March, April & May are the best months of the year to sell a house fast, so spend these months preparing your property for sale.
GET AN ACCURATE HOUSE VALUATION
- The absolute Holy Grail. 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). Valuing a property It can be very confusing. Some prices are exactly where they were 18 months ago and some are considerably down, there does not seem to be any particular logic to it, as some properties attract considerable attention while others hang around not selling. Listen to what the market is telling you. 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.”
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE CURRENT SELLERS MARKET
- Remember there is a huge shortage of good houses for sale at the moment. The National Association of Estate Agents reports that on average there are five buyers for every house. You only have to catch one.
CHECK YOUR BUYERS MORTGAGE STATUS
- Insist on a financial reference from buyers to confirm they have the necessary funds to complete the purchase. Beware of so-called “cash house buyers”. Some buyers are under the illusion that just having nothing to sell makes them a “cash buyer” even though they are still getting a mortgage. True “cash buyers” have nothing to sell and the cash in the bank!
GOOD PRESENTATION IS EVERYTHING
- Don’t bother with any major refurbishment works. A good cosmetic makeover (paint the walls a neutral colour, de-clutter and clean up) is all a house needs to be made exponentially more saleable.
INSTRUCT A CONVEYANCING SOLICITOR EARLY
-Help your buyer’s move quickly once they have made their minds up. Instruct your conveyancing solicitor or licensed conveyancer as soon as your house is put on the market. That way, key information can be with their solicitors within 24 hours of an offer being accepted. Also, get your conveyancing solicitor to prepare a draft contract before a buyer is found, so you are in a position to exchange within 10 days.
MAXIMISE THE POTENTIAL
-If you think your property has development potential then I strongly advise you to apply for outline planning consent prior to putting your house on the market. This will add considerable value to your property without you have to actually pay for (or do) the work. Obtaining consents with the right architect on board isn’t vastly costly and could add a lot of value.
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.