there are no contractual ‘tie-ins’, you may consider changing firm. We don’t recommend having two agents marketing one property as it can give the wrong impression. Using online estate agencies is growing in popularity. Nowadays many online operators offer a ‘no sell, no fee’ service, but there are usually sign-up costs.
Sometimes a small price drop can trigger more interest, but only do this if…
- Your house has been on the market for at least one month;
- You haven’t had many viewings;
- People haven’t expressed interest in making offers;
- The feedback on price has been constantly negative;
- The estate agent thinks you should drop the price.
It’s always a good idea to look at things at both a local and national level. There are times when house sales are slow and you’re in the same boat as many other sellers.
Auctions are another way to sell your property quickly. The majority of buyers are professional investors, people looking for properties in need of extensive refurbishment, landlords and small builders. However, many auction houses are now working with estate agents and all kinds of sellers.
There’s also the ‘modern method of auction’ – a combination of estate agency and auction house. Although you may have to wait longer to complete, buyers are more committed as they have paid a non-refundable deposit. The benefit for sellers is that once the hammer falls, there is a legally-binding exchange of contracts. The buyer pays a deposit and is under a legal obligation to complete (usually within 28 days or he/she will lose the down-payment).
Well-established estate agents often have cash buyer contacts searching for properties. Many can move fast, but the downside is that you’ll take a hit on the price.
Finally, a fast house sale company like Property Solvers provide speed and certainty. Sales can complete very quickly; the buyers use cash (avoiding the hassles of mortgages etc.) and there are also usually no fees involved.
The Property Voice Insight from Richard Brown
Once again, in this very comprehensive 3-part series on how to get a good price for your property, Ruban covers lots of highly practical and useful tips.
In support of what's been written, I would focus on two P's: People and Process.
People. We read how important it is to screen and qualify a potential buyer. Around 1 in 3 property sales falls through these days and so working with the right people is so important. The buyer themselves, how strong a position are they in? For example, someone in a long housing chain is not going to be as reliable as someone with nothing to sell. A cash-buyer is going to have greater certainty compared to a mortgage-backed buyer. Finally, a professional investor is going to be able to deal with problems in a far more pragmatic and non-emotional way compared to a regular home-owner buyer. Similarly, the people that we need to work with are also important and can help for a smooth or make for a bumpy sale. The agent and the solicitor are the big two of course. However, despite choosing wisely, we also need to manage them and nudge them along too at times...but more on that in a second...
Process. The greater time it takes to complete a sale, the greater the chance of it falling through. So, we need to try and keep the overall time down and also ensure that the sale continues to progress. Moving home is listed as one of the most stressful things we can go through in life. One of the reasons for that is that we either pick the wrong people to rely upon or we rely on people rather than a process.
In terms of a process, we can follow some very simple steps to help to keep the sale moving and so reduce the stress. First, pick the right people as we have seen. Second, don't just trust that people will always act in your best interests and at your pace...they just won't. So, set up calendar reminders to check in and chase the agent and solicitor on how your sale is progressing each and every week. This will help to bring your sale to the top of the pile. Then, get your house in order! Sorry, I could not resist that. What I mean is have all of your paperwork ready in advance and then return things as quickly as possible to avoid you being the reason for any delays. Finally, deal with any queries and questions quickly and honestly, making sure you take on board the advice of any of the team supporting you with the sale. Process is all about taking simple, logical steps and having checks and balances in place at the end of the day. So, just have a simple plan that covers those two points off (steps and checks) to reduce the chances of your sale becoming one of those statistics.
Finally, I would add that in certain situations, certainty and speed has a very real value. I referred to life's most stressful events just now and should you be unfortunate enough to be dealing with one of life's most stressful situations, then consider how much certainty and speed could be worth to you. A certain and speedy buyer will possibly mean agreeing to less money for your property, but holding out for top dollar could just cost you in other ways in too.