House Selling - Money Saving Tips

Mr_Snails

Hello all.
As an agent myself and also someone who has bought and sold a few houses as a client, I would like to offer the following advice.

Take time to do your homework, as a seller- get as many valuations as possible from different agents, talk to friends & acquaintances who have recently sold a property, ask about their experiences with their agent.
Don't necessarily put your house on the market with an agent who offered you the highest value to your property, some agents use this to tempt you onto their books.
Always always read the small print on any legally binding document before you sign it. Remember ,you do not have to sign it there & then. Take your time to read/ digest & compare. Alarms bells should ring if an agent becomes pushy.
The agency I work for (not one of the big boy's, but I have worked for these in the past) have a policy in place where the individual agent who took the property on the market, is allocated that deal from start to completion. We have found (in our company anyway) that this solves communication issues between the vendor and the agent.
Solicitors-(without dissing any that are reading this) ,they are just as frustrating to deal with for us as agents .Yes, they appear to always be at lunch or on the golf course, if you cannot get hold of them,neither can we.
Again, do your homework when looking for a good & communicative Solicitor.

I hope these basic steps help you

needles

Hi Marcus,

Thanks for all your tips. We're midlife, 2nd marriage & overstretched. We need to sell our house quickly and for as much as possible. In view of how we feel (desperate!!) do you think we're better to keep out of the way and let the agent show the house and negotiate price (so buyers can't 'smell the fear') or are we better to be mr & mrs nice couple, showing them round ourselves??

We're having a mega clear up and following of your advice this weekend and going on the market next week.

Thanks for your help

Doozergirl

It really depends ont he agent you have but I think that generally, the venodr showing people around is a good thing, unless you can't stop talking... in which case, the other half of the couple should do the viewing. I'd avoid the EA doing it unless it is a particularly good EA that focusses on sales and has negotiators doing the viewings, not just 'key turners' as I call them.

My H is not allowed to do viewings ever. I had one viewing with a man who insisted on pointing out every plug socket to me; not good.

carolynb_3

Any help out there. At my wits end selling my house since May. Had good offer for last twelve weeks. Bought new house anyway as needed lots of work. Now here my buyer has lent a relation money and cant proceed until gets it back. Should know by Monday. Put it back on market in despair and having nightmare with 3 agents supposed viewings. Never call me back. One didnt turn up as didnt pick up voice message they left. Agents driving me insane now and as desparate to sell just about hanging in there by calling them endlessly. Wasted all of today waiting for calls back.

So, do I change agent at this stage or pray my original buyer comes good. Annoyed he kept this info secret as says he thought he'd have money back by now. Offering to exchange and then rent with 3 months to complete.

HELP. Think I am losing it.

jodaniels

Hiya I was getting hassled by estate agents to sell my house and I came across this website, quite hilarious www.notgoinganywhere.co.uk

Polly

Have followed the great advice on this thread (many thanks especially to OP) and now have EA in place at a price I'm happy with. Didn't go with the highest valuation (or even the second highest) but this firm really impressed me so got the sign up today and the ball is rolling. However, they have just sent me the paperwork to sign and I notice that I am being tied in for 14 weeks sole agency. This was never discussed and I'm uneasy about it but don't want to sour the good relationship that we've got going just as things are kicking off. How do I get round this without upsetting anyone?

Doozergirl

Just call them up and tell them what you want. They can take or leave it. Many agents are flexible on terms.

I hope you knocked them down on price!

stephimoon

Hey everyone, just a quick favour, if that's okay.

My boyfriend has set up a website called http://www.FreePropertyAdvert.com. If you're selling your property privately, it would be great if you would consider advertising it on his site, it's completely free of charge and you can upload as many photos and put as much information on the site as you want. It's very user friendly. He's just starting out with the site and he needs as much support as possible.

Thanks!

oap

Hi anybody who can help, my friend wishes to purchase a property and the Agent says there is an offer on it and he has to better it, however, the Agent has not told him what the offer is, also the property is a Bank repossession, does the Agent have to say what the offer is, if my friend offers the asking price subject to survey, would that clinch the deal, and could he reduce the price if the survey throws up any real problems, thanks, any help asap would really help, regards oap ( In Wales, not Scotland) thanks again.

oap

Yes a good idea, but there is probably a risk in who you let in your house.
Regards oap