When to sell?? 1st time seller!

kkkatie

Hi everyone.

I need some advise please as I'm a little out of my depth!

I bought my 1 bed flat in the Bournemouth area 4 years ago on a 100% mortgage (yikes!). I've been lucky and have probably made a few thousand on it, which is more than I had to start with. I now want to buy somewhere with my partner, however I'm lacking in knowledge as to when to put it on the market having never sold before.

Basically (I think) I can't complete on a sale of before the 1st November as I am tied into a fixed rate until then. It has a £3600 early repayment charge so that is not an option. Also we do not want to take the mortgage with us to the next property as it has such a high rate on it due to the 100% issue. So all that considered when is best to put it on the market? I was thinking about September?! I don't want to cause a massive chain but equally I don't want to wait around to sell it. I realise that it all depends on the market and if anyone actually wants a 1 bed flat in my area but from what I have heard 1 beds are generally in demand down here. Maybe I'm being incredibly naive but I am thinking it will go fairly quickly as is well presented, garden, driveway, large rooms etc.

Any advise greatly appreciated as this is all new to me.

Many thanks

pawpurrs

Its a very difficult one, but I would get it on ASAP, average time frame three mths once you have a buyer takes you there now. Selling could be quick or it could take years, such is the market at the moment, and theres no rhyme nor reason in that, some lovely places take forever and some dumps sell instantly, price has something to do with it, but sometimes it just takes longer than you think. Once you have a buyer, you cn explain the penalty clauses and state when you would be ready to complete.
Have you got a deposit together for the next house?

sonastin

Have a look at what is actually happening in your area at the moment. How many one bed flats are on the market at the moment? How long are they staying on the market before they sell? What sort of competition would you be facing?

Websites like mouseprices, zoopla, nethouseprices, home.co.uk etc can all give you an idea of what is happening in your area. That will give you a better idea of how quickly you might be able to sell it.

Wobblydeb

I'd put it on the market now. You can explain when you accept any offer that completion would be in November. 3 months from marketing to completion is not unusual. Mine took 5 months and I had plenty of viewings!

Linton

Agreed - put it on the market now. Getting from that point to completion can easily take 6 months or longer.

If you find a buyer quickly there is no problem in giving November for completion.

Doozergirl

August is notoriously quiet. I would have the estate agents on now to value, take your time and get a few in - you might as well.

Sign your contract at the beginning of september and viewings will hopefully surface once the kids are back at school. We have a habit of being ready for market on our big houses in August and every agent has always told us to hang fire to get the best result in the second week of September. Last year we had a little pic in the paper on thursday, viewings turning up that evening, pics on rightmove on Saturday, ten viewings by Sunday and SSTC on the Tuesday.

You do have an influx in the first week which is greater than subsequent weeks so I'd hit the market fresh with those rightmove notifications and the 'new' ad in the paper going out when people aren't on holiday. Spend the next couple of weeks getting totally ready for market. Clean skirting boards and everything!

kkkatie

Thanks everyone for the advice. I'll definately get the whole process started ASAP. Doozergirl, thanks for the info, Im going to take a few weeks to smarten the place up so the second week is September is porbably a pretty realistic time frame to aim for.

Anyone got any pearls of wisdom regarding how best to present the place to help it achive it's potential? I'm a good spring clean/declutter with a bit of touch up painting involved. Also thought I'd jet wash the outside space to spruce it up a bit. Is there anything else I should really focus on though? What will buyers notice that I dont?

Thanks

mrstinchcombe

I posted a similar post as I am also in a similar situation to the OP (albeit with longer to run on the fixed rate).

Even if you completed earlier than expected could you not transfer your original mortgage to the new property. You say you don't wish to because of the high rate but you would only be paying this high rate until the end of the fixed term (which you are doing anyway). At the end you could then get out and go for a new mortgage with a better rate? Surely you wont be any worse off for doing this?

Cannon_Fodder

[IMG]http://www1.landregistry.gov.uk/houseprices/housepriceindex/report/default.asp?g=1&gt=1&a=Bournemouth&s=01 June 2006&e=01 June 2010&t=1[/IMG]

You need to get in several EAs, ask them to value it realistically.

kkkatie

mrstinchcombe wrote: »

I posted a similar post as I am also in a similar situation to the OP (albeit with longer to run on the fixed rate).

Even if you completed earlier than expected could you not transfer your original mortgage to the new property. You say you don't wish to because of the high rate but you would only be paying this high rate until the end of the fixed term (which you are doing anyway). At the end you could then get out and go for a new mortgage with a better rate? Surely you wont be any worse off for doing this?

No don't really want to do this as firstly it was my decision to take on high rate, not my partner, therefore it's not really fair. Also would end up paying a fee to add him to the mortgage then another fee to start a new one within a few months of each other, Just doesn't make money sense.

kkkatie

Cannon_Fodder wrote: »

You need to get in several EAs, ask them to value it realistically.

Thanks for that, I'm well aware that I am selling at a bad time but do know for sure that I've made a few thousand as got a bargain back in 2006.