Selling property and marketing options

Taking the decision to sell your home and move to a new home is not one most of us take lightly. When it does happen you need to ensure you have all your ducks in a row so the process runs as smoothly as possible.

As the saying goes, fail to prepare, prepare to fail and this is certainly applicable when you want to move home. The first step is to find out how much your home is worth. Online tools will help, however, calling in two or three local estate agents will give you a more accurate guide. These days, there is more choice than ever before, as you are able to use a traditional agent or an online, fixed fee, agent. The simple truth is that different things work for different people so it’s worth exploring both types of agents to get a feel for what is going to best suit you.

Traditionally, agents have put billboards up outside your house, which can attract passers-by and those driving by, especially if you live on a main road. They may also take out a local newspaper advertisement. This might be by way of a regular feature in their own advert – usually a show and tell type of feature, where there is a photo of your property and a little text, including details on its size, style, location and price. Of course, with this type of marketing, your property will be shown alongside many others.

Alternatively, you could pay for your own advertisement, through the agent. As you would expect, the more you pay, the bigger the advert. If you are selling a property that might attract the more mature buyer, newspaper advertising may well be the most suitable way to market it. First time buyers and those with growing families might find the ease of online searching, particularly through the well known aggregate websites, a better way to find properties.

Some find they wish to place an advert independently and hope the right buyer is looking at the right time. This will work if you are comfortable with the process and you feel you are not going to need an estate agent to handle everything for you.

There are e-estate agents popping up now, too. As you aren’t in a position to visit their premises, it’s important that you look very carefully into how they operate.

Once you have established which route or routes you wish to take, the next choice is how to handle physical viewings. Do you want to show people around yourself? Or would you rather the agent use their skills? Also do you want to have people coming round at various times or, as has become popular in recent years, would you like an ‘open day’. This is where all viewers visit on the same day, at a set time, based on a strict timetable agreed between you and the agent. Your agent will then assess the potential buyers and put forward the ones who seem the most likely to get things moving for you. 

So, you have your buyer and you are looking for your new home. It’s time to make the dream happen by formalising everything. Choosing the right solicitor for your sale – and purchase – is vital at this point, as is choosing the right mortgage option if you need one, where a good whole of market mortgage broker can help. With the help of a qualified surveyor to value your current and prospective new home along the way, this should get you over the line.