Category: Sellers

Spring is just around the corner and is always welcome in Caithness after our long dark winters.  It is a popular time for people to start thinking about moving.  What can you do to get prepared and organized to ensure you are ahead of the competition, that your home stands out and that you ultimately get the best price?  

Here are our top 7 tips!

1. Kerb Appeal

First impressions last.  A well-kept, neat and tidy exterior is key.  Spending some time to tidy up the garden, path and clean the front door and windows can make all the difference.  Add some fresh potted plants either side of your door and maybe give your door a fresh coat of paint.  Anything which immediately shows the buyer that your home is a well-kept property gets things off to a great start.

2. Spring Clean

Buyers notice little things, so take time to give your house a good spring clean.  Get into every nook and cranny and tackle cobwebs, dust on skirting boards and other overlooked areas.  Open your windows and let the spring air freshen your house and remove cooking or pet odours.

3. Tackle Small Maintenance Jobs

In Scotland our Home Report has to be completed before the property can go on the market.  Use this to address any repairs that could help the sale.  Take a look around and replace any broken bulbs, touch up grubby or chipped paintwork, etc.

4. Declutter

We all love our ornaments and keepsakes but too many of them on display can stop the buyer from envisioning their belongings in the space.  Also overflowing cupboards can give the impression that there is not enough storage.  Take the opportunity to consider whether you need to keep something, recycle, donate or throw away.  This will also make packing once your house is sold moving so much easier and quicker.

5. Let There Be Light

A sunlit room lifts the mood and makes people feel happier!  Tie back curtains or open/tilt your blinds.  Remove anything that may be blocking the natural light such as plants and ornaments and give your windows a clean inside and out.

6. Dress Your Kitchen

We spend a lot of time in our kitchens, so make yours as inviting and relaxing as possible.  Clear the work surfaces.  Make sure the sink is clean and clear of dishes.  Clean the floors.  Create an inviting space by adding touches like a bowl of fruit or some potted herbs on the window sill (much better than fairy liquid).

7. Get Outdoors

We are coming out of winter and our gardens are getting ready to burst into life and colour.  Until then, make sure the garden is tidy, clear away leaves and dead plants, prune your shrubs and trees.  If you have garden furniture, give it a clean and perhaps a paint to freshen it up.  Show buyers there is space to enjoy in the summer months.

These simple tips are written to help you make your home stand out and get the best price.  We have lots of tips that we can share and would love to give you your own tailored plan to help you achieve the best price for your home.

Why not give us a call and take advantage of our FREE valuation and marketing consultation and take the opportunity to chat with us about what you can do to make sure you get a great price for your home and a quicker sale.

If you found out tomorrow you needed to have open heart surgery, what kind of questions would spring to mind?

Here’s what I’d be asking…

What’s the success rate?

What are the risks?

What’s the experience of the surgeon? Both in terms of qualifications and number procedures carried out?

And maybe a few more too.

We can all agree that the more experience someone has in doing something, the more successful they will be at it, right?

So, back to selling your property

In my years selling property, I can count on 1 hand the number of times I’ve been asked questions like:

What are the risks? (by the way, there are many when embarking on moving house)

What’s your experience? (how long have you been an agent and how many sales have you handled?)

What’s your success rate? (both in terms of % of asking price achieved, days to secure a buyer and sale agreed to exchange success rate)

So why?

Why don’t people ask these questions when they’re clearly REALLY important when it comes to having a smooth, minimal stress, successful sale?

Many people ask what are your fees and how much can you get for my house… then choose either the highest valuation or lowest fees, or both.

Yet 75% of the population don’t trust estate agents… maybe that’s because 75% of the population choose the wrong estate because they aren’t choosing based on enough research or the right questions!

You can see what I’m getting at here right?  Smoothly handling property sales (and negotiating the best outcome for a client) requires skill, practice, expertise, commitment and experience. Not £900 and a login area to get your house on rightmove.co.uk.

The ONE thing I would like you to take from this if you are planning on moving house/sell a property… THINK! It might sound cheap, but what is the overall cost?

Probably the most common question I ever get asked is: 

Should I find a suitable house to buy and then put my house on the market or secure a buyer first then start looking?

So here’s the answer, and it’s very simple… 

Secure a buyer for your property FIRST (assuming you need to sell your current property to buy your next).

Hopefully you would have done your research by speaking to estate agents, browsing online and driving round some areas you wish to buy in before even deciding to sell.

You need to make sure your expectations are realistic and by all means start viewing some potentially suitable houses to make sure what you will want to buy is realistic for your need.

But, don’t get too emotional and try not to fall in love with a house until you have an offer on your property.

Why? I have listed just a few reasons below:

If you are ‘proceedable’ (i.e. are able to proceed with the purchase if your offer is accepted), the reality is you will be taken more seriously by the seller and the estate agent.

