How to Sell Your House

Once you’ve actually made up your mind to move house, it can be difficult deciding on the best method for selling your property. In today’s modern world, there are different options available to you. We will look at just three of them.

Most people will sell their home with a real \ estate agent. But how do you know who is or isn’t a good agent? It is best to find an agent by getting a recommendation from a friend or neighbour who has recently purchased or sold a property. Using the internet is a great way to find agents in your area, as is looking in the local newspapers.

It is recommended that you invite at least two or three local agents to value your home. Find out how they will market your property, what guarantees they will give and how much commission they will charge.

Don’t select an agent purely on the basis that they valued your home the highest, as this may be a ploy to get your business. A few weeks after you have agreed to sell your home with them, they may then suggest a lower price.

Ask the agent about any contracts they may insist you sign, as some will lock you into a sole agency agreement lasting for a set period. During this time you can’t change agent, even if you are unhappy with the service that you are receiving.

A good agent will take digital photos of your home, market them on their website and in all the local papers. They should also phone all the potential buyers on their books to let them all know about your home.

It is important you contact your agent on a regular basis to get feedback from viewings which may have taken place as this will give you an opportunity to address any potential problems as they arise.

With the rise of the internet has also come new methods of selling your home. Just type something like ‘sell my home’ into a search engine and you will see a multitude of companies listed who will be offering to either buy or sell your property.

The first type are internet based agents who will advertise your home for a set fee. Their fees are far lower than the 1000’s charged by the local agents, but then again, they don’t offer the same level of service.

The usual method of selling with a web based company will be for you to write up and send them a description of your property in a similar format to an agent, along with some photographs and of course their fee. They will then advertise your home on their site and many of the other general property sites. When a potential buyer contacts them, they will pass their details you. It is then down to you to arrange & conduct all the viewings. You will also negotiate the selling price directly with the buyer.

If you are comfortable with showing people around your home and negotiating directly with them, then this method may save you a lot of money.

Although selling your home using these two methods is very successful, what if you can’t wait the months it will take to find a buyer and for all the legal processes to complete? Maybe you need to sell your home quickly?

There can be many reasons why people have to sell their home quickly, for example a bereavement, break-up of a relationship or divorce, a new job, financial problems or even a pending bankruptcy.

Whenever you need to sell quickly there is another type of company who may be able to help. These companies are able to purchase your home and complete all the legalities in a very short time, sometimes within a few weeks. Type something like ‘home cash buyers’ into a search engine and you will see numerous companies listed.

How can they buy property so quickly? Well, they usually purchase your home using their own cash or a bridging loan, which allows them to move the whole process along very fast.

Before you get too excited about the thought of being able to have the cash in your hand within a few weeks, there are some things to consider. These companies will not pay you the full asking price for your home, instead it will be somewhere between 80-90%.

Now, no one wants to sell their home on the cheap, so you will need to work out the sums. If you sell for say 80% of the asking prices, how much are you actually ‘losing’?

When selling with an agent, you may find a buyer who is prepared to pay the asking price, or even more! You may even be able to complete the purchase within a very short timescale, like the ‘home cash buyer’ type companies.

It all depends on what is best for your family, your current situation, how much time you have and the amount of work that you are prepared to do in selling your home.

Ask yourself a few questions:

How quickly do you really need to move?

Do you want the reassurance of having an agent who will deal with any problems as they arise and all the negotiations?

Are you prepared to show potential buyers around your home and negotiate directly with them?

Do your current financial circumstances dictate that you must sell quickly?

The answer to these questions will help you to decide the best method for selling your home. There are many companies who can help you, no matter which method you chose to sell your home.

Good luck!!

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