In This Guide
choosing an agent
Conveyancing
Holding viewings
Negotiation
Planning your sale
Prepare your home
Seller's Packs
Selling at auction
Selling in Scotland
Selling privately
1. Sell your home privately
2. Valuing your property
3. Publicity
Selling your home
Using estate agents
Selling privately
Valuing your property
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As a starting point for deciding the value of your home, the best thing to do is to is to get a couple of valuations from estate agents and base the price you set loosely around one of those.
It may seem a little sneaky and probably is. You are encouraging them to spend time and energy pursuing an activity that is solely for your benefit, when you have absolutely no intention of instructing them to act on your behalf. However, if your conscience can cope with it, then it is certainly no worse than some of the tricks that estate agents have pulled in the past.
If you want to set the price unaided, or wish to do some extra research to support and balance the view of the estate agent, there are a number of things that you can do.
Take into account the prices that are being charged by vendors of similar properties in the area. To do this, check out the local press, look at properties being advertised in the windows of your local estate agents and on the Internet. It is important to remember that the prices that are being asked by vendors can end up being quite different to those that buyers ultimately pay. Advertised prices tend to be over-inflated to allow for some negotiation - something you should consider doing as part of your strategy.
Your price should also incorporate the cost of any repairs or maintenance work that needs to be done but which will not be completed prior to the sale. You should get one or two professional quotes for the work, that you can then show prospective buyers. It is well worth being up front and honest about these requirements, since it will reflect badly upon you if these problems are later uncovered when the survey is carried out.
Finally, there are now quite a number of websites that allow you to get price comparisons for properties in different areas. You can input your postcode, property size and other details and get details of the number and value of properties sold in your area that are like yours. Find some of these sites in SiteFinder.
As long as time is not the most pressing factor governing your
sale, start by setting the price a little high. It is important
to be realistic though. If you go over the top, then you will
probably find that you have little or no interest in your property.
So make sure that the price is not a dramatic over-exaggeration
of the property's worth, but allows you a little room for negotiating
manoeuvre. This gives you as much chance as possible of getting
the highest possible price. If you are not getting much interest
at that level, you can always lower it later.
If you are in a real hurry, you can undercut the general level of prices being asked for similar properties. This will immediately draw attention to your property as a bargain. If you negotiate well, you can still end up better off than you would have been by using an agent, as you get to keep the full proceeds of the sale and don't need to pay any commission.
Remember that your house is only worth what people are willing to pay. Whatever the signs say, however similar you feel it is to properties being sold for a certain price and whatever a professional valuation shows, you have no guarantee of finding a buyer at any price. Be prepared for frustration if the level of interest is not what you were hoping for.
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