PLANNING TO SELL

When considering selling your home achieving the best price in the shortest possible time should be your aim. You have more chance of achieving your aim if your property is exposed to the widest possible market.
Remember there is no prefixed price for a house. Do all you can to ensure that you maximise the amount you sell your home for.

WHAT DETERMINES HOUSE PRICES
Like all prices, house prices are determined by law of demand and supply: the greater the demand the greater the price and vice versa. A number of factors that affect house prices are:
• Size
• Location
• Plot size
• Condition; and
• Tenure (freehold or lease hold) of a property.

The state of the property market in the given area, including the strength of the local economy, the national economy, or the interest rates, can also have a crucial effect on prices.
Actual prices achieved (not the asking price which are sometimes way over the top) on other properties in the area are a good indication of what price is achievable.
The more individual a property is the more difficult, it is to value accurately.

WHEN TO SELL

There really isn’t a right or wrong time to sell, more often than not when you do sell, circumstances will indicate. AOB ESTATE AGENTS like most agents will tell you that spring is the busiest time of the year, followed by autumn, and certainly if you want the maximum number of buyers looking around your house, these are ideal times to market it. One important factor you must always consider is how long it will usually take to get your home ready for viewing.

HAVING DECIDED TO SELL
If using an agent, remember that the agent has a lot to do before he can market your home. More than often this includes organising the photography and floor plans, measuring up, printing of the details, sometimes awaiting your approval of the printed details and preparing the advertisement. The time spent on the preparatory work can reap considerable benefits when the actual marketing starts.

FIRST IMPRESSION

EXTERNALLY

If your property is shabby, dirty and if the paint appear to be peeling outside, the viewer will most certainly assume that the inside is also shabby, and dirty with the paints peeling and may just decide there not to purchase. If your home is a flat, it is worth taking into account what the potential buyer thinks before entering the flat. The following tips will assist in selling your home more quickly.

Remove bicycles, prams, toys, and other objects from the path and porch areas
Where applicable make sure the front and rear garden is neat and tidy
Where possible ensure all bins are hidden. If you live in a block of flats a length of fencing or bamboo sheeting may assist in achieving this.
Remember to do all things before viewings times as you would not like potential buyers tripping over paint pots and ladders.

INTERNALLY

What the potential buyer sees on entering your home will the difference between receiving an offer quickly and having your home on the market a little longer. You never get a second chance to create a first impression.

Make sure the walls and doors are clean, repainting may be most suitable. When choosing the colour scheme try to keep to pale neutral as these help the house to look more spacious.
Replace all light bulbs where necessary, make sure electrical appliances are in full working order.
Full decoration may not be necessary but all small DIY jobs should be attended e.g replacing broken door knobs, sash cords, peeling wall paper

The two most important part of the house, which affects the sale of your home, are the kitchen and the bathroom. So transforming your kitchen or bathroom could set you back a bit and it could add thousands to the asking price.

ESTATE AGENTS: CHOOSING THE RIGHT ONE FOR YOU

At AOB ESTATE AGENTS we operate in a fair and open manner on behalf of our customers, we act effectively and charge reasonable fee for our services. We advertise both locally and nationally, our for sale boards are prominent and occasionally updated to compete with other estate agents board in the area. We also advertise by using leaflets, our office is well presented with the latest computer and communication technologies and occupies a prominent position on the high street, exposing your property particulars to a wide a range of passers by and customers.
It is often very hard to judge the effectiveness of an estate agents service until after you have instructed them, the bullet points below should be the minimum expectations from a good estate agents
• Visit a few local agencies and test the reception. Do you get a friendly reception?
• Do their details look attractive? Is the window display appealing? Are they well located?
• Make sure they are qualified professionals, as most of the problems occur with people who have set themselves up as estate agents without qualifications at all. Are they members of any professional bodies.
• Are you able to develop a rapport with them? Would they keep you fully updated?
• What fees are they charging you?
• Where your estate agent is introducing a solicitor, investigate and ensure they are well recommended by locals.

If you would like a valuation from a professional firm of estate agent, please click on the 'Finding Us' button for contact details of your local branch.