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Why selling your house in 2020 is not a good idea!

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The property market has been uncertain in the UK for some time mainly thanks to BREXIT which dominated the news for what seemed like forever. There were warnings of a stock market crash and this general economic uncertainty led to potential buyers and sellers holding off investing or moving until some type of concrete decision was reached.

Then in January we appeared to be entering a time of greater stability and optimism. Boris Johnson won the election with a landslide victory and this caused house sales to rise by 12%. It seemed as if buyers and sellers were finally awakened from the Brexit nightmare and all seemed set for a return to normality.  As we all know this was a short lived respite. Now the Coronavirus has wreaked worldwide chaos, estate agents have shut their doors, and most property deals are off!

The Coronavirus, Covid-19, will not last forever, and surely there will be light at the end of the tunnel one day, but so far the true implications of the economic crisis remain unknown.

According to estate agents and forecasters, it is predicted that the number of house sales will plummet in the UK.  Zoopla states that they are expecting 60% reduction in house sales over the second quarter of the year, when compared to 2019 figures.

The effect upon house prices remains unknown. There are no figures available and although house prices did rise at the beginning of the year, according to Nationwide and Halifax, this was curtailed once we all went into lockdown.

Once we all emerge from lockdown, the future looks very uncertain. It is highly likely that that many people will be facing evictions and repossessions thanks to insolvency and job losses. This could lead to a rise in the rental market so this area may be one that is worth investing in.

According to Zoopla, this outlook largely depends on how the government’s package of support for businesses and households reduces the scale of the economic impact.

That said if you are in a position to buy it might be a good time. Mortgage rates are currently low and it seems very likely that house prices will take a down turn so it is possible that the Coronavirus may have some financial advantages for buyers.

For sellers the future may not be quite as rosy.  You may be in a position of owning a house and wanting to sell but you may do better hanging on and renting it out until the economic market becomes more stable.

The financial experts are predicting an economic crash that will be worse than the crash of 2008 and possibly as bad as the 1929 depression. The Office for Budget Responsibility warns that the UK economy could shrink by 35% and cause 2 million job losses.

Overall, selling your house in 2020 may not be a good move unless you cannot avoid it. The housing market will recover and of course, nobody knows the future but for now the sensible option may be to hold tight and keep your options open.

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5 Different methods of selling your house

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We will here discuss the different methods available to home owners for selling your home.

Traditional
This is the tried and tested method that is centuries old, although modern technology has brought it into the 21st century. Previously an estate agent would just stick a poster of your house in their shop window, now however advertising your property on Zoopla & Rightmove is needed to find a buyer, or rather let the buyer find your house.
An estate agent will also take professional photos, arrange for an EPC, write a compelling description and be ready to take any interest. With each inquiry the estate agent will make sure to vet the potential buyer, making sure they have the funds or the ability to gain a mortgage to purchase your home, they will also help you with the negotiation process and then finally liaise with your solicitor until the monies in the bank and the keys are handed over.

This is by far the most stress free way of selling your home but it comes with a price tag as estate agents generally work on a percentage and charge a commission upon sale of your home.

Auction
Again a very old method, allowing for a quick sale but only to a limited market who are ready to purchase at that particular time or within a short time frame, typically 28 days.

Auctions are not suited for majority of sellers, they are best to ensure a quick sale as your house will be advertised in the auction catalog and even online just few weeks before the auction date. On auction day, if the seller has fixed the minimum price then the auctioneer will not sell below this price. The winning bidder must complete the purchase within a set period as stipulated by the contract signed on auction day. If the buyer fails to do this then there are heavy financial penalties involved so it’s in their best interest to avoid this.

Online Estate Agents
Online estate agents offer a very similar service to the traditional estate agent, its a complete home sale package, with professional pictures, floor plan, epc etc. The two major differences are that in most cases you pay upfront and you can save a lot of money as online estate agents charge a fraction of what it can cost with the traditional approach of paying a commission.

Online Auction
This is a very new yet an emerging way of selling your home, where you open your home up to large online audience of bidders, at the moment it is still quite new, but it is expected to be one of the leading ways of selling your home quick in the very near future.

It’s basically just like selling your house at an auction but there might not be a physical location for the auction, it will just be an online eBay style!

Do it yourself
The good old method of getting your hands dirty and doing all the work, saving huge sums of money but taking on a lot of headache and it can cost literally a few pounds depending on exactly how you choose to market your property.

