When looking to sell their property, a significant number of people make simple mistakes that undermines their ability to sell their property quickly.  learn below what these mistakes are.

Mistake #1 - Not Being a Realist

Reality Check #1 - Are you prepared to experience "sellers remorse"

When selling property don't underestimate the strength of the emotional bond developed with your current home. If you're not prepared emotionally to move home, you will find it hard to accomplish the 3 jobs crucial to the success of your sale:

1. See your home (and all it's associated emotional attachment) as a house. It's a commodity to be sold and to make the best of it needs a cool business-like approach.
2. Be able to remain realistic about your price and the merits of any offers received.
3. Maintain the motivation, energy and critical eye needed to present your house in a way that gives you the best chance of selling at the highest price in the shortest time.

Reality Check #2 - Do you know the true condition of your property?

Haggling over your price becomes possible once house buyers find problems raised in the survey.  If you want to avoid this and put yourself in the best negotiating position possible, get to know the true condition of your property (before you put it on the market). Most owners have a pretty good idea of this however, if you are in any doubt, here's how to get the information you need:

1. Commission a pre-sale survey from a Chartered Surveyor. This will cost anywhere from £350 - £1,500 depending on the size and age of your property.
2. Invite two or three local builders to come and give your property a once-over.

Builders have an excellent grasp of the common defects that residential property suffers from. Most builders will do this for free if they think there's a job in the pipeline.  If the survey or the builder does find problems you can either:

1. Fix the faults and avoid having to drop your price later.
2. Get detailed quotes for the work needed. That way you'll know what a reasonable price reduction would be when buyers start haggling.

Reality Check #3 - Are you going to ask for too much money?

Everyone wants to sell for as much money as possible (that's only right & proper) however, there is always the temptation to 'test the market' and ask that little bit more. These days the Internet allows you to instantly compare all the property that's for sale in any area. Because of this, the vast majority of buyers are just too well informed to overpay. Remember, a property is only worth what a buyer is willing to pay for it (you can't force anyone to pay more, they will just walk away). What a buyer is willing to pay is directly linked to what other properties like yours are being advertised (& sold) for. It may seem counterintuitive but in reality, asking for more often leads to selling for less. Whereas, asking for less often leads to selling for more.  An unrealistic asking price will leave your home sitting unsold while all around others are selling-up and getting on with their lives.  On the other hand if you advertise your property competitively, you will attract buyers. The more you can attract the better because this breeds competition. Competition between buyers starts bidding wars and bidding wars result in higher sale prices.

Mistake #2 - Spending too Much Time & Money Renovating for Sale

When it's time to sell it's only natural to want to make the maximum profit possible.  Because of this, many house sellers are quick to believe that fitting a new bathroom suite or kitchen, will be a sure way to make a quick and easy last-minute profit.  Unfortunately, this is usually not the case and once fitting costs are factored-in, most last minute renovations projects barely break even.  Instead, keep in mind that painting, cleaning & refinishing surfaces have always been (and always will be) the easiest, quickest and cheapest ways of increasing the achievable sale price of a property.  When you're selling, it's far more profitable to just present what you have, as well as you can.
In other words, unless a room or element (e.g. The carpet) of your property is:
    1. Deeply unattractive
    2. In total disrepair
    3. Unsanitary

Good presentation does take time and effort but you will be rewarded by dramatically enhancing the saleability of your property.  To help you on your way, here is our eight-step plan to getting your property ready for sale:

    1. Clean your house from top to bottom, inside & out.
    2. De-Clutter.
    3. Finnish any DIY & catch-up on routine maintenance.
    4. Understand that first impressions count & spruce-up the outside.
    5. Depersonalise the interior.
    6. Go neutral (it's a clich‚ but it really does work).
    7. Define the use of each room.
    8. Eliminate bad odours.

It's not expensive to cover these eight points but putting in the effort will.

Mistake #3 - Not Forming Your Own Idea of Your Homes True Market Value Before Speaking to Estate Agents

We would urge you to get a feel for the market you'll be selling into and the value of your house before you speak to any Estate Agents.  It is well know in the property industry that Estate Agents often overvalue property to gain new business.  Flattery (i.e. giving a vendor an inflated idea of their properties value) is always a winning strategy. Unfortunately once the vendor has signed the agent's contract, it's often not long before price reductions are suggested.   A recent report from the consumer group Which? investigated the Estate Agency industry. Researches posed as sellers and invited 56 Estate Agents to value 14 properties across England.  In six cases the highest valuation was 25% higher than the lowest.  The most extreme case of inaccurate property valuation was in Tyne & Wear where the Halifax valued a home at £200,000, while Moody & Co suggested £325,000.  That's a £125,000 difference in valuation figures!

