Pricing too high can be as bad as pricing too low.

• If you list too high you may miss buyers in the price range where your home should be.
• You may not even get offers because you will have scared off interested buyers and they won’t bother to look.
• When you do get the price right you will have lost a lot of possible customers and wasted time.
• Your estate agent will suggest a price that compares with other similar properties for sale.
• When you get a property valuation the estate agent will assess your home's true market value and put your house up for sale at a realistic price.
  
  

Minor repairs make your house easier to sell, allowing you to maximise your return or minimise loss on the sale.

• Most buyers are looking for a house in good condition that they can move into straight away.
• Buyers who are willing to do the repairs after moving in automatically take the cost of this work off the price they offer.
• You save nothing by not doing necessary repairs, and you may slow down the sale of your home.
• Buyers probably won't even come inside your home if they do not like the look of it from outside.
• Many buyers drive past a house before deciding whether or not to look inside.
• The outside of your house will have less than a minute to make a good first impression.
• Mow the lawn, trim shrubs and trees, and weed the garden. Clear paths and drives of leaves and other rubbish.
• Repair gutters and eaves, touch up the exterior paint and repair or resurface cracked drives and paths.
• Place flowers in pots and/or hanging baskets at the front of the house near the door.

Buyers will not hesitate to walk out of the front door within 60 seconds if the house doesn't look and feel as if they could make it their home.

• Most buyers are looking for an inviting home they can move into straight away.
• Spending some money for necessary work on your home before you sell it usually makes sure you get a better price and sell more quickly.
• Your estate agent will advise you which repairs and replacements are most important to get a sale at the right price.
• Do not get carried away with repairs and replacements to your home, as you may end up over-improving the house.
• Be careful that the cost of your improvements does not exceed the amount of additional money they will bring in when you sell. Make sure your improvements to not raise the value of your home too far above that of other similar houses in your area, as you may not get your money back when you sell.
• You cannot expect improvements to increase your sale price in excess of 20% than that for a comparable home in your neighbourhood whatever you do or spend.
• Your estate agent can advise you as to improvements that will raise the value of your home when you sell.

Offering flexibility in financing options may encourage more prospective buyers.

• Consider offering to pay some of the sellers completion costs or include a one-year home warranty, or other buyer incentives.
• Your estate agent can advise about incentives for buyers
  
  

Results are poorer for sellers who attempt to sell their homes on their own and find they cannot complete the sale without the help of an estate agent.

• Sellers who sell their home without a real estate agent often do not get the best price for their property.
• As your home is probably your biggest asset it makes sense to take the professional advice of a qualified estate agent when you want to sell it.
  
  

Prospective buyers will feel more like the house could be theirs if the current owners are not there.

• If you are in the house during a viewing it can make buyers feel like they are intruding.
• They need to be able to visualise your house as their home. This can be difficult when you being around remind them it is still your home.
• Your estate agent will be pleased to show people around your home and will know when to leave them alone to look and talk by themselves.

If you approach the sale of your home as the buyer’s adversary, you risk losing a perfectly solid buyer for no good reason.


Both you and the buyer have the same goal: for you to sell your home and for the buyer to buy it. Work with your real estate agent to approach negotiations positively and with a win-win frame of mind.

You should reply immediately to an offer!

When a buyer makes an offer, that buyer is, at that moment in time, ready to buy your home. Moods can change, and you don't want to lose the sale because you stalled in replying.

A guide to selling your house at the right time and at the right price

If you are not in a hurry to sell your house then you have the luxury of timing your sale for the best possible price.

When is the right time?

• Generally, the market tends to be stronger in the spring and then picks up again in the late summer and early autumn. Your property will obviously sell quicker when the market is strong and demand is high. Therefore, keep an eye on the property market and time your sale well.
• House sales are also affected by interest rates. Few people are willing to take out a £200,000 mortgage when the Bank of England has just voiced intentions of raising interest rates by two percentage points.
• What is happening in your neighbourhood? If there are already a few “For Sale” signs on your street, it might be better to wait a while. Ask Estate Agents what they are selling and search online property transaction databases for sales in your area.
• If you are looking to buy a new home as well as selling your own home, it is recommend that you put your house up for sale before you start looking for new properties. Some buyers even wait until they have had an offer made on their property before they start looking. You will then be able to time the process much better because you will have an idea how quickly you can sell and you can estimate the price your new home can be.

Negotiate the right price.

Your negotiating power as the seller will be affected by the following factors: 

• Amount of interest in your property - if offers are flooding in, you pick and choose as you wish, however if your property has been on the market for some time with no real interest, the weaker your negotiating position as a seller
• Current market conditions - if demand exceeds supply, then you can expect to receive a favourable price for your home. However, if the market is slow, you will not have the same negotiating power
• Condition of the property – you will find it harder to negotiate the more repair work that needs to be done on your property
• Time pressure – the tighter your time scale to move, the weaker your position in negotiations Sentiment – Selling your home can be a very emotional time. But you are selling it so try to keep your emotions out of negotiations. 

The negotiating power of the buyer will be affected by the following factors:

Chain or no chain - buyers who are not involved in a chain (someone has to buy their property before they can buy yours), are in a better negotiating position to those who are. Look for those who are:

• First time buyers
• In-between homes (might be renting now)
• Buying with cash
• Investing (this won't be their residence)
• Mortgage status - buyers whose mortgages have been pre-approved will be a better position than those who have to wait for the paper-work to be processed.
• Time Pressure - as with the seller, the tighter your time scale to move, the weaker their position in negotiations

The Estate Agents role

• The estate agent works for the seller and they will try and get the highest possible price for your property, as their commission is directly affected by the sale price
• While the agent wants the highest commission possible, they also would rather get something than nothing. It is therefore in their interest to put both parties in a win-win situation.
• The agent will be more realistic than the seller about the sale of the property as they should know the condition of the market.

Not selling?

• Reduce the price - if no one is buying, chances are the price is too high. Talk to your estate agent and check the prices of similar properties in your neighbourhood. What have they been selling for? Should you wait a bit longer? After all you can’t put the price up again …
• Play the field - if you are currently only dealing with one estate agency, you might consider instructing more agencies. This may introduce some healthy competition between agencies.
• Take it off the market - if you are selling because you want to not because you need to, then this is a viable option. You may want to wait months or years for a slow market to recover.
• Wait it out - if your property is not sparking much interest at the current price, and the market conditions are not dramatically changing, there is little reason to believe that keeping your home on the market at its current asking price will succeed. The longer a property is on the market, the less desirable it appears to buyers.