10000000_537912360979944_278854823320943996_n.mp4: Video automatically transcribed by Sonix

10000000_537912360979944_278854823320943996_n.mp4: this mp4 video file was automatically transcribed by Sonix with the best speech-to-text algorithms. This transcript may contain errors.

To introduce myself properly to. My name is Rob. He'll know. I'm the owner of greater London properties and over the past 20 or so years. I have been buying and selling properties for myself on a number of occasions. And for thousands of clients throughout Central London, been picked up a few hints and tips. Along the way, one thing I've come to learn is that no two sales are ever the same. There's so many different parties involved.

L've do with different wants and needs. And as such every day is a learning day in that respect. So the more experience you have the better place, you are to help people along the journey. So, for most selling a property is something you don't often do. And for many of you. It may well be the first thing that you're going to do and the process can be daunting. So I'm going to try and give you the tips along the way to give.

Bit of ammunition to help you through this first off. And it look at the legal side of things.

If you're going to sell instructors list as soon as possible, now, I can recommend you on or friends and family may be able to recommend you one as well. But this is something I think is really useful. There's a cost attached to this, but it's going to speed up the process. You'll be able to go through all the empty money laundering checks, early, and you'll know that you are in a good position to sell.

Where the real game changer in this is come about is some recent recent technology, something called synapse, which is a platform as far as I'm aware. We're the only agent in London using, and this is incredible and can save you weeks or months on a sale. And the best thing about it. It won't cost you anything. So, your solicitor will be able to use assignments platform, also free of