If you fall in love with a house (because buying a house is an emotional decision), and then put your house on the market, it is unlikely the person selling your dream home will take it off the market and wait for you to sell. This increases the chances of you losing the house which will always put you under more pressure to sell your own property which could result in you accepting a lesser price, not to mention increasing your stress levels!

With a buyer behind you, you are likely to be able to negotiate a better price rather than saying ‘I can pay X amount WHEN I have a buyer for my house and IF I get the price I am expecting’’

Until you have an offer on your property (whether you’ve accepted it or not) you don’t REALLY know how much money you have available to spend on your next house.

So remember, find a buyer and then find a house to buy!

Often, when we decide to sell our property, we simply engage an estate agent and then ask them to market it immediately. However, putting your house on the market at the wrong time of year for your particular buyers may mean that your property launch is more of a dribble. You need early and strong interest from buyers who want to move, and that takes a little planning.

The key is to know your buyer and plan according to their timescale, not yours. Different types of buyers like to move at different times of the year, according to their own needs. It’s not healthy for your eventual sale price, or for your emotional wellbeing, to have a property languishing on the market for months, so the better you can plan your launch, the more likelihood there is that your property will sell quickly.

Who buys when?

Young couples and singles: First time buyers often begin their first home search very early in the year. Perhaps they have spent one Christmas too many at home with their relatives, and realised it’s time to move out. Their search often starts in earnest in January and February, and their purchases at the lower end of the market – apartments and terraced homes – then supports the second and third time buyer market – semi-detached and detached homes. This, in turn, supports the larger properties, and so the cycle goes on. One thing to remember about young couples and singles, is that they tend to look at lots of different properties, and as they are not in a hurry, their search can go on for months, and even years. So be patient with them, and let them take their time to make up their minds.

Families: Family buyers tend to buy at three distinct times of year: autumn, spring and early summer. Do you recognise the significance of these times? They are school term times. Buyers with children don’t usually like to house hunt during the holidays. First, they have better things to do, perhaps going on holiday, and second, it’s a whole lot more stressful viewing a home when you have a bored and whiny child to contend with. Mums and Dads tend to wait until the children are in school, so they can view the house in peace.

Downsizers: Older couples and singles usually prefer to look at homes during the warmer months, so bungalows and retirement
homes will often languish on the market over the winter time. The elderly don’t want to venture out to look at homes in the rain and snow, and nor do they want to move house in the winter time. For them, summer is the ideal time to sell, and to buy, and this type of buyer tends to look at fewer properties, and make their minds up more quickly.

If you know who is most likely to buy your home, you can plan your launch to market more effectively. Remember that the less time your home is on the market, the closer to your asking price you are statistically likely to get, so plan for a quick sale!

If you are considering selling a property and would like to chat over the best selling times or anything else property related, I’d love to hear from you!

Whilst your home might be flawless in your own eyes, there are certain things that can instantly put buyers off. We aren’t talking furniture or dodgy décor (although, try to modernise if possible), but aspects of the house that can turn a nose up in a second. With this in mind, we have put together our tips-  3 things to look out for, before the buyers descend…

Bad Smells – Even if your home resembles something from Good Housekeeping’s most desirable homes pages, if there’s a whiff in the air, the buyers are going to care. House smells are top of the list when it comes to putting buyers off. Smells range from cigarette smoke and pets, to mould and mildew lingering in the air. Unfortunately, noses become accustomed to certain smells over time, so ask someone who doesn’t live in your home to smell the air. Don’t be offended if you don’t like the answer; they’re helping you out. Get rid of any bed smells so potential buyers come in to a fresh and clean atmosphere, not one that is filled with spray to cover the smells.

Unclean bathrooms – The bathroom is one of the most important rooms that people like to keep clean. A bathroom can make people dislike your home immediately if it isn’t spotless; if the bathroom is grubby and has mildew, they will wonder what other dirt lurks beneath the surface of your property. Extra cleaning is a must if you want to sell your home. Scrub your bathroom to perfection, paint the chipped walls, put in a new rug and fresh towels, and buy a clean shower curtain. Open the windows when buyers are looking around to let in some fresh air.

Damp Rooms – If you have a basement and don’t use it as a functioning room, you may experience some damp issues. Often it is caused by rainwater seeping into the foundations, and doesn’t necessarily mean you have a fault within the grounds. However, buyers won’t see it like this. If they smell damp, they think cost, or a delay in moving in while the damp is removed. Or even worse, recurring damp problems. This is a red light. To remove damp smells, determine where any water from outside is going. The smell could be caused by the drains being clogged, or rain gutters full of leaves. Investigate and resolve, or lose a sale.

Little things can make a big difference, and any effort you spend now will all be worth it later!