1 Evaluate Your Position

If your house has been on the market for sometime, and you’ve had no new viewings for some time and no offers, it might well be worth taking it off the market for a month, sorting yourself out (see what we suggest below) and starting again, perhaps even with a new agent. This will give everyone a fresh approach to marketing the house. If you’re about to try to sell your home in a flat market, don’t even take that first step until you’ve read our tips below.

2 Sort Your Finances

Getting yourself 100 per cent sale ready in advance is a must if it is to proceed smoothly once you have an offer, so line up your solicitor and get your mortgage and finances organised.

3 Get An Estate Agent’s Valuation

Begin by evaluating – or re-evaluating what your home is worth and what’s wrong with it. This isn’t simply a case of getting at least three to come and do a 'no obligation' valuation – although you should do that first – you may need to do some maintenance, too.

4 What Needs Fixing?

Not sure what needs fixing? When the come round to value your property, ask them for a brutally honest appraisal of what to get rid of or change, and whether there are any major flaws. You might be able to improve some easily.

5 Get Sale Ready

Get the house 100 per cent sale ready. Declutter, consider putting some pieces into storage to make the house look bigger. Don't spend out on fancy decor which new owners may well want to change. Do spend money on basic repairs, ensuring your home is in good working order, and if any of your colour schemes are glaringly bright, redecorate them with neutral shades. Tidy up outside - a new coat of paint for the front door if necessary, some instant 'potted colour' from the garden centre and so on. Make sure the house is kept clean .

6 Sort Your Home’s Kerb Appeal

First impressions are important, so check your kerb appeal: tidy the garden front and back,paint window sills and the front door, make sure the house number or name is visible. Ensure the view through the front windows is appealing too. Rooms inside should be kept tidy (even when you're not expecting a viewing- don't be surprised if people stop and have a good peer into your home to see if it might suit them).

7 Research The Local Market

If you have improved the house a lot since the last set of valuations, get the agents round again to value the property. Once you’ve got those valuations, research the market yourself for similar properties nearby, either through agent windows, local property supplements or property websites, such as Rightmove’, and find out what price they are on at. If a similar house to yours in your street is on at £350,000, marketing yours at £345,950 (for example) might well get you more viewers and a quicker sale.

8 Find Out What Homes Nearby Sold For

Then, research the actual house prices being achieved by these properties - use a free website such as www.nethouseprices.com, which uses Land Registry records. This will give you valuable intuition so that when you do get an offer, you will know how to pitch your response.

9 Eye Up The Competition

Get an idea of the quality of the competition – what other properties are your potential purchasers viewing – how does your home stack up against these? Don’t forget, viewers will be comparing your home to every other one they’ve seen in the same price bracket, so aim to make yours the best.

10 Research Estate Agents

Although it’s tempting, don’t just pick the one offering the highest valuation, because there's no guarantee they will get that price. Instead, compare fees, ask what they are offering, check testimonials and, importantly, check the contract - it may try to tie you to the agency for too long a period. If you want to change agents in this time you will still be legally bound to pay their fee. Bear in mind that if you go for multiple listings, you will be liable to pay more than one fee, so check the contract fine print.

11 Appoint The Right Estate Agent

Check that the agency your home is on with deals with other, similar homes. Buyers who know an area well will concentrate on targeting estate agents whose properties suit their pocket and style.

12 Set An Asking Price

We all want the best price for our home, but if it’s over priced, it simply won’t attract viewers, let alone offers. Let all your research be your guide here, and take your agent’s advice.

13 Actively Market Your Home

Ask your agent about how you can actively get your house in front of as many suitable potential buyers as possible – make sure your home is constantly prominent in their window, on their website, will they set up an ‘open-house’ day to get lots of people through the door on one day.

14 Demand The Best Details

Ask to preview and go over the details they are going to send out, put in the window or on their website with a fine tooth comb. Could the pictures be better – for instance, if your house first went on the market in winter, are they still using wintry pictures, which are clearly out of date? Are they selling the house’s best points, including nearby amenities.

15 Know Your Buyer

Your research and chats with your estate agent should have given you an idea about what type of purchasers are you targeting – retired, family or young couples. This will help you talk about your home in a way that’s relevant to the individual viewers. It will also help your estate agent to send round the right type of people – there’s no point in large families coming to view if you’re selling a one bedroom flat.

16 Get Your Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) Ready

The Home Information Pack may have bitten the dust, but you must have commissioned your Energy Performance Certificate when you put your house on the market. It's designed to tell buyers how energy efficient your home is, but don't worry if your period property doesn't fare well - most older homes aren't particularly energy efficient, and most buyers know that.

17 Get Regular Feedback About Viewings

Once the house goes on the market, stay in regular contact with your agent, phoning them after every viewing for feedback, which, if you can action, be sure to do so (ie, if someone thought the plumbing problems in your bathroom were a real turn-off, get them fixed).

18 Know Your Property

Measure the rooms, find out about local amenities, such as schools, public transport, hospitals, play centres, shops… and be prepared to brag about them to potential buyers.

19 What Added Benefits Can Buyers Get?

This is part of your sales pitch – if you’re showing your home to a family and there’s a decent climbing frame in the garden you’d be happy to throw in as part of the asking price, make sure you tell them. Same thing goes for first time buyers and curtains – they’re unlikely to have any of their own yet, so might be grateful of yours.

20 Work Your Space

A double bedroom has more value than a single, and a single bedroom has more value than a study, so show the rooms off to their best use to maximise their appeal.

21 Dress Your Home For A Viewing

It’s all about staging on the day. It goes without saying that the house should be spotless, but there are a few other things to consider that are easy to fix. Got lots of family photos on show? Your buyer needs to visualise themselves living there, not you, so put them away in a drawer for the viewing. Get some fresh flowers for the dining room and put on the coffee maker … Need ideas? Developers spend thousands of pounds ‘dressing’ show homes, visit a couple of local developments for some ideas of how you can display your rooms to the best advantage. Don’t forget these show homes may be your competitors.

22 Clear The House For A Viewing

If you’re desperate for a sale, desperate measures are called for, so if you’ve got pets, ban them from the majority (if not all) of rooms while the house is on the market, make sure you neutralise their odour (even if you can’t smell it, others will and it can be very off-putting). Last but not least, turf the pets, kids and other half out for the duration of the viewing – there’s nothing worse than trying to view a house that’s full of people and noise.

23 Get An Experienced Agent To Show Your Home

Your agent should be present, ideally, but check that the person they’re sending knows the house and can really sell it. It’s no good a junior with no real knowledge turning up, and if this is the case, you should be there to market your house yourself. If, however, a senior team member can be there, your presence could hinder rather than help if you are not careful. If in doubt, check with your agent.

24 Get Your Sales Pitch Right

If you're showing people round your home yourself, decide in advance what order you’re going to show the rooms in. Allow viewers to enter the room first, then follow them in. This allows them a better view of the room and, if it's a small one, will help it feel larger. Think about the benefits of each room and share them with viewers. Then let them walk around on their own. Disappear into the garden for 10 minutes so viewers can talk without you milling around.

25 Don’t Look Desperate

Be relaxed and positive about your property, have information ready, such as utility bills, guarantees and notes about maintenance work. Enthuse about the plus points of living in your area, such as good schools, a local swimming pool, good commuter links, etc. Give the viewers time on their own to walk around inside and out. If you're nervous about viewings, get the estate agent to do it - though no one knows your home better than you do to show off its strengths.

26 Be Positive

Give nothing away to a prospective buyer which could be used against you. Obviously, if there are major problems, such as subsidence or damp, you will have to be honest. But if you tell your buyer you’re desperate to sell, you’re asking for a low offer. Before buyers leave have a relaxed chat to discreetly find out about them and their circumstances.

27 Consider On An Offer

Knowing how low you are prepared to go for a sale in advance will help you make a decision when you do get an offer. Get as much information as you can about the buyers' situation so you know the relative strengths of yours and their position, ie, do they need to move quickly? Are they chain-free, cash-buyers? And if you are paying for an agent, use them to deal with the buyers.

28 Start A Negotiation

Never start a negotiation by asking the price you want, since the buyer will just assume they have to negotiate you down from there. Don't dismiss a low initial offer out of hand, either, even if it is far too low. Instead indicate the price range you want to be talking about and wait for the buyer’s response.

29 Accept The Offer And Go!

After a successful offer, don’t dally on getting the move underway. Contact your mortgage lender, organise your survey, notify utilities and arrange final readings, arrange mail redirection, and book a removal service. Keep on top of your solicitor to ensure the process progresses smoothly and speedily. Don't let a sale fall through because of delays you've caused.

30 Keep Your Sale Active

When you accept an offer you are under no obligation to take your house off the market. Whether you do so or not is up to you, but you must advise the estate agent as to what you want to do. The estate agent is legally obliged to tell you of new offers, right up to the point when you exchange contracts, though you risk upsetting your buyer as he or she will have already paid out for legal and valuation/survey fees. The system is different in Scotland. This is not good practice (morally), but in a flat market when you need to sell your house for as much as possible, keeping your house on the market while your sale starts to go through is often a sensible option.

 

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