For example, just sticking a for sale sign in the window will most likely not sell your house, if you seriously then you will indeed market your property online. You take some nice photos, write up a description then list your property on a free classified website such as Gumtree or advertise on Rightmove and Zoopla. There are websites out there who charge just £99 for listing your house online portals such as Zoopla and Rightmove, but you have to do everything else which can consist of: Taking nice photos, arranging for an EPC if you haven’t got one, doing the viewings, negotiating the price with and potential buyer and finally instructing a solicitor to take over the sale process, which is the easy bit as long as you keep checking with your solicitor for anything that might be holding up the sale.

 

So now you now the 5 most common ways of selling your home, pick the best for you and enjoy selling your home.

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Compare online estate agents

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We compare Insurance companies, Utility suppliers, Supermarkets, bank accounts and a lot more so why not estate agents?

Comparing traditional high street agents is difficult, as the level of service and type of marketing can vary significantly. Also certain estate agents might already have a list of interested buyers for a particular area.

With online estate agents its quite different, you are simply paying for your house to be listed on the two biggest property portals Rightmove and Zoopla and many others which are actually insignificant.

Where online estate might agents differ is how they
manage the sale progression. Once an offer on your property has been accepted, it is mainly the job of the solicitors to sort the rest out but the estate agent can speed things up slightly by liaising with everyone involved and making sure anything holding up the sale is dealt with.

Bearing this in mind it is fairly straightforward to compare online estate agents, they are not that different to each other in how they operate.

If you instruct an Online estate agent to market your home, you can expect them to do the following:

  • Take professional photographs
  • Take measurements and draw a floorplan
  • Arrange for an EPC certificate
  • Write up a comprehensive house summary
  • Upload your property to Rightmove and Zoopla
  • Take enquiries and arrange viewings for you
  • Negotiate offers
  • Instruct and pass details to your solicitor
  • Track the sale until completion

Depending on the type of online package you go for, you may have to pay extra for some of the above services unless you go for a complete package.

Use our online comparison table to compare online estate agents.

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Step by Step Guide to sell your house yourself

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The aim of this guide is to equip you with all the tools and knowledge you need to sell your house yourself.

I am no expert, but a few years ago I managed to sell my home myself without the help of an estate agent and in fact I was able to achieve £7,000 more than what the “experts” said they will market the property for, in order to accept offers just below it.

To cut a long story short, when I decided to sell my house I instructed 4 popular estate agents to come out and give me an indication of what they could sell the house for.
The valuations ranged between £85,000 and £90,000, yet I was able to sell my house myself for £98,000 and at the same time saving the £2,000 estate agency fees although I invested £2,500 in a new kitchen before advertising the property.

Below are the steps I took in order to sell my home.

Step 1.

Called out 4 estate agents for their “expert” advice and discuss their fees, the cheapest was £2,000!

Step 2.

Installed a new kitchen which cost me £2,500, although I did a lot of the work myself. Also bit of painting and wallpapering from what I can remember.

Step 3.

Visited Rightmove and Zoopla to see other similar sized properties for sale in my area, also what had sold in the recent past, there is a specific section on Rightmove for this: http://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices.html 

Step 4.

Once I had a figure in mind, I searched the internet to find Do It Yourself packages, where my home would be advertised on Zoopla and Rightmove, and I would be expected to conduct viewings and negotiate with the buyer.

Step 5.

I narrowed it down to 2 websites, one was myhouseadvert.co.uk and the other sellmyhome.co.uk, I was expecting to pay around £400 to £500 upfront to have my house listed on Rightmove and Zoopla.
I chose sellmyhome.co.uk when I was offered a whopping £200 off ! So the total cost to me was £239.40.
Don’t be expecting that today!

Step 6.

After payment, Sellmyhome sent out a photographer, who also took measurements, drew a floor plan and also produced an EPC certificate. This cost sellmyhome more than the £239.40 that I had paid them, I know because the photographer accidental sent me a copy of the invoice which Sellmyhome paid.

Step 7.

After a few days my draft listing was ready on Sellmyhome’s website, all I had to do was fill in the nitty gritty bits. Summary for Rightmove and Zoopla, long description, select how many bedrooms, bathrooms, garden, garage etc, nothing too difficult for a home owner. Also the price I wanted to market the property at.

Step 8.

I advertised the property at £105,000 and sat back waiting for the viewings. Soon enough I started to receive emails from Sellmyhome asking me to choose between 3 dates and times for each potential viewing. Each viewing lasted about 10 minutes, just showing around my home and answering any questions they had, how long I lived here etc.

After about 5 viewings and two offers, I chose the highest one at a £103,000, which was way more than what I expected, and set the property to SOLD STC in sellmyhome’s seller dashboard.

Step 9.

I called my Solicitor, the same one I used to buy my home originally to keep things simple. They asked me to forward them the Buyers contact details and also their solicitor’s details.

