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.