As a first-time seller, selling your home can be emotionally challenging as well as surprisingly time-consuming. People you’ve never met before will come into your home and poke around your prized possessions, and to top it off, they’ll offer you less money than you think your home is truly worth. We’ve taken it upon ourselves to give you five top tips to generate the highest possible price for your home – without the emotional distress!
1) 1) Setting an unrealistic price
Whether you’re working in conjunction with an agent or going it alone, setting a realistic asking price is key. To put it simply, overpriced homes do not sell – but setting a low asking price may, in theory, generate multiple offers and bids, leading to the property’s true value.
2) 2) Getting emotionally involved
Once you’re 100% certain about selling your home, it may be a good idea to start thinking of yourself as a businessperson, as opposed to a homeowner. Start looking at the transaction from a financial perspective, and you’ll distance yourself from the emotional aspects of selling your beloved home.
3) 3) Hiding potential issues
Almost every problem with your property you try to mask will be found during the buyer’s inspection – so save yourself the bother. It would be easier to fix the problem ahead of time or market your house below standard value to account for the problem.
4) 4) Deciding not to hire an agent
Although a fee will be involved, trying to sell your home on your own could be very difficult. A good agent will help you identify a fair and competitive selling price for you home, and provide in-depth advice on all aspects of selling, including: potential value, presentation, demand, marketing and legislation. Comprehensive marketing both online (website, property portals and social media) and offline (buyer-matching via our existing database of buyers looking for a property like yours) are also of high importance. Accompanied viewings with feedback, handling and negotiating all offers, qualifying of buyer’s position, and drafting and sending of sales instructions to solicitors are also further points of concern an agent would help you with. Most local independent estate agents will do all of this on a no sale no fee basis!
5) 5) Not being properly insured
When hosting a viewing, you’ll need to make sure you are insured in case someone has an accident on the premises and subsequently sue for damages! It’s also key to make sure that there are no hazardous areas in the property, and that you make steps to erase them. For example, ensuring the family pet is not present if the children of potential buyers are around.