Tag Archives: Estate agent

It’s a good question. Do you start worrying after a few weeks of marketing without an offer on your house? Or should you be patient and stick with your agent and price for six months or more?

At HomeTruths, we see so many sellers who have been on the market for over a year; our record so far is a couple who had been trying to sell consistently for six years!  It’s true that the longer your property is on the market, the less desirable it is to a buyer, and the less confidence your agent will have that he can achieve any figure close to your asking price.  It’s therefore really important that your strategy in the first 6-8 weeks is as well thought out, planned and confident.

Here are my 5 golden rules for making sure you don’t get to worrying stage:

  1. Choose the right agent based on marketing skills, enthusiasm and a high fee – he’ll earn it;
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  2. Once you’ve decided on your asking price, stick to it.  So long as it’s well-researched and realistic, of course. Make sure it’s a nice round figure, and don’t drop it – be confident;
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  3. Have the best photography and brochure you possibly can.  Be pedantic, beg and bully until you get the best.  Your house MUST stand out in a pile of also-rans;
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  4. Commission a home stager to give your house a once-over. Even if you and your friends think it’s immaculate, you need independent, professional advice at this crucial time.
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  5. Communication, communication, communication! Call your agent every week.  Obtain written feedback from viewings, ask for your Rightmove Property Performance report each week and monitor the activity generated.

Follow my 5 golden rules, and you should sell within 8 – 12 weeks.

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch.

Dining room and a table with a flower vase on top

Downsizing isn’t the most seductive word. In a society that values progression and achievement, ‘down’ has a sense of backwardness; it’s a term that’s always blemished with some sort of compromise. And no one really like compromise. But what if downsizing is actually a step forward? Let’s explore what it really means to downsize, and reposition it as a new opportunity, and an enviable new start.
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Listen to the beat

Hear that? It’s a gentle metronome, and if you listen closely, it’ll stop its familiar patter when it’s the right time to switch up the tempo, and get moving. Maybe you’re planning to retire, or maybe you’re ready to wake to the sound of the sea. But when do you take the plunge, and make ‘one day’, today? The truth is, that gentle metronome will keep on ticking in perfect intervals, and only you can alter its rhythm. There probably is no ‘right’ time to move, but you can control the patter, and you can switch up the metronome’s beat.
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A new dance

Okay, maybe dancing isn’t your thing, but this is all about embracing an opportunity. Watching your youngest flee the nest can be hard; you’re proud of their newfound independence, and you’re excited for their adventures ahead. But with the change comes a sense of loss too. Here you have two options: to sit still and watch your child enjoy their next dance, or to get up and jive alongside them too. A change in your life simply means a new start. A next dance. And this time, you take the lead.

Without children in tow, you don’t need to consider school catchments, and you don’t need to sacrifice a peaceful conservatory for a stuffy home office. In short, you don’t need to compromise. For once, you don’t need to consider the needs of a brood. Being selective and indulgent is a luxury, and what if that luxury could make you time too?
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Shake the duster

A smaller home means fewer rooms to maintain. It probably means a smaller garden too. Reduced upkeep frees up time, and allows you to enjoy doing the things you actually want to do. Your home choice no longer needs to be restricted by functional, practical considerations; and those necessary yet clinical box bedrooms can be substituted for idyllic cottage charm. Yes – there might be less rooms, but each beam tells a story, and the character oozing from each sloping ceiling makes you smile. The grandchildren love the whistley kettle and creaky stairs too.
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Money, money, money

An oversized mortgage weighs heavy, and freeing up cash is the fastest way to enjoy your time. Fancy travelling more? Maybe you have family overseas, or maybe you just want to explore a little more. What’s more important: spending time cleaning unused rooms, or spending time with your grandchildren? A smaller house means you’ll have friendlier bills, and any surplus can be enjoyed with family.

Downsizing doesn’t mean less; in fact, it means enjoying more of what makes you happy, and losing anything weighing you down. Scaling down your priorities, and creating an everyday that makes you smile, is uplifting. A comfortable everyday is what brings happiness, and with downsizing comes more choice, time and money. And doesn’t that sound appealing?

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch.

