31/01/2023
Selling your home can be stressful and there are so many things to consider.
Here are 10 things to consider when selling your house:
1. Review the condition of your home.
You love your home, it is to your style and taste but it is time to move on. Take emotion out of your view and really look at your house from the point of a potential buyer. Imagine if you were viewing your house for the first time, what does the outside look like? Does your entrance hall look inviting, are the colours to suit most people’s taste, is there little things you could fix easily and cheaply like a dripping tap?
2. Tidy your house.
Yes, you are still living there but there is nothing more off putting to potential buyers than walking in to a house that is a mess. It really detracts from your property and unless it is a property developer, buyers are unlikely to see past that. Clutter makes your house look smaller and cramped, so start packing your stuff away and clear out ready for your own move. It will make your house look bigger and be more attractive to potential buyers.
3. Clean.
This may seem obvious but I have lost count of the number of houses I have viewed that are dirty. This is really off putting to buyers because if you can’t be bothered to clean your house for viewings, then what state is the house going to be in when you leave and what potential nightmares will your buyers find when moving in?
4. Think like a first time buyer.
Do you remember when you bought your first home? Unless you were very lucky, every penny was a prisoner when you were saving for a deposit, furniture, purchase costs, carpets etc. If a first time buyer was buying your home, what are the things that would cost them money that you could easily resolve? As a first time buyer, I have viewed a house where the seller literally removed all the lights bulbs and used one light bulb which he changed in every room that we went into! Things may not be to their taste, but could you alter it so that it could be lived with? While people will change things to their own taste, not every buyer has a bottomless pot of money.
5. On or Off Market.
Most people will sell their home on the market, so research your local estate agents. They will often have a list of people who are looking for homes in your area and they will be aware of what people are looking for in properties. But not everyone wants to advertise their home publicly, for a variety of reasons. So you could sell your home off market, usually through Social Media or local pages such as Gumtree. You will then need to do all the negotiations and deal with the enquiries as they are coming in but you will still need a solicitor to finalise the sale.
6. Viewings.
Think about whether you want to conduct your own viewings. There are pros and cons to both. If you do it, you can be enthusiastic about the property and its good points. You can make appointments that suit you. However, are you prepared to hear people being critical about your home? Are you aware and prepared for people to not turn up or to turn up late.
A viewing agent can attend and wait for viewers, while you get on with other things but they may not be as enthusiastic about the property to your sellers. However, they are independent and will answer questions honestly.
7. Home Report
All properties in Scotland require a home report to be completed. Your estate agent will normally organise this but if you are selling your property off market, you will need to contact a surveyor yourself to organise this. A Home Report is available to viewers to give them information about your house. A Home Report will also provide a valuation of what your property is worth.
8. Valuations and Asking Price
A home report will provide a valuation of your property based on it condition, structural integrity and energy efficiency. But buyers will only pay what they think your property is worth and if it requires a new boiler, central heating system, wiring. kitchen, bathroom and fully redecorated, you need to be realistic about what price your property will achieve. A fully refurbished property will always attract a higher value because it is ‘walk in’ condition and people do not need to worry about redecorating or the boiler breaking down. You love your home, but you need to be realistic about what value it will achieve.
9. Receiving an Offer
If you are lucky, you will be inundated with offers and your sale will go to a closing date. The closing date is a blind bid, so no-one except the Estate Agent will know what people are bidding. Once you have all your offers, you can consider them. Taking the highest bid may be the obvious choice, but there are other things to consider like, do they have finance in place, are they in a chain and who is least likely to pull out.
You may also receive an offer which will state that they will pay a certain price if you agree to take it off the market at close of play that day. It is important to consider if the persona already has finance in place, and if the offer higher than you would reasonable expect if your sale goes to a closing date. If it is, then you can agree the price and remove the property from the market.
If you receive a lower offer, you can reject it or ask the bidder to place an alternative bid to obtain the offer closest to what you are looking for.
If you are not receiving any offers, try and get feedback from viewers to find out what it is that is putting them off. It may be something reasonably simple that you could fix to attract a potential buyer.
10. Finalising the Deal
Once you have accepted, your solicitor will take over and negotiate the finer details, like exactly what items you are leaving. If you have an extension or structure that does not have a building warrant or planning permission, you can buy an insurance policy to cover it which may satisfy your buyer. Be aware that once you sign the missives you are legally bound to sell your property, with conditions that you have agreed to, so make sure that you are completely satisfied with all of the conditions prior to selling.
