First Time Seller? Thinking of Selling?
When you are a first time buyer there is loads of advice available, a lot of that advice is still good when you come to sell, however, first time selling brings new hurdles and experiences, extra assistance may be required to ensure that as a first time sellers you achieve a fair price and understand how the process changes.
This advice may also be useful if you haven’t moved for some time, it isn’t something most of us do that often, the property market has changed, as has conveyancing, financial services, stamp duty and a myriad of other factors which may affect you.
If you’re considering selling your home there's plenty to think about. In addition to ensuring you achieve the best price, you’ll want to ensure that you sell at an appropriate time and that you don’t pay excessive fees in order to complete the sale.
What’s your home worth? Getting your market appraisal (often called a valuation) is, perhaps, the most important part of selling your home. Ideally, you should ask two or three experienced, local estate agents to give you an idea of their recommendations for a marketing price and what you might achieve.
Dependent on your experience when buying you might invite out the agency you purchased from, alternatively, you could ask friends and family for recommendations, or, even check reviews on google.
In addition to this, you can use the internet to get an idea of how much your home might be worth. There are websites which can provide this type of information, such as Zoopla , additionally you'll also be able to take a look at similar-sized properties in your area which are currently for sale, additionally Rightmove and Zoopla can often show historic sold prices, which can be useful, after all the marketing price of a property is not as useful as the actual selling price.
Although the individual specification of your home is likely to affect its value, it’s useful to have an idea of what properties in your area are selling for.
When speaking to agents, we understand the fee we charge is important, we recommend you ask whether the fee is upfront, fixed or a percentage of the agreed selling price, whether or not you are tied into a contract, if so, for how long, are there any withdrawal fee’s, and how much the agent charges for photo’s, floorplans, and if required, an Energy Performance Certificate. Do they accompany all viewings, which websites do they advertise on, do they advertise locally, do they produce proper particulars, have a high street office? You shouldn’t be swayed by a cheap fee, generally speaking, you may find by paying a little more the agent can achieve a better price for your property, a few hundred pounds extra for even £1000 more is a good result.
Check your finances.
It is best practice to review your finances before marketing, changes in personal circumstances, lending criteria, bank rates, the potential price of your home and amount of savings could all affect the amount you can afford. It isn’t unknown for a seller to accept an offer and then find they can’t get the finances and then have to withdraw.
Speaking to an independent mortgage or financial advisor will ensure you know how much your move is going to cost, any future mortgage costs and your borrowing ability, they can also advise whether or not you have early repayment/redemption fees, and whether or not you should stay with your existing lender or change to another lender, they can usually advise on Stamp Duty and conveyancing costs, don’t forget to factor in removals and services.
Once you have an idea of what the potential value of your home is and how much you can borrow, and what costs are involved, you will then know what price range you can look within, now it is time to register your search with the local estate agents and get a search set up on the property portals.
When is the right time to sell? Dependent on when you decide to sell the market could be rising, static or falling, this might affect your decision, if you are upsizing a rising market means the difference in price increases, costing you more, however, if you are downsizing this means you will pocket more money. However, a falling market will change the equity you have towards your next deposit, particularly important if you have a mortgage on your current home and also need one to purchase, lenders offer different rates depending on your circumstances and loan to value.
To make a profit on your property, you’ll want to buy when prices are low and sell when they’re high. Unfortunately, however, people need to buy and sell for various reasons and they can’t always wait for the market to increase. Whilst a dip in the market may dissuade you from selling, you’ll also need to consider your personal circumstances when it comes to selling your property.
Traditionally, Spring and Autumn are the best times to start marketing, family homes as school start dates are often given as preferred move-in by dates by many buyers, this also means that the school holidays are generally quieter, even if you don’t have a family home, we have found there is generally an upward increase in activity in January, again heading towards Easter and again in June, July and September.
Consider your market before making any changes In some cases, people decide to spruce up their homes before they sell. If you’re in a desperate need of a new bathroom, for example, you may find it easier to find a buyer if you have the work completed before it’s advertised for sale.
Before you make any changes to the property, however, you should consider your market. If the property needs a significant amount of work, it may be ideal for a property investor in its current state.
Whilst small, non-expensive modifications may be advantageous when selling your property, you won’t want to spend money unnecessarily or invest in changes which won’t increase the resale value.
If you’re unsure whether to develop your property or redecorate prior to selling it, it may be worth seeking expert advice. Experienced estate agents can often give you an idea of how much you could add to your property value by making specific changes, or indeed whether or not those changes will help or hinder your marketing. Whilst no guarantees can be made, this type of information could help you to avoid making costly and unnecessary changes to your property.
Conclusion.
In the same way that first-time buyers research the market prior to purchasing a property, first-time sellers should do the same. By learning more about the industry and the various ways you can sell, you can ensure that you obtain a fair price for your property, as well as benefiting from a hassle-free sales process.
If you would like to discuss further, feel free to call us, or, pop in to see us.
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