How to sell a property.

August 4th, 2023

Selling a house can seem like one of the most daunting things you’ll ever do.

In fact, some studies have suggested that moving home can be the second most stressful thing you’ll do in your life, after divorce. So, if you’re getting divorced AND selling your house, then I sympathise.

Whatever your reason for selling and moving, I’m on hand to help if you need to talk to anyone at any point. But let’s get started with an overview of how to sell your house…

So firstly, you need to decide how you’re going to sell the property – through an estate agent? Or try and sell it yourself?

The best way to determine how you want to sell is to read up online. Of course, when you read about or speak to an estate agent; they’re going to try and sell you their services and of course they will say that you should sell through an estate agent.

Alternatively, you can try and sell the property yourself with an online estate agent or with a private house sale site. Again, online estate agents will tell you how easy it is to sell a house and that you should sell through them.

I don’t think there is any right or wrong answer at this stage, to be honest. It’s whatever suits you and your needs. If you don’t want to have to deal with enquiries, viewings and negotiate offers directly, then use an estate agent for sure.

But if you’re happy doing all of that yourself and you are aware of the work that you will have to do, then use an online estate agent – just bear in mind a couple of things – if your property doesn’t sell, you’ll be around £1,000 out of pocket and back to square 1!

And secondly, because you have to negotiate your own offers, what I have found is that negotiating yourself can lead to a lower price for you, compared to an expert estate agent acting as the middle man, spotting the signs when someone will increase and creating more desire from the buyer, instead of just relying on a platform.

If you’re not sure, then give me a call and I’d be happy to give you some guidance on what is right for you.

Once you’ve decided how you’re going to sell your property, then you need to choose someone that’s going to represent you and your property. There are literally tens of thousands of companies that will help you to sell your property – most of them very, very similar.

In fact, look closely, and the only real difference between a lot of companies is the name and colour of their business!

That’s why I try to be a bit different: I offer a personal service, holding your hand all the way through to completion.

Next, you need to decide on your asking price – to do this, you need to get valuations & market appraisals on your property. This will help to determine what asking price you should list your property at, and what marketing strategy you’re going to adopt on your property. Always get three valuations/market appraisals on your property.

Whilst you’re speaking to the agent, you need to understand what they are going to do for you and what they’re not going to do for you.

Once you’ve chosen an estate agent, an asking price and a marketing strategy, you then need to wait for the property to go live. That’s when the real fun begins!

Viewings will (hopefully) start to happen, then you’ll (hopefully) get offers and then you’ll (hopefully) accept an offer. During all these processes you’ll be guided by your estate agent (assuming you use an estate agent who offers these services!)

If the above things don’t happen, then, again, your agent should be able to help you with why there are no viewings or offers if you get to a point where you haven’t sold your house and you’re not sure why.

Finally, you have the sales progression to get through. This can be a rollercoaster in itself, but again, if you choose an experienced agent that is able to guide you through this, then it doesn’t have to be a rollercoaster.

Selling your house can be one of the most stressful times of your life, but it can also be one of the most exciting.

Let me help you to make sure it’s more exciting, than stressful!