Whether you are upsizing or downsizing, relocating or simply recalibrating your life, you have made the decision to sell your property and are now thinking through the best way to sell your house. There are several options which we have a quick look at, in order to help you decide one way or the other.
Estate Agents
As ABC Gone, an estate agents in Upminster, tell us, about 90% of home sales happen through estate agents, since there is a lot of legislation, time and effort involved in selling a house. The estate agency will market your house as if it were their own, and have a vested interest in getting a fair price, for both parties.
Online estate agents are becoming more and more popular, offering the same great services as bricks and mortar, from an online location. They can arrange viewings, vet applicants and continue to manage the property once it has sold, if you like. This will significantly reduce the amount of time you need to spend on it, which is the major advantage of using an estate agents.
Regardless of whether you go online or use a physical location, you should always check if the realtor you’re considering using is a ”member of the Property Ombudsman and many other professional property bodies”. Doing so is the first step in ensuring you’re receiving the best possible service from your estate agent.
Private Selling
You may opt to sell your property privately, since there is no legal obligation to use an estate agent. If you want to save on agency fees, then this may be the sale structure for you. If the property is significant to you in some way, you may wish to have control over who buys it, to ensure they love it as much as you have. In this case, many sellers manage the sale themselves.
However, you will need to consider that there is a lot of work involved in selling a house. You may find that a private sale finds you the same kind of sale price as an estate agency would, or sometimes even more. You will obviously make savings on the estate agency’s cut too. Knowing where and how to market and advertise are two of the most important considerations for selling privately.
Auction
A third route into property sale is by selling the house at auction. This is certainly not for everyone. The most obvious benefit of an auction sale is the quick turnaround. There is usually only 28 days between the hammer going down and occupancy. Auctions are better suited to rare and desirable buildings or those which have fallen into disrepair. One of the downsides to auction is that it is one of the most expensive routes to a sale, and many people prefer to go with estate agents.