Falling victim to an inaccurate valuation is a horrible situation to be in however, it is easy to protect yourself:

1. Get a feel for the market by taking a look at the data available from the excellent Hometrack website.
       Their reports will tell you:

• If prices are moving up or down. 
• If there are more buyers than sellers active in the market (thus making it a "sellers market"). 
• What percentage of the asking price vendors are actually selling for. 
• How long it should take for you to sell.

2. Search for the prices that property like yours (in and around your street) recently sold for.
The Land Registry keeps a record of every UK sale. This data can be accessed again at sites like Hometrack.
If you can find property like yours that has sold within the last 4 months, you'll have a very reasonable indication of what your home will sell for.

3. Pretend that you're buying your current home all over again. Use Rightmove (the UK's largest property portal) to search for homes (in and around your street) and see what prices other vendors are asking.  Doing these 3 things will quickly give you a realistic idea of:

• The state of the market
• The value of your home

Also, never tell any agent another agent's valuation figure. It will just colour their valuation figure and take you further away from the truth.
 
Mistake #4 - Not Getting Under the Skin of Your Estate Agent's Contract

Under section 18 of The Estate Agents Act, before an estate agent enters into any contract with you:

1. They must tell you what their fee will be.
2. They must detail any additional charges (e.g. For advertising and 'For Sale' boards)
3. Explain the circumstances in which you will have to pay their fee.
4. They must tell you if they or any of their associates has a personal interest in the transaction.

This must be presented to you in writing (normally via a 'Terms of Business' overview document) otherwise the agent will not be able to enforce payment of their fees without a court order.

Also, The Estate Agents' (Provisions of Information) Regulations 1991 makes it clear that if the terms:

• Sole agency
• Sole selling rights
• Ready, willing & able purchaser

Are used by the agent, these terms (their meaning & their effects) need to be explained to you (again in writing).

It's worth pointing out that the law only requires agents to make you 'aware' of their terms of business. Once the Agent has done this, your agreement with them could be considered legally binding - Even if you don't actually sign a formal contract!  Always insist that once terms of business have been negotiated a contract is drafted that reflects your agreement and with which you're happy.  Get it all in writing so that if anything goes wrong you have a signed document for reference and protection.  There are far too many Estate Agents in the UK at the moment. This is because there are no barriers to entry (no license or qualifications are required to set-up as an Estate Agent).  Because of this you need to recognise that Estate Agents are desperate for your business and so you're the one in control (the one who can call the shots).  In short, Estate Agents need you far more than you need them!  There are a myriad of unfavourable terms that you can find tucked away in the standard Estate Agent's contract. Although they'd love to tell you otherwise, everything from estate agent fees to tie-in periods are negotiable.

Mistake #5 - Not Instructing Your Conveyancer Early

By early we mean, before you choose an estate agent and begin marketing your property!  These days most conveyancing firms work on a "No-sale, no-fee" basis. Therefore there is no cost or risk in making your conveyancer the first person you talk to when thinking about selling.  Since Home Information Packs have been introduced, this has become even more important.   This HIP will cost between £250 - £550 but most providers (whether it?s a solicitor, estate agent or independent pack provider will have deferred payment options).   If there is one message that we'd like to get across it's that an estate agent is the last person you should let arrange your Home Information Pack.   Your conveyancing solicitor is far better placed to do this job. After all, the pack is predominately made up of searches (legal documents traditionally requested by a buyer?s solicitor during the conveyancing process) and an Energy Performance Certificate.   If you do make the mistake of having an estate agent arrange your HIP, here are some things you need to be aware of:

1. You will have played directly into estate agents' hands. Let them arrange your HIP and you will have given them excessive control over you and your sale.
2. If you become unhappy with their service and want to change agent, expect to be charged a withdrawal fee to release your HIP (this effectively marks the end of "no-sale, no-fee" estate agency).
3. Many may insist that you sign a contract that gives them 'Sole Selling Rights'. This means that even if you find a buyer yourself, you'll still have to pay the agent's fee.
4. Having control over your sale may well give agents greater leverage in being able to sell you services that they'll earn commission from. These services are seldom the best value and in some cases overpriced due to the incorporation of the agents referral fee.

The larger (corporately funded) estate agency chains may try to seduce you with offers of a totally free HIP but is this really free? Frankly, the answer is probably no! The cost will most likely be wrapped in a higher commission fee. Far better you shop around for a competitively priced and recommended conveyancer. See what they can do for you first.  What's more, having your HIP in place before you choose an estate agent will probably enable you to save a substantial amount of money.  You should certainly be able to negotiate a reduction in their selling commission.   For example, on a £250k property, even if you're only able to negotiate a reduction on their all-inclusive HIP fee of 0.25%, you'll have saved £625 + VAT and retained the ability to go elsewhere if the agent does not perform.  With estate agents' reputation being what they are, the last thing you want is to be tied to sub-standard agent. The only escape being the payment of a marketed-up withdrawal fee. You'll also be able to negotiate terms of business that will allow you to avoid having to pay the agent if you find a buyer yourself.