Great 'What I wish I'd known as a newbie house seller' Hunt

Nictopus

We thought our new place was wonderful after two viewings - sold on the stone, 1860's build, large original fireplace, unique character etc etc...
Of course all of this was masking the:
Rusty bath (didn't even know baths COULD rust) - hidden by towel put over edge.
Rotten kitchen unit - hidden with kitchen stuff on top :mad:
Nest of flase widow spiders under the oven - hidden by oven! :eek:
Damp in bathroom - hidden by recent paint job
Horrendous electrics - ok should have spotted that :eek:
Dodgy light switch - viewed during daytime:(

So in summary - scrutinise everything. Open cupboards, look behind units, test switches, taps, sockets. Sure, you're being nosey but for the sake of politeness is it worth spending hundreds of thousands on a dud!

Nictopus

oh, and don't rely on the basic survey. Did that one through EA's for £275 and they missed all those horrendous things. Basically just noted how there was a building there. Idiots!

gjohnson

There's a top tip right there - make sure you get a full structural suvey done! It always amazes me that people get basic valuation surveys done for the sake of saving £5-600 when spending tens of thousands on a house.

Who's the idiot in this situation - the buyer who did just that, or the estate agent/surveyor who performed the basic task you asked them for and paid for???

gjohnson

For selling, my top tip is to produce a sellers pack of your own to supplement the estate agents details and HIP. We are in the process of doing this, and including everything we can think of that we would want to know about a prospective purchase:

• Ofsted reports for the local schools;
• Bus/train timetables to the city centre;
• Local crime statistics;
• Details of the local community centre(s) and the activities/classes they run;
• Transferable guarantees for any work you've had done or any appliances you're leaving behind;
• Reports about recent house price sales and houses currently for sale in the area - the details of the house and the asking price. Maybe not suitable for everyone, but for us we think it demonstrates that we have researched the local market and can justify the price difference (+ or -) vs other houses in the area;
• Proximity to local parks or other places of interest;
• Even which are the best takeaways in our area...

As I say, pretty much anything we woudl want to know about a house we were buying. This not only demonstrates to buyers that you are a motivated seller, but hopefully also demonstrates that you are happy to be totally transparent about the sale of your house.

We used this to good effect a few years ago when we moved. We had produced a similar pack, and it helped us to defend most of the ..."I like the house, but the one round the corner is £20K cheaper" and "...I like the house, but I'm a bit worried that it needs re-wiring so I want to knock £5K off my offer". If you've been upfront about it in your pack, you can confidently state that you agree that it need rewiring or the house round the corner is £20K cheaper, but this house round the corner has a much smaller garden and no garage, and the rewiring was pointed out in the supplemental sellers pack and has therefore already been taken into consideration in the asking price.

And as a final thought, dont be press-ganged by EA's to accept a lower offer than you would like for a "quick sale" (unless you are absolutely desperate to move). Remember - they valued your house in the first place! At 1.25% comission, an offer £10K below your asking price means just £125 to them (which on a £200K house is the difference between £2500 and £2375), so they might not have your best interests entirely at heart when recommending low offers. I might be overly-cynical, but they might just be looking to sell fast and get their still-hefty commission?!?!

SW18

Do try and use a local solicitor to do your conveyancing. Even though you can use email for most things you will have to sign documents, send hard copies of originals and probably present yourself in person with id.

We moved late last year and spent an absolute fortune on sending everything Special Delivery and it delayed exchange of contracts.

Go with a personal recommendation (not from your estate agent though!) and negotiate a fixed fee.

John_Pierpoint

timmyt wrote: »

use a solicitor firm local to you. don't go cheap. [avoid selling through national estate agents] never pay less than £500 plus VAT for any sale or purchase. If you do you will have corners cut. Remember even £500 is less than anyone in the process (estate agent, surveyor, mortgage company) are charging, yet your lawyer is your friend and is simply looking after you. They have the most important job to make sure you legally get what you are paying hundreds of thousands for.

Go cheap, get cheap, but people still will.

Are you a lawyer ? Why do you need to check the colour of my eyes - why do I need to check yours?

If you are a seller, what you want is the money in your bank account, quickly with the minimum of hassle and without a fortune taken off.

I regularly buy and sell things on the net; why do I need to meet the figurehead of the organisation with whom I have established a contract?

That said back in the 1970's the solicitor (only they were allowed to charge for conveyancing even though it was the room full of clerks who did the work) and the Estate Agent charged about the same.
I would bet that the EA gets a lot more than the [STRIKE]lawyer[/STRIKE]conveyancer on the average transaction these days.

I used a low cost lawyer to sell and there was only one glitch - they used some sort of on-line identity service that had trouble recognising me:D In theory the Estate Agent can do an identity check and vouch for you to the conveyancing operation that can be anywhere cheap (ie not inside the M25).

John_Pierpoint

SW18 wrote: »

We moved late last year and spent an absolute fortune on sending everything Special Delivery and it delayed exchange of contracts.

I potentially could have had this problem, as I was selling just as the post office was thinking of going on strike.

So I went to see the buyers solicitor's office and said "We all want to get this job done as smoothly as possible don't we - so here is a sealed package for you to put into your DX (Document Exchange) system"
(It is a rival postal service Google for more details)

Didn't cost me a penny.

charlie2512

Consider using a small independent agent that charges a flat fee.
I wasted 12 weeks on a sole agency deal with a large agent. Luckily they were really hopeless & didn't sell my house and that saved me £2,500 in commission!
The day after that finished I signed up with a local guy who had recently set up on his own. He knew his stuff & took much better photos. Within 2 days I had an offer on my house which went through. The main agent would have charged £3,500 - I paid £1,000 on completion on a flat fee.
As so many people now look on rightmove initially, rather than visiting the different estate agents' shops, there is often no disadvantage in going for a small one with no shop so long as they list your property on there.

WickedAunt

Always clean and clear the house. Selling is the time to get all the little things done or fixed - if you don't they will trip you up later!
If necessary, rent or borrow a garage or storage space to assist with the declutter (not everyone can afford to throw out furniture, and buy new for the next house - but a clearer house looks better and more spacious).

Talk nicely to the neighbours. The last thing you need when showing buyers around is someone drilling, sawing, hammering, playing loud music, screaming at their kids ... when you're trying to convince a buyer it's a nice neighbourhood.

Speaking of kids - get rid of (temporarily, of course!) your own, or have a little talk with them before each viewing. (When I was buying, I was once told by the vendor's small child how noisy the next door neighbours were!). Check to make sure your kids haven't hidden anything unpleasant or smelly in their bedroom (good luck if you've got teenagers).

Remember that not everyone loves animals, and some people are allergic to pet hair. Try and contain your pets during a house viewing, and do warn buyers that you've got them, just in case. Don't allow a potential buyer to be greeted with dirty paws and an overenthusiastic lick from your dog.
Clean up any mess and dirt, especially around bird cages - and if your bird talks think carefully about what it might say (see kids above!).

If you smoke, be honest about it - in fact, be honest about your house.

RenStar

I'm sure some might disagree but my tip would be to think very carefully about using an agent with a fixed fee structure. My experience is that this gives them zero incentive to obtain the best price for your house, as regardless of what they sell it for, they would still get the same commission. If they are earning a percentage of the sold price, I find it makes them push just that bit harder for a better price because their fee also increases. Of course this very much depends on the value of your home - a fixed fee might be more cost effective for much higher value homes than a lower value home but you need to compare and see what works in your favour.

Finally, try not to use the mortgage broker, HIP provider and solicitors recommend by the agent, they won't act in your best interest and in the case of the mortgage broker, they don't always keep your max budget confidential.......