Sam

I was contacted by a gentleman in York, who was selling his house for the first time in over thirty years. In a small 1920s close where most of the houses there had been redeveloped, his home clearly had huge potential and the local agents were falling over themselves to win the instruction. When he called me he had already had visits from six agents, and was thinking of using five of them, on a ‘winner takes all’ basis. He asked me what I thought. I of course, told him.

Firstly, with that amount of competition between agents, he couldn’t hope to get a sensible valuation. He confirmed this by telling me that the variation in valuations had been huge: £1.3million right up to £1.75million. How on earth could he have any confidence at all in any of them? My first piece of advice to him was to get an independent valuation from a local surveyor. This result doesn’t show in any public records; it’s simply a piece of private information between the two of you, so if he didn’t like the valuation, he could just ignore it.  It would however give him some idea of the ‘true’ value of the home, albeit with a few thousand added on for marketing and negotiation purposes. Don’t forget that a surveyor is completely independent, I reminded him, with no agenda whatsoever other than to give you an accurate representation of the value of your house. For around £300, you will find his report a useful insight, I told him.

Secondly, it’s really not a good idea to ask five agents to sell your home.  Your relationship with the estate agent you select is founded on trust and liking; after all, there will be plenty of obstacles to overcome along the way, and you really need someone on your side throughout this often traumatic process.  Select the agent you like most; the one you really believe in, and that you won’t get irritated by over the coming months.  Place your loyalty and confidence in him, and let him know you have faith in his ability to sell your house.  Trust works both ways, and you need to do all you can to make his job of selling your house as easy as possible.  Aim to be the best vendor you can be, and your efforts will pay dividends.  If you think his valuation is too low, tell him.  Do your own research and show him evidence that supports your viewpoint.  He may well agree with you, especially if he is very keen to win your instruction.

The third point is that all that will happen if you instruct more than one agent, is that your property will appear multiple times on the property portals, which just smacks of desperation.  And don’t even think about the battle over boards: your local authority will only allow you one, so how would you choose which one?  You’d have all five agents sabotaging each other’s boards in the middle of the night!

In the case of selling your home, it really is about putting all your eggs in one basket, then being very careful not to break one!

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch.

Table with a coffee mug and a plate of strawberries; and a window overlooking a garden outside

We’ve all been there. You know your home is a great catch, you’ve read all the magazines, and you’ve followed all the tips to a T. But it’s still not budging. And to make it worse, Stuart and Lesley’s barn conversion next door was snapped up the first week it hit Rightmove. You’re starting to wonder if you’ll ever see a sold sign hanging out front. So what’s left to do? Instead of following tips to a T, you need to follow them to a P. And that’s three P’s to be precise.

P is for Price

Having the right pricing strategy in place is a great start. Listing for £499,995 seems logical; it looks friendlier sitting just under the big 5, and will position your house as a steal, right? Wrong. Selling a home isn’t easy, but sitting inside as many people’s price brackets as possible is key. The more people that see your home, the more likely it is to sell. A home listed on Rightmove for £500,000 will be included in searches for £500,000-£600,000 as well as £475,000-£500,000. If the same home was priced at £499,995, it would fail to show in the latter bracket. So £5 could be the difference between doubling your potential viewers, and finding the right buyers for your home.

P is for Promotion

Which Rightmove pictures catch your eye? The dimly-lit, awkward looking ones, or the professional lifestyle images? The latter not only look special, they look magazine-worthy, and they tell a story that a buyer wants to be a part of. Now take a read of your house description. Is it something along the lines of: ‘The XYZ Estate Agents are proud to offer this realistically priced, and generously proportioned, detached family home,’? Or maybe it’s littered with lovely generic phrases like, ‘features’, ‘briefly comprising’ and ‘duel-aspect.’ These go-to phrases are simply meaningless, and who drops ‘dual-aspect’ into daily conversation anyway? If the copy isn’t interesting, persuasive and meaningful, your home isn’t going to talk to buyers. And since emotions sell a home, the words and images need to give a warm hello, and a lasting impression, if they are to stand out and be remembered.

P is for Presentation

So you’ve priced the home just right, and the photography and copy have caught people’s attention. Now for the viewings. This is where it gets exciting. Home styling, or how we dress our home ready to impress, is the final hurdle. And without a little help, it’s easy to fall here. Draw your viewers’ eyes to your home’s natural beauty, and show how each room could work for another family is key.