The solicitor took charge from this point, leaving me to get on with my not so busy life!
A few weeks later I received a call from my Solicitor advising that the buyer had pulled out.

Step 10.

I set my home from SOLD STC to For Sale and accepted a further 2 viewings and I also notified the other lady who had submitted an offer the first time round. She came back for second time and I accepted her offer of £100,000.

Step 11.

I called my Solicitor to advise them of this.
The buyer conducted a survey which valued my home at £95,000 but we agreed on the phone to £98,000.

A another week or two later, I moved my stuff out. When the money was in my bank, keys were handed over to the new owner on the date my Solicitor advised me of.

If you have sold a car in the past then you can certainly sell your house too.

Conclusion

Through a High Street agent my home would have been advertised at £90,000 and even if I achieved the asking priced minus the selling fees of £2,000, I would have been left with £88,000.

By selling myself I managed to achieve £98,000 minus the new kitchen at £2,500 and sellmyhome fee of just under £240, the final figure £95,260, not bad for a fist timer.

The best thing about my experience was that I was in complete control of the sale, I chose to do the viewings when I wanted to, I chose my asking price and there was no estate agent trying to pressure me into accepting an offer.

My ex-home.

Sell house online

Sell house online

Click the link below to see the house I sold.
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-44574572.html

 

Tips

  • Call a few Estate Agents for advice, and don’t be afraid of telling them you will have others around, it gives them the chance to offer something special or give good advice.
  • Do a bit of research, see what other properties in your area are selling for, compare the condition of their home with yours to determine a suitable asking price.
  • Be patient when the offers start coming through, ask to see a mortgage in principal or bank statement for each offer (only accept the offer after you have seen these, something I missed with the offer I accepted the first time round).
  • Don’t just go for the highest offer like I did, but go for a strong offer, taking into account the deposit amount, the buyer’s present situation and just the general feel you get about this person, just to reduce any hiccups that might arise later at the time of a survey etc.

That’s it, enjoy selling your home.

 

Sellmyhome.co.uk

I can’t vouch for Sellmyhome today as I used them a few years ago when the company was very new and they only had a small number of properties for sale, so replied to my emails instantly.
Today however, they have over a 100 properties for sale so they must be doing something right.

Also their online seller dashboard makes it extremely easy to track viewings and offers.

I am in the process of negotiating a discount for my readers, and I will hopefully post the coupon code here if I can get one.

 

Please leave your comments below and share this post if you found it useful.

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How to sell house online

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Selling your house is one of the most stressful things for a home owner, second only to giving birth, if you’re a woman of course.

If you don’t want to read the introduction below(although I would recommend it a quick read) you can jump straight to my Step by Step guide to selling your house online: http://sellhouseonline.co.uk/how-to/step-by-step-guide-to-sell-your-house-yourself/

With the advent of internet and now a connected world, selling your house has become a lot easier and cheaper.

Previously the only way to sell your house was to walk into the office of an estate agent and invite him/her to your home to have a look, with that prospect you would hand over everything you had put into your home over to an individual who you have only met for a few minutes, you might speak to different estate agents before you decide, but most people never bothered.

Now, however, before you even decide that you want to sell your house online, the first thing you are going to do is visit Rightmove or Zoopla and actually see what people are actually selling their houses for in your area.
This little bit of information is enough to give you a whole lot of insight, you can decide if it is actually a good time to sell or wait longer, you can estimate the sale price you might be able to achieve taking into account the specification of other houses on the market and also can look at your next potential home in a matter of minutes.

Even with creation of online property portals such as Zoopla and Rightmove, where most home buyers now begin their property search, you needed an estate agent to actually get you onto these online portals, a service which came with a lot unnecessary baggage and a hefty commission based price tag.

Online Estate Agent

All that has changed very recently, all you need to do now is choose an online estate agent, who won’t stick a poster outside their shop window but will certainly advertise your property on Zoopla, Rightmove, Primelocation and many other online property websites which collective attract millions of home buyers every year if not every month, all this for a literally a fraction of what you can be charged by a standard high street agent.

There are generally two packages to choose from, one is where the online estate agent will advertise your property and upon sale will charge you a small commission of 1% or a fixed fee of £999, still a lot lower than any high street agent, the second package is to pay upfront and no commission on sale, this is where there are huge savings to be made, as you can pay from as little as £375 or up to £799 depending on which online estate agent you use.

Please excuse any grammar mistakes in the above article, my English isn’t great but I can save you a bob if you thinking of selling your home.

Read the article below to find out exactly what you need to do to sell your home and save a lot of money in the process:
http://sellhouseonline.co.uk/how-to/step-by-step-guide-to-sell-your-house-yourself/

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