If you’re thinking about putting your home on the market, we’ve got the top house selling tips to make it easy. From figuring out your pricing expectations to making your property more appealing to your potential buyers, there’s a lot to consider. But that doesn’t mean it has to be difficult.
1. Know what price is realistic
You obviously want to get the best price you can for your property – your next home may depend on how much you can sell this property for. However, there are multiple factors at play when deciding on a price for your property.
It’s tempting to base your asking price on how much you paid for it and increase it by the time you’ve lived there. However that’s not always the right approach. For example, the market may not be in your favour. If fewer people are buying, especially your type of property and in your area, you may not get much interest if you set the price too high.
One way to get an idea of the price is to get valuations, either from an estate agent or a RICS surveyor. If you’re getting a valuation from an estate agent, be aware that they want your business, so may value it at a price that seems appealing to you, only to drop it when there is little interest.
Do your own research on properties in the area using a property listing site – and remember to look at the sold price, rather than the listing price. Just because someone is trying to get that price for a property, doesn’t mean that they will.
The more reasonably you price your property when it’s first listed, the shorter amount of time you’ll have to wait. If you price too highly, it won’t be considered, and the longer it’s on the property portal, the less appealing it will be. Price it appropriately and get people viewing as soon as possible.
2. Online, high street or DIY?
Choosing your estate agent as a seller is a big deal – they’ll be the one holding your hand through the process, promoting your property and they’ll be working with your conveyancing solicitor to confirm the sale.
But there’s so much variety now with estate agents that you need to decide what your priorities are.
Your high street estate agent will do the work for you – they’ll view your property, assess what price they think it could be sold for, promote it on their website and carry out the viewings. They often have a list of potential buyers because they know who is looking in your area. They’re also very motivated to make the sale, because it’s commission-based.
You pay nothing until your property is sold, and then your estate agent can take a commission of around 1% (but this can vary, so discuss the price in advance, and remember that you are allowed to negotiate).
If you choose an online estate agent, it’s usually much closer to a do-it-yourself approach: you pay an upfront fee (which is taken regardless of whether your home sells or not) and can include photographs, listing and a calendar for organising viewings. Often you’ll carry out the viewings yourself, based on your availability.
The upfront fee is usually a lot cheaper than a high street estate agent commission, but does include more work from you. If you don’t have the time or inclination to upload information and book viewings in, then a high street agent might be better for you.
Some people like to take the selling process into their own hands completely, and list their own home using different portals. It’s completely valid to do this if you know a fair bit about property, but remember that most people browsing will be on the most popular property portals, which estate agents pay money to access and advertise on. You have a better chance of being seen on more popular portals.
If you're not sure what kind of estate agent might be right for you, use
netanagent to compare them for free.
3. Preparing for viewings
Most people will make the effort to have a tidy up before the viewings start, but you can do better than that.
Clearing out your items before people start viewing your property is advantageous for a few reasons. Firstly, it makes your home seem more spacious and appealing, but just as important, it will save you time and money when you do move – removals costs are based on how much time it takes to move all of your items. Having a clear out now can save you time and money down the line.
Get a neutral helper – we become blind to the issues with our home, because we’ve adapted to them. The wobbly cupboard door, the stuck lock, the paint peeling on the front door. Bring someone in who doesn’t know your home in the same way, and do a walk through with paper and pen – you’ll get a list of simple fixes that can improve your potential buyers’ first impressions.
In some cases, you may want to make a little more effort, by painting certain rooms more neutral colours or even staging your property to make it look more like a show home and less lived in. You need not spend a lot of money or time doing this, but it can have a positive impact on potential buyers. They can visualise the property as theirs, rather than considering all the big changes they might want to make.
You can see our
guide to staging your property here.
4. Negotiating
The important thing to remember when negotiating with a potential buyer is that it’s not personal. It’s likely that you’ll receive offers under your expected price, but this is natural with buyers testing the waters. Know what you’re happy to accept, but also be sure to be flexible – if all of the offers you receive are lower than expected, that can say something about the area, the property or the market.
Be sure to get feedback from your estate agent – they can tell you what the buyers have said about the property and how it matches up to what else they have on their books.
Bear in mind how much you need to make from your property if you’re buying another.
However, if you’re trying to sell quickly then you may want to take a lower offer in order to speed up the process.
Don’t take the back and forth of negotiation as a personal insult on your home – whilst you probably have put a lot of love and care into your property, and it may hold happy memories, the buyers are simply trying to get the best deal they can.
5. Get a great conveyancing solicitor
You don’t need to spend a fortune on selling your home – selling conveyancing costs tend to be lower than purchasing, but if you are doing both your conveyancing solicitor or licensed conveyancer can handle both transactions.
You can have a look at our
guide to costs when you’re selling but you can also take a few minutes to compare conveyancing solicitors on our site.
A great solicitor can help your sale go through smoothly with minimum stress. Always read reviews and consider whether they sound like the right team for you – the more questions you ask, the better!
If you want to get a
conveyancing quote through us, it’s quick and easy - put in a few details and you’ll be emailed your quotes instantly.
Selling your home doesn’t have to be stressful, and we have a variety of guides on the subject, including our
complete guide to selling your home,
how to sell your property quickly, and our
tips for choosing a conveyancing solicitor.