So Price, Promotion and Presentation. Follow these three ‘P’s, and you’ll be passing over the keys in no time. A home is more than just bricks and mortar, to both you and potential buyers; it needs to capture their hearts, as well as their heads.

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch.

Sam

Your home is for sale, and you have a viewing booked. How exciting! Let’s make sure your home looks amazing and seduces your viewer, so that they turn into a buyer.

Check out our 7 steps to wow your viewer:

1. Clean and clear – buyers judge room sizes by how much floor space they can see, and in the kitchen – how much work surface.  Get rid of anything that doesn’t add to the presentation, and that could be distracting to a viewer.  If you’re short of time, grab a washing basket and walk around your house, gathering up anything that shouldn’t be there. Stick it in your car until after the viewing when you have time to sort it out!

2. Get rid of kids and dogs – you’ll feel much more relaxed if you and your viewer have the house to yourselves, and so will they. You can focus on what to say about each room, and the best order to show your home without a child tugging at your leg, or your dog sniffing your guest inappropriately.

3. Freshen up – open windows to let some fresh air in, especially if you have pets, and definitely if you are partial to spicy food. Don’t make the house cold though, it shouldn’t feel chilly as you walk round.

4. Light lamps – take a leaf out of developers’ books, where their showhomes have all the lights on, all the year round. Usually, table lamps are enough to add a cosy glow, and underlighting in the kitchen if you have it.

5. Bedding and towels both need to be freshly laundered. If you’re a busy household with little time to spare, consider keeping a duvet ready dressed with a clean cover to simply pop over each bed just before a viewing. Same with towels – keep some hidden in the airing cupboard just for viewings.

6. Beautifully scented – scented candles and room sprays will make sure your home smells beautiful; just don’t overdo it! Your home should smell subtly fragrant.

7. Finishing touches – if you have time, fill vases with flowers, or simply with some pretty foliage from the garden.  Pop some relaxing music on low, and get your best smile ready.

Whether it’s your first viewing, or your fifty-first, making sure your viewer feels like the VIP they are is super important if you want to get an offer. Giving them the best experience of your home will make them feel important and relaxed, and so in the positive and happy frame of mind to make an offer to buy your house, and not anyone else’s!

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch.

A sofa and a pillow with a lampshade beside it

A sofa and a pillow with a lampshade beside it

I once went to view a property on behalf of a client; a lovely little cottage in Cheshire. When I arrived with a colleague, the front door was wide open and the viewing ‘rep’ was standing in the kitchen, reading the paper. He was in his fifties, scruffily dressed, and didn’t even look up when we rang the doorbell, but just called at us to come in. In fact, he didn’t look up from his paper during our whole viewing, but instead left us to look around the cottage by ourselves. Even when we went to the back door and rattled it, looking for the key, he completely ignored us, only muttering “bye” as we left.

Appalled by the lack of care he had displayed with the seller’s cottage, I called the estate agent’s office and told the manageress what had happened. Her response left me stunned, to say the least. She said, and I quote, “He’s not there to sell you the house”.

“So what on earth is he there for?” I asked, genuinely confused.

“His job is just to open the door” came her reply.

I put the phone down. And closed my mouth.

What would the seller have said if she’d heard our conversation?  If she’d known that he couldn’t even be bothered to find the back door key for me? Or the fact that we were left completely unsupervised to roam around this poor lady’s cottage, without a thought the security of her possessions?

Agents need to realise their purpose at a viewing, whether it is the agency manager, or a lowly viewing rep.

Their job is to engage the viewer, to open doors, to answer questions, and very importantly, to protect the seller’s possessions.

And yes, to actually SELL their client’s house!

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch.

A hallway from outside a house and a flower vase on top of a table

A hallway from outside a house and a flower vase on top of a table

When you’re selling your home, it seems that everyone knows something you don’t. Why that viewer didn’t buy, even though they gushed over your new lino; why your estate agent isn’t returning your calls; and why your next-door neighbour sold in a week for over the asking price, yet yours has been on the market for months without a bite?

It’s not a grand conspiracy, honest. Over the last fifteen years or so I’ve worked with over 1000 homeowners, and talked to at least 5000, and from all those conversations, I’ve compiled a list of all the things you should probably know when you’re selling, then distilled them to the top five. And I’m telling you them, because no one else will.

