In This Guide
choosing an agent
Conveyancing
Holding viewings
1. Introduction
2. What they will ask
3. What to say
4. Guide to buyers
Negotiation
Planning your sale
Prepare your home
Seller's Packs
Selling at auction
Selling in Scotland
Selling privately
Selling your home
Using estate agents
Holding viewings
Guide to buyers
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Here is a brief guide to some of the more common groups of buyer that you may be faced with and how it may affect you.
One of the best groups of buyers to deal with are those who are
between homes. They have already sold their house and are living
in rented or temporary accommodation until they find something
that suits them. The main advantages are that they have bought
and sold at least one house in the past, so know what they are
doing, they have no house to sell and so are not part of a chain,
and are usually willing to be flexible and meet your needs in
terms of timing.
Investors can also be excellent buyers. They will have a clear
idea of what they are looking for and how much they are able to
spend. There is a good chance of them being fairly efficient -
the quicker the sale is complete the faster they can start to
accrue rental income. However, you may find them a little more
tenacious when you get them to the bargaining table. You may also
have to be prepared for some questions that other buyers may not
ask, as they will have a different set of objectives and requirements
to owner occupiers.
Another attractive (but fairly rare) group, cash buyers are purchasing
using their own money and not a mortgage, usually to acquire a
second home or an investment property. Cash buyers should be reasonably
flexible with regards timing, though less so if they are keen
to tie up their investment as soon as possible. Some super rich
buyers will be less eager to negotiate as money is less of an
object, whilst some cash buyers will be more prudent as they are
using their own money.
First time buyers can be very easy to deal with. They usually
manage to arrange mortgages very quickly and won't be part of
a delay-causing buying chain. The unscrupulous amongst you may
also be able to get the relative naivety of the first timer to
work to your advantage when negotiating on price. However, many
first time buyers have quite a tight budget and will be encouraged
by estate agents to look at houses that are realistically beyond
their budget unless they can negotiate successfully, so you may
end up finding negotiations break down.
If a buyer's house is on the market, it is a firm indication that
he or she wants to sell. However, you or they have no guarantees
how long it will take them to find a buyer and complete the sale,
so you should be wary of accepting offers from them, unless their
purchase is not dependent on using the proceeds of their sale.
Buyers who are waiting to sell have not yet put their house on
the market. Most of them will probably need the proceeds of the
sale before they can purchase. If they are not willing to consider
bridging finance to cover the costs of the purchase until their
own sale goes through, you should probably not give much thoughtful
consideration to their offer, unless time is completely unimportant
to you.
Browsers haven't made their mind up whether or not they want to
buy at all. They can be unpredictable. One minute they may be
madly in love with their home, the next they may be completely
disinterested in the whole idea of buying at all. Approach with
care.
These people are not really interested in buying at all, but are
simply having a look at a few properties. They may be thinking
of buying at some point in the future, or they may be thinking
of selling their home and trying to get some sort of comparison
to give them an idea of prices.
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