Due to the nature of property chains and the UK house buying process, there is always a large proportion of house sellers that find themselves in the position where they need to get rid of their house quickly. Unfortunately most sellers still think that their only option is to use their high street estate agent. When time is of the essence the last thing you want to do is tell that to an estate agent.
Estate agents are well know for manipulating their valuation figure in order to win your instruction. They pay scant regard to your time sensitivity and as such your property has little chance of being brought to market at a price that will realistically allow you to sell withing the time-frame you require.
Fortunately there are other options at our disposal; it has never been easier to sell your own house, but it takes a lot of hard work. Here is a step by step sell house fast guide:
1: Clearance and Sprucing Up:
To sell fast for the best price you need to start by making your house look it’s best. The 1st step is to make sure every room in the house has a defined use; bedrooms should be bedrooms (not home offices) etc. Next get to work giving everything a deep clean and take care of all those little DIY jobs that you’ve been putting off. Finally stand back and try to take an objective look at your property through the eyes of a buyer. Try to imagine what may be off-putting to a 1st time visitor (usually it’s the things that most define your personality that will be the problem) and then swallow your pride and banish it from your house.
After all this hard work internally you will need to take a critical look at the exterior of the property and the garden as well. It sounds like a lot of work (and it is) however, it will be worth it when the property attracts multiple offers and sells quickly for more than the asking price.
2: The Asking Price:
The Land Registry now has all its indices online. So you can check regional data, cross-reference it by property type and run historical comparisons. This all helps you gauge how much similar homes in the area are selling for, based on this research you can then set your asking price with confidence. Of course you should also invite at least 3 estate agent to come and give you their opinion as well. After all they are the guys in the trenches and will know about additional sale before they reach the Land Registry. You can even have them market the property alongside you, just be sure to have a clause in their contract that they receive no commission if you sell the property yourself.
3: Taking Your Property To Market
There are dozens of quality sites to market private property for sale in the UK, many of which are free. Two that are known to bring results are Tepilo (free) and The Little House Company (£100approx). There has also been a recent BBC program on selling property privately that suggested a few “left field” marketing ideas such as arranging “open days” and having a presence at public events such as local fetes.
4: Viewings:
Viewings are very important; this is your chance to tell people who are interested to buy how wonderful your home is. Be bright, be enthusiastic, be energetic, but above all be honest. Conducting viewings when you are not used to it can be nerve-racking, so attempting to lie will most likely add an additional and noticeable tremble to your voice.
Don’t get to worried about conducting viewings. There really isn’t much to it and you can be certain you’ll do a better job than an estate agent. After all, no one is better placed to sell your home than you.
5: Negotiations:
This is the area where one can step out of the equation if you want, and invite your conveyancing solicitor to carry out negotiations on terms on your behalf. Here, your connection with the house buyers struck up during the viewings can work in your favour or against you. If you think you would find it difficult to firmly represent your position then get the solicitor to do it for you.
6. Stop Repossession of House:
If I was facing repossession then really my only realistic option would be to sell my home for cash within a 28 day time-frame. The only way to do this is by using a specialist cash house buying company. These companies can be found advertising on Google and in local property papers.
Conclusion:
And that is it; you have successfully sold your own home. If you have done everything above to the absolute best of your ability, the chances are you will have gotten a price in and around your asking price, maybe even a little more. Last thing for you to do is open the champagne and toast the fact that you’ve just saved yourself £1,000′s in estate agency fees. Congratulations!