Here are my top five selling secrets you need to know when you’re selling your house. (Don’t shoot the messenger.)

Selling Secret Number 1:
The first offer you get will probably be the best offer you will ever get

Did you decline an offer in the first month or so that, in hindsight, you now would take? It’s a familiar story. In fact, around 75% of sellers who contact us would now accept that offer – gladly – and now regret having rejected it.

On average, 100,000 house sales transact every month, and there are currently around a million homes on Rightmove. That means that it would take ten months to sell all the properties on there. But of course, new properties are coming to the market every single day. On average, only about half the properties on the market each year actually sell. This figure is higher in urban areas, where properties tend to sell within the first ten weeks or so, and much lower in rural areas, where it’s not unusual for a property to languish on the market for years.

A property is never more desirable than when it first goes onto the market. The initial flurry of interest can even occasionally generate an offer in excess of the asking price, such is the draw of a newly-marketed home. The interest curve for those all-important first few weeks looks something like this.

However, once all the buyers who have been searching for a while for their next home have seen it, then it’s only the new buyers coming to the market who are around to show any interest, and this may be only a handful a week, at best. This just isn’t sufficient to instil any sense of urgency in a buyer, who may view 15 – 20 or more properties before making an offer on one.

Once your property has been on the market for more than a couple of months therefore, the interest curve looks more like this:

If you drop your asking price, and keep dropping it in an attempt to counteract this downwards trend of interest, all you’re doing is ‘chasing the market down’, in effect.

So what’s the answer? Here are my top five tips for keeping your property marketing fresh, and avoid it becoming stale and forgotten:

1. Don’t dismiss out of hand any offer you receive in those crucial early weeks of marketing. It will probably be the best offer you will ever receive on your home.

2. If you’re several months (or years) down the line, you need to break the vicious cycle that is no one wants a house that no one wants. Take it off the market completely for at least two months, and preferably up to six months.

3. Re-launch at the right time of year for your property, ie at the time of year when your buyer is most likely to be searching.

4. Don’t scrimp on your re-launch: engage a professional home stager, commission a professional photographer, and choose a proactive agent who believes in quality marketing.

If you get an early offer when you go back to market, take it! Within reason of course…. As a general rule of thumb, anything in excess of 90% of your asking price is definitely worthy of consideration in this market, and over 95% is a terrific offer.

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Selling Secret Number 2:
Your estate agent (probably) isn’t good enough to photograph your house

Most agents think they are: believe me. But interior photography in particular needs a pro on the task.  Interiors are fraught with challenges, just waiting to trip up the amateur – blown windows, strange angles and dark shadows are all evident in most of the amateur property images I see every day on Rightmove.

External photography is much easier, as an amateur blue-sky shot is always going to have the edge over a professional white sky image.  Some of the best external front shots of properties are actually taken by the homeowner themselves!

If your agent really can’t be persuaded to use a professional to photograph your house, you need my help to make sure that your images look as good as they can do, under the circumstances.

Here are my five secrets to getting great property images:

1. Clean and clear – clear surfaces and floor spaces, take up rugs where necessary, and clean everything until it sparkles. Light and reflected shine are the best ways to show off the size of your rooms – NOT wide-angled lenses!

2. Go shopping! Shop for staging accessories and give your home the star treatment:

Kitchen – croissants, champagne, flowers
Living rooms – candles, flowering plants, lifestyle magazines and coffee table books
Bathrooms – fluffy white towels, luxury toiletries
Outside – flowering plant for patio table centre, pretty tealight holders

3. The better you brief the photographer, the better the images will be! Go round the house making a note of any particularly attractive angles or features, then call him as close as possible to the day he is due, so your requests are fresh in his mind.

4. Make sure the photographer knows what time of day the sun will be on the front of the house.  Think also about evening shots, and when the sun will be on the garden. This may necessitate two separate visits so make sure the photographer has allowed for this.

5. Follow him round!  Plump cushions, move chairs, take away any distracting objects, remove bins and washing. Make sure you can see what he’s photographing so you can anticipate any potential for the room not looking its absolute best. Put lamps on, or turn lights off, to keep the ambient light at the right level.  A good photographer will really appreciate your help and will guide you throughout.

