When selling our property, we all want a fast house sale. With the average time to sell on the UK market being around six months, it is no wonder that many homeowners look for the quickest way to get their property sold.
Our team at Cairds have been helping facilitate quick house sales for more than twenty-five years, and in this guide, we offer our advice on how you can get that sale happening at a speed that aligns with your property goals and life plans.
There are several routes to sale you could take for your property, and whilst some may offer impressive speed, they may also offer less value. Others may take a while longer but deliver you the financial reward you feel your home justifies. Read on to learn more about the ways to sell your house fast.
Sell your home fast to a cash house buyer
This is often a way to sell that promises a quick sale but doesn’t always deliver the results you had been hoping for. Cash house buying companies will make a genuine cash offer on your property and have it sold relatively quickly. In some cases, in as little as seven days. Many will offer no fees, or at least assistance with the fees associated with selling a house, and this can be seen as a huge lure for many.
Commonly chosen by those who may have struggled to make mortgage payments or have encountered some financial difficulty, cash house buyers do hold an allure. The only issue, and perhaps a big one for many, is that the offer received on the property is lower than market value. Quite often significantly so. You can see anything from 70-80% of the true value offered and this could make securing your next property a little harder.
Sell your home fast at a property auction
Another popular way to sell fast is to go via auction. Unlike the cash buyer, you are not guaranteed the sale, but should you see your property fall into a bidding war, you could see yourself making a nice profit. However, in most cases, the starting prices are low, and the end result sees you sell at a similar value to the one offered by a cash house buyer. If you have struggled to sell your property in the past due to its current condition, or have a property that holds a short lease, an auction can be a worthwhile option. You can expect a sale to be fully completed in around 28 days with this sales method. This is not a fee-free method of selling either, so with the lower selling price, and fees to account for, you could see yourself losing out on a lot of cash.
Part exchange for a new build
If you have found a new build development that has plenty of amazing properties available, you may be able to trade up by offering your current home in exchange for a new build. This isn’t available on all new-build developments, so options may be limited. You can only take advantage of this if you are buying a new-build property and upgrading to a bigger home too. You may receive full market value for your home, but there is also a chance you won’t. This route is not fee-free either, so if you are offered less on your home, you will be further out of pocket with all the legal costs you will need to cover.
Sell your house fast with an estate agent
Selling via the more traditional method of an estate agent may be the tried and tested route you have used in the past and found the sale has either not materialised, or has dragged on for such a long time, that you feel it could have been done quicker elsewhere. In many ways, it can. Some estate agents, unfortunately, over promise and under deliver. Their clever use of advertising helping to create an illusion of a magical house-selling portal where everybody who lists a property with them sells fast, sells high, and sells happy. Unfortunately, this sees such agencies flooded with demand, and, as a result, a sloppy, slow, sales process takes place as the agency struggles to catch up with the demand and give each property the attention it deserves.
If you have found yourself with an estate agent that either drags its heels, charges a fortune, or hasn’t delivered on many of the promises, it could be time for a change.
Changing to an experienced, local estate agent could be the best option. For example, our team at Cairds are the leading estate agents in Epsom, and as such, have a tremendous local knowledge that helps those both looking to buy and sell in the area benefit from our expertise.
We also have offices in Ashtead, allowing us to further assist residents of Surrey in selling a property for the right price, at the right time. Choosing an estate agent with a knowledge of the local area can be a tremendous asset. Not only will they have a closer eye on the market and understand current valuations, but they will also be able to help you with finding new property across the county if you are staying in the area.
Switching estate agents can sometimes cost a little money, but in the long term, picking an estate agent that puts more of its focus on you will generate the sale you have previously been missing out on. You should swap only when out of contract with a previous estate agent if you want to save a little cash. However, you can take on a second agency with a multi-agency agreement. This can sometimes push the slower estate agent into action as both compete for the sale of your home.
Consider reducing your asking price for a fast house sale
If you have tried and tried to sell your home fast, and the offers are just not being made, it could be the price. It’s possible that your original estate agent overvalued your property. Attempting to convince you that the higher price means you will make a great profit on the home. Unfortunately, this is often not the case.
Before committing to an estate agent, or appointing a new one, look at getting a few property valuations made on the home, and check the local market. This should give a good indication of whether the valuations made on your property are justified, and what similar houses are currently selling for. Many property experts say that you should look for a reduction of around 3% on what the current asking price is. This is because Rightmove, Zoopla and other similar portals will feature your home more frequently, therefore giving you more exposure to a bigger audience.
Sometimes, it may be better to take a small loss on what you had hoped for rather than have the property sitting stagnant on the market for months to come with little to no interest.
Increase the kerb appeal of your home for a fast sale
People shop with their eyes first and their wallets second, and in property, this is perhaps more evident than anywhere else. Taking the time to increase the kerb appeal and the interior appearance of a home can make a huge difference in how quickly your property may sell. A prospective buyer who sees there is a lot of work to be done to bring the home up to a specific standard is more likely to go elsewhere if your property presents them with a lot of challenges.
Make the home presentable
Cleaning the property in advance of viewing and the marketing photos is a must and can be something that really helps enhance the quality of the home. Have a deep clean of all rooms. This should include walls, floors, furnishings and windows.
Reduce the personalization a bit, but not too much. People want to see the house as a home, and not just a typical show home. So, remove a few family photos perhaps and maybe the stack of shoes near the door. Perhaps reduce the amount of kids’ artwork stuck to the freezer door and tidy garden toys away. Just don’t overdo it. People really want to know what it is like to live in the house and seeing a true representation of it will instill confidence in them that they can see their family living there.
Also consider lighting, if viewings are in the evening, ensure your lightbulbs aren’t faulty so the room is illuminated well enough. If in the daytime, ensure curtains are open, and perhaps windows too.
Then outside, the kerb appeal is vital. A cut lawn, tidy flowerbeds and a clean driveway all go someway to encouraging people that your property is a nice, clean environment for them to live in. Remember the roof, guttering, windows and any paths too!
Repairs and maintenance
A viewer will not feel comfortable making an offer if they see broken gutters, torn carpets, leaking taps and more. If they can let these issues slide, there is every chance that the offer they make will be under what you are hoping for. To get a fast house sale and one at the price you want, rectify these issues before viewings are booked. In some cases, a maintenance job could simply be a lick of paint on a wall, in others, it could be the installation of a new boiler. Regardless of the level of work needed, it would always be advisable to have it fixed. Anything that doesn’t appear working or has faults will likely see reduced offers being made.
This guide should help you understand the options available to you should you be looking for a fast house sale. If you want to sell, why not speak to the team at Cairds? With our years of experience in the Surrey property market, we can help sell your house fast by putting it in front of the right people, at the right time. With our local focus, we can use our expertise to ensure that your house is valued fairly so that there are no lengthy delays getting viewings, offers and then a sale.