Selling my house... any tips ?

whereto now

Hi all
I'm hoping to have my house on the market at Easter, I've picked my estate agent, although I have'nt signed anything yet. I'm just wondering if anyone has any tips, anything you learned the hard way etc,.... not sure what I'm looking for but its my first time selling so any advice regarding estate agents, setting viewing times, anything really would be appreciated....

spaceHopper

Go to a few house viewings and see how it's done, make sure the house is tidy, get the garden looking good too. Go to your solicitor and make sure everything is in order, do you need sign of on any extension..... so that you don't delay closing when it comes to it. Know what has sold in the area in the last 18 moths and what condition they were in and how much they sold for. Know what is for sale in the area around your size and asking prices.

whereto now

Great tips Spacehopper, thanks a mill....

Uno my Uno.

Go to your solicitor now and instruct them to get the deeds, ensure everything is in order and draft the contracts. Doing it now will save a lot of time once you do go sale agreed.

whereto now

Thanks for that Uno, I'll make an appointment

mortimer33

Sold my apartment recently. Some tips I would pass on

1. Make a shortlist of estate agents and see them in action. Go to viewings they're hosting and see how they deal with the public. I was shocked by some of estate agents I saw. Some of the agents I saw turned up unkempt /appeared disinterested..

2. Invite some estate agents to your house to get a quote. While they're there, ask their advice as to what you should do to best present your house.

3. The best advice I got came from the agent I eventually went with. He suggested presenting my apartment as I would a show house. He gave me specific examples. I removed all pieces of furniture/clutter that you wouldn't see in a show house e.g. clothes airer/spare chairs. I also retiled bathroom and put in new blinds. Spent about 800euro in total decorating.

The result was that my apartment sold for 25K more than a neighbouring apartment that sold around the same time. I'm comparing like for like apartments.. The owner of the other place made no effort..

whereto now

Great advice about going to see the estate agents in action Mortimer... Thanks ... I'm in the middle of the spruce up now...

hfallada

Remove any personal belongings from the house eg university degrees on the wall, family photos etc. You want the potential buyer to be able to imagine living there. Its easy when there isnt a family photos on every wall.

If you have coloured walls, repaint them a light grey. Its the popular colour at the moment, as it makes room look big. Potential buyers hate dark colours. Also if your kitchen is dated, maybe think about changing press doors. Its really cheap, but will add value.

Other basic things is a few flowers in the house or nice candles. Make sure photos of the house are taken on a bright sunny day.

whereto now

Thanks for that hfallada I was'nt sure what to do about photos so appreciate that tip.

HeidiHeidi

When I was selling my house, I'd say I removed literally about half the stuff that was in it (furniture, as well as personal belongings, books, and just stuff).

Organise storage for most of it (I used my parents' house, they have great patience ) for all that stuff, as you won't be able to remove it every time there's a viewing.

Some stuff that you'll need on a day-to-day basis you can pile into the car before viewings.

Make sure the garden and exterior are tidy and neat, touch up the paintwork if necessary.

Make sure all beds are made neatly, and towels hanging straight. Make sure that the hotpress is tidy!

Light a fire if you have a real fireplace.

First impressions should not be underestimated in house viewings.

Thoie

mortimer33 wrote: »

3. The best advice I got came from the agent I eventually went with. He suggested presenting my apartment as I would a show house. He gave me specific examples. I removed all pieces of furniture/clutter that you wouldn't see in a show house e.g. clothes airer/spare chairs.

This.

Obviously people still need to live in a house, but when it's being shown, show it nicely. Ask an honest friend (or the estate agent) to go through the house room by room pointing out things to hide/dump. If you have big collections of books/CDs, line them up neatly. Before the photos are taken, iron the bedclothes. Yes it's stupid, but it makes a huge difference in photographs, and when people are visiting. Consider keeping some duvets (with covers on) nicely folded/rolled somewhere that you can throw on the beds before viewers arrive to avoid the "slept in" look.

Declutter your kitchen counter tops. Kettle, toaster, healthy looking fruit bowl (even if you don't eat fruit) and maybe a knife block is all that should be there.

Keep fresh flowers in the hallway. Avoid air fresheners if at all possible.

HeidiHeidi

Thoie wrote: »

This.

Obviously people still need to live in a house, but when it's being shown, show it nicely. Ask an honest friend (or the estate agent) to go through the house room by room pointing out things to hide/dump. If you have big collections of books/CDs, line them up neatly. Before the photos are taken, iron the bedclothes. Yes it's stupid, but it makes a huge difference in photographs, and when people are visiting. Consider keeping some duvets (with covers on) nicely folded/rolled somewhere that you can throw on the beds before viewers arrive to avoid the "slept in" look.

Declutter your kitchen counter tops. Kettle, toaster, healthy looking fruit bowl (even if you don't eat fruit) and maybe a knife block is all that should be there.

Keep fresh flowers in the hallway. Avoid air fresheners if at all possible.

Personally I'd say if you have big collections of anything, get rid of them! (not permanently, obviously!)

And a huge yes to ironing the bedlinen - I'd meant to say that as well. Makes an unbelievable difference to the photos, and to the overall impression of a room when being viewed.

Meath08

I'd suggest approving any photos before they are placed on line. Some estate agent photos are just appalling. Little things like toilet lids being closed, clutter free spaces (even if things like clothes horses are just moved out of the room while a photo is taken), ensuring any signs of cats/dogs are hidden, can make a huge difference in my opinion.

I sold my house without an estate agent and took all the photos myself. I maximised the light by ensuring to photograph at sunny times and captured the sun coming in through the front and back of the house. This required more time than an estate agent might have as the photos had to be taken at different times of the day to catch the sun as it moved into different rooms at different times of the day. The effort proved worth it.

ted1

Cut the grass, trim the bush. Declutter, remove excess furniture. Have the kitchen counters clear. Give the wall a lick of paint. Or wash the walls with sugar soap. Wash the tiles with baking soda
Blue yoke in the toilet, light a candle in there too.
The down any net curtains.

whereto now

ted1 wrote: »

Cut the grass, trim the bush. Declutter, remove excess furniture. Have the kitchen counters clear. Give the wall a lick of paint. Or wash the walls with sugar soap. Wash the tiles with baking soda
Blue yoke in the toilet, light a candle in there too.
The down any net curtains.

Great tips from everyone. ..I'm glad I asked. .. Thanks

TheDriver

heat the place well beforehand, no one likes imagining themselves in a cold house. Also some nice baking smell always goes down well. And make sure the smelly wheelie bin is around the back out of the way.

seamus

Yeah, as others have said; neat, tidy & decluttered. I've gone to view houses that were perfectly nice but far too cluttered, and it instantly turns you off them.

The small things also tend to matter - a broken window blind, small cracks or holes in plasterwork, dirty kitchen tiles, etc. Sounds like inane stuff, but if it shows that the current homeowner doesn't pay much attention to the little things, then what big costs are hidden that you can't see?

I found it really ironic when we were preparing our place for viewings that I made a list of all those tiny repair/decorating jobs that have needed to be done for two years and ticked them all off in about two weeks. Why didn't I just do them before?

On the pictures/photos thing, I wouldn't remove them. It's never turned me off a property and I think a property with no photos will feel very bare and unhomely, like beds with no bedclothes on them. Some people like to remove them for privacy reasons, but running around scooping up all your photos seems like an unnecessary bit of hassle.

Thoie

You don't want to go for overwhelming smells throughout the house, but fresh baking is nice if you can bake. If you can't, freshly brewed coffee is another smell most people find pleasing (and you can also offer the visitors a cup).

A sneaky subconcious trick to make people think the place is cleaner than it is it to wipe some Pledge/nice smelling polish around the door frame before people arrive. Most people know what Pledge etc smell like, so if they get a whiff on entering they'll think the whole place has just been done. Obviously if there are 6 inches of dust on everything they'll notice, but it's handy if the place is generally clean, you just haven't had a chance to redo it today.

People make weird associations all the time without noticing. As someone else mentioned, toilet lids should be down for all visits and photos, but make sure the toilet itself is clean just in case they peek (or need to use the bathroom). Any mats, etc., in the bathroom should be hidden in the laundry bin - no matter how practical they are, they always look grubby/messy.

Manky toothbrushes (or, god forbid, toilet brushes) are also a turn off. If your toothbrushes aren't new, give the handles a wipe down.

the_syco

mortimer33 wrote: »

1. Make a shortlist of estate agents and see them in action. Go to viewings they're hosting and see how they deal with the public. I was shocked by some of estate agents I saw. Some of the agents I saw turned up unkempt /appeared disinterested.

On this, ring the EA when you know they're not there, and leave a message asking about some house, and for them to contact you. If they don't contact you, blacklist them. Some EA's don't get back to you, so probably best to avoid them.

TheDriver wrote: »

Also some nice baking smell always goes down well.

On this, buy the "just add water and egg" pre-mix in Tescos, etc, if you don't cook much yourself and leave all the doors open when cooking to spread the smell about.

filbert the fox

How about getting a quote including VAT from the EA first. Then get a few more and get them to compete for your business. The rest can come later;)

Uno my Uno.

filbert the fox wrote: »

How about getting a quote including VAT from the EA first. Then get a few more and get them to compete for your business. The rest can come later;)

The rate of VAT is not a secret, simply add 23%

filbert the fox

Uno my Uno. wrote: »

The rate of VAT is not a secret, simply add 23%

My point entirely, why quote a price which is unattainable?

You don't go into a shop and get quoted pre vat prices so why is the property market/ legal world sooooooooooooooooo special?

Uno my Uno.

filbert the fox wrote: »

My point entirely, why quote a price which is unattainable?

You don't go into a shop and get quoted pre vat prices so why is the property market/ legal world sooooooooooooooooo special?

Prices are quoted ex VAT because not everyone who uses those services is liable to pay VAT on them. It also makes it entirely clear what the fees are and what the taxes are. As long as it is made very clear that an Ex VAT quote does not include the taxes there should be no issue.

filbert the fox

Uno my Uno. wrote: »

Prices are quoted ex VAT because not everyone who uses those services is liable to pay VAT on them. It also makes it entirely clear what the fees are and what the taxes are. As long as it is made very clear that an Ex VAT quote does not include the taxes there should be no issue.

just letting the OP know how these things work, BTW who doesn't pay VAT and why?

Uno my Uno.

filbert the fox wrote: »

just letting the OP know how these things work, BTW who doesn't pay VAT and why?

People (usually companies, businesses or sole traders) who are registered for VAT can essentially claim the VAT back or Self account for it by balancing it against the VAT they charge on their own services. To be honest its very confusing to most people who aren't Tax Accountants and it makes my head hurt any time it comes up.

From our perspective when we aren't dealing with other business quoting fees ex VAT is most useful as it allows us to make clear what our fees are and exactly what we getting paid. People have a tendency to lump together things like Stamp Duty, Land Registry fees and other outlays as "legal fees" because they pay them to their lawyer when in fact all we do is pass the money directly on. This way it is clear what goes where.