So you’re ready to downsize, you’ve decluttered and you’re ready to instruct the estate agent. Fantastic! But what if you haven’t moved for a long time. The way people buy and sell houses has changed considerably in recent years. Choosing the right agent is vitally important if you want to sell for the best price and quickly.
Different Types of Agent
Historically, estate agents all had premises on the High Street and buyers would visit all the local agents, collect brochures and then decide which ones to view. Nowadays, so much house hunting commences online that in addition to High Street Agents we now have agencies that operate purely online and some that are hybrid. Fees vary widely as does the involvement of the seller who may be responsible for arranging and conducting viewings. What are you comfortable with? In my experience most buyers prefer to view with the agent. They feel less inhibited about discussing changes they would make to the property. After all, most of us are polite and don’t like to criticise a person’s home in front of them and it can be very helpful to buyers to be able talk about options and how they might make a property work for them. Sellers often think that they know their home better than the agent and this may be true, your agent should be primed to answer the questions buyers are most likely to ask but you never know what information is important to a particular buyer. If you like to be present then let the agent introduce you, the agent shows the viewers round while you remain in one room and the agent can bring the viewers back for you to answer any questions.
Who’s Going to Buy Your Property?
When selling it’s essential that you understand who is likely to buy your house because in order to generate interest and offers you need to get the right people through the door. You might be selling the family home which has four bedrooms, kitchen, dining room and a good sized garden. The people who are most likely to buy your property will be families. Visit local agents to see what type of properties they are selling – are they similar to yours. Look online at who is selling what because, as explained above, not all agents are on the High Street. You probably have a vague idea of what your property is worth so choosing your price bracket, search in your area for similar types of property. This may give a feel for which agents are selling your type of property.
Styling For Your Property
Your home needs to appeal to the type of person who is most likely to buy it. Coming back to the example of the family home, your home needs to be presented to attract families. Demonstrate that the house has the requisite number of bedrooms by putting beds and some bedroom furniture in them. If you have been using one or more bedrooms for other purposes such as a hobby room or study turn them back in to a bedroom. This is because a lot of people struggle to visualise so you need to show them that there are the specified number of usable bedrooms. If you have got rid of the beds, buy a second hand one or borrow one. One trick is to create a “bed” of the correct dimensions using boxes which you can then dress with bedding – just warn your agent so that no one sits on it!
Need more on presenting your home for sale? Download my free guide 10 Top Tips for Selling Your Home. Call now on 07745 876182 or e mail me at info@homestyle4u.com. I cover the Wirral, Cheshire and the North West.