Keep your images seasonal– it’s very telling to see a house advertised in September with daffodils in the garden, or in January with Wisteria in full bloom. Keep your property photography as close as possible to the current season. This often means asking your agent to revisit to refresh your images with new ‘foliage’ shots. After all, you may not want your viewer to know how long your house has been for sale – and why give them an excuse to make a low offer?

Selling Secret Number 3:
If your house doesn’t sell quickly, your agent will assume it’s the price

If not the asking price that is preventing a house from selling, then what else could it be? An agent is much more likely to blame the price than his marketing, but in my experience, a few tweaks in the marketing can have a more positive impact on interest than dropping the asking price of a property.

Here are my top three reasons not to drop your asking price:

1. If you don’t believe in your asking price, why should your buyer? Be confident your home is worth what you’re asking.  Your confidence will be infectious, and be transmitted to your viewers via your agents.

2. It’s a downward spiral – where will it all end? You don’t want to give it away. Make sure you sell on value, not on price.

Most of the time, it doesn’t work – sellers who contact us have almost always already dropped their price, sometimes several times, but they still haven’t sold their homes. Who wants to buy something at a falling price?

Selling Secret Number 4:
Your agent doesn’t want to call you when he has bad news or no news.

It’s difficult for both you and your agent when the market is slow; they don’t have anything to tell you, so not only will they stop calling, they may even start avoiding your calls too. Meanwhile, you’re left feeling frustrated and powerless, wondering what on earth you can do when no one wants to view your home.

Communication between you and your agent at this tricky time becomes all the more important.  Without communication, there can be no trust, and without trust, there is no worthwhile relationship.   But when you’re in a locked loop of your agent not calling because there’s no interest, yet you need to know what you can do to improve the situation, it’s easy to become despondent.

Here are my top five communication tips when you’re trying to sell your home, to ensure the relationship doesn’t degenerate irretrievably:

1. Pre-empt any issues by agreeing a communication schedule before you launch your home to the market. This is over and above any calls to arrange viewings, or to give feedback afterwards; this plan outlines your expectations and so your agent has some chance of meeting them. With a plan agreed in advance, there are clear expectations and if these are not met, you can refer your agent back to their original agreement.

2. Keep your communication positive – if your agent feels that they are being told off, or held to account, for a lack of interest in your property, they will be increasingly reluctant to pick up the phone to you. If however, your tone is encouraging, friendly and supportive, they will look forward to speaking to you, and they will be only too happy to have a chat to you, even if there is nothing concrete to report.

3. If you’re in town, near your agent’s office, pop in.  Take them cakes, or flowers out of your garden for the office.  If they offer to make you a cup of tea, even better. Agents are just like me and you; they have favourite clients, so make sure you’re one of them.

4. Ask for advice: lots of vendors do this, but then they either don’t listen to any suggestions, or else they argue with it. If you genuinely listen and show that you value any input that might improve the level of interest in your property, you will find your agent much more confident about discussing the issues with you.

5. Share your plans with them: if your agent knows how important your move is, perhaps to be closer to a special relative, to give yourself more financial security, or to realise your long-held dream of living in the country, they will be able to genuinely identify with your aspirations.

Selling your home should be a team effort, and anything you can do to help your agent will in the long run, only benefit you even more. So be nice, be friendly, and be kind. They are all big softies really!

Selling Secret Number 5: The mailing list doesn’t really exist
The Mailing List Myth

Once upon a time, when estate agents didn’t have the internet, they had to actually talk to potential buyers on the phone – or in person – to discover their house-buying requirements and budget. All this information would be carefully kept and meticulously matched against new properties as they were listed. This record was called a mailing list.

If you were a buyer, you would need to register on the mailing list of every agent in your chosen location, or else miss out on any new and potentially desirable properties coming onto the market.

In those good old days, an agent was only as good as his mailing list. So, the Knight Franks and the Savills had long lists of big spenders wanting county piles, and the little independent agency offices would mop up all the first-time buyers, as well as the pensioners looking for sheltered accommodation.

Then along came the magical World Wide Web. Now, buyers no longer had to phone each agent’s office and laboriously give all their details over and over; instead, they could enter their requirements in the simplest form – no contract details needed – and see instantly what was available for them. Fantastic! But what about the agent with his precious database of buyers? Is he redundant?

Well yes, and no.

Yes – because buyers don’t need him anymore, because the information they need that was previous held captive by the agents, is now publicly and freely available.

But no – because the agent still needs the buyers. really good agent will understand that the internet is just a filtering device for buyers, who will often screen out properties that may actually be suitable, judged purely on an unflattering photograph, or an optimistic asking price. The agent’s skill is in matching houses to buyers, and that takes experience, enthusiasm and a genuine liking for his clients.

Buyers need to trust their agent to guide them through the complicated maze that is house hunting, and accept coaching from him to make good decisions. These skills and this experience cannot be replaced by an internet search.

No matter how detailed and comprehensive property portals become, the vast majority of us will still look to a real person when it comes to making one of the largest purchase decisions in our lives.

The mailing list may be dead, but the proactive estate agent is still very much alive and kicking.

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch.

….when you learn from it, of course!

What was the first thing you did when you decided to put your house on the market? If you diligently booked three appointments with estate agents, to obtain three valuations, you are not alone. Most sellers do just that, then choose the agent who they a) like best, b) provided a valuation of around the figure you were expecting, or just above, and c) offered a reasonable commission. Sound familiar? Relax – they are all perfectly good reasons for choosing your agent. You may even be able to add to that list d) sold a neighbouring property and e) came recommended by a friend.

So when a year down the line your viewings have completely dried up, and your agent is no longer returning your calls, you’re left scratching your head, wondering what on earth you did wrong. Well, let’s look at the criteria a little closer:

a) Liking – of course, it’s very important that you like, and therefore usually trust, the agent you select to sell your house. After all, it’s probably your most valuable asset, so you need to believe that he is 100% on your side, and determined to do his best for you. But – and it’s a big but – it’s rarely the valuer who is selling your home. It’s the admin lady answering the phone, or the viewing rep showing your buyers round. That confident, professional, trustworthy chap who spent an hour with you and secured your contract, he’s off securing other contracts, not selling your house.

b) Valuation – a good valuer does his research; a great valuer reads your signals. Even if you don’t think you are giving anything away, some carefully worded questions will quickly ascertain your motivation and expectations. The more he wants your business, the higher the valuation will be, and the more he will charm and flatter.

c) Commission – you may have felt very pleased with yourself at negotiating with the agent and securing a great sale commission. But at what price? Is he incentivised financially to sell your house above his other clients’ properties? Is he going to try to cut corners on advertising, brochure and accompanied viewings? And perhaps most importantly, if he allows himself to be so easily beaten down on price, do you really want him negotiating with a buyer on your behalf?!

d) Sold a neighbouring property – try to discover the back story here; it may have been a fluke, a local buyer already interested, or a big drop in price. Remember – the sold sign is only part of the story.

e) Recommendation – as above, find out exactly what the agent actually did to deserve the recommendation. Maybe your referer’s daughter works there, or they own shares, drink in the same local, or (forgive my cycnism) receives an introducer’s fee.

None of these criteria were wrong. In fact, they are all very good reasons for choosing your estate agent. However, on their own, these checks are not enough to sign on the bottom line. If your house hasn’t sold, it’s time to move on. When you select your new agent, ask more questions, seek evidence, do some digging. You may also find my blog on 7 Questions to Ask Your Estate Agent useful.

After all, a mistake is not a mistake if you learn from it.

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch.

A chessboard above a table with a cream type sofa and a lampshade in a background

A chessboard above a table with a cream type sofa and a lampshade in a background

If everything on the inside of your home is picture-perfect, it is very easy to think that your home will sell quickly. But what if there are external drawbacks that may deter a sale? The interior of your home aside, external factors are often forgotten about because they aren’t part of ‘the home’, but there are some your buyers may be thinking about. One of the best ways to see through your rose-tinted spectacles is to think like a buyer, and see what might be challenging to them…

Surrounding properties – If similar properties are for sale in your area, it is very important to keep an eye on what is going on with these homes. If a buyer is already sold on the area, they’ll be looking at those on Rightmove, too. How does your door compare to your neighbour’s door? If yours is chipped and aged, and the neighbour’s door has just had a B&Q refresh, they’ll be getting the first visit. Keeping up appearances is essential when the competition is so close.

Pricing – While your price may have been perfect when it was put on the market, what if the market has changed? If your house was put on a year ago and hasn’t shifted, prices could have changed. Any of your neighbour’s properties that are newly listed could be much cheaper than yours, making you look oddly expensive. Compare your price with your neighbour’s similar properties, and talk to your agent about altering the price to reflect market changes.

Hurdles – A buyer may fall in love with your home and be ready to sign on the dotted line, but a massive barrier could stand in their way. As an example, what if your home isn’t going to be ready to move in to on the date that they are requesting? In these instances, be prepared to negotiate. Suggest local temporary housing and storage options to them, which can make an otherwise impossible move highly achievable. Especially useful if your buyers are moving a great distance.

Neighbourhood – Local facilities are often very important to buyers. If your neighbourhood is quite similar to another in your town, buyers might draw a comparison between the two. Why not do the research for them? Look for amenities that buyers will be looking for such as good schools, playgrounds, restaurants and sports grounds. List the locality of these local benefits on your property listing. Why not put together a few brochures about these places too, and leave them in your home for people to look at?

Thinking like a buyer can really help you to be ready for anything when you’re selling your home. Having the right mindset and being flexible and open with your approach, can make your goal of moving more achievable.

Happy moving!

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch.

Sam

A wooden cabinet drawer beside a bed with pillows and a floral wall design

A wooden cabinet drawer beside a bed with pillows and a floral wall design

You’ve decided to move home; how exciting! Selling quickly and efficiently will save you time and in the long run, help you sell your house for more.

Getting your ducks in a row before you try to sell is an important part of the selling process. That’s why, having helped thousands of homeowners to sell and move on since 2004, I’ve compiled the top five things you need to do before you put your home on the market:

1. Get into the right frame of mind for selling – decide when you’d like to move by, and start making plans. If you have too much furniture for your new home, plan how you will reduce it. If you have lots of clutter, it’s time to tackle it. Sort out your garage and your attic, ready for your move. You’ll feel more mentally prepared for what’s ahead by taking small steps now.

2. Tempt your viewers across the doorstep – stand at the kerb and make sure your buyers will see your house in its best possible light. Is your gate straight and clean? Your paintwork and windows looking good? Your garden neat and tidy? We know that on average, ten potential buyers will drive past your home for every one who books a viewing, so stack the odds in your favour, and give your buyers a reason to view.

3. Get your home ready for photography and viewings – neutral colours and plain bedding photograph much better than colourful patterns, and will make your home seem more contemporary to a buyer. If you’re not sure what needs changing, take some photos of each room with your phone, and study them with a critical eye. What stands out, and what distracts the eye? Keeping spaces clear and uncluttered will help a buyer imagine themselves living there, and avoid being turned down just because your colour scheme isn’t to someone else’s liking.

4. Do your homework – now it’s time to determine the potential selling price of your home, before you ask an estate agent to give you their opinion. That way, you will know if they are just trying to win your business with an over-inflated valuation, or even undervalue your home and perhaps cost you money. Of course, your research may not be infallible, but it will give you a good basis in fact from which to discuss a pricing strategy with your chosen estate agent.
To research your homes’ value, look at three factors:

a. Houses for sale but not yet sold – if they have not sold after more than three months on the market, they may be overpriced, so keep an eye on any slow movers.

Where to look: https://www.rightmove.co.uk/

b. Houses sold in the last year – houses that have actually sold can give you a much clearer indication of what is possible for your own sale. Bear in mind though that mitigating factors aren’t listed along with the sold price online; houses could transact at more or less than their actual worth, for any number of personal or commercial reasons.

Where to look: https://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices.html

c. Your floor area – a spreadsheet of square footage and prices of comparable homes to yours can offer up valuable information about what your home is worth, per square foot (or square metre if you prefer).

Where to look: in the floorplans of houses for sale on Rightmove

5. Choose the right estate agent to help you move – an estate agent who is truly on your side is the final piece in the jigsaw. With the right agent by your side through your home-selling journey, it will feel easier, less stressful and smoother. Make sure you choose an agent you like, trust and feel comfortable with. Imagine making a difficult decision over your house sale: would you feel supported by them? Will you trust their guidance? Just picking an agent because you have seen their sale boards up, or because they sold a friend’s house isn’t going to help you if the road to your house move becomes a little rocky, so choose carefully.

Getting your frame of mind, your house, your presentation, your price and your estate agent all ready and prepared will help your house sale progress more smoothly and your move more enjoyable. 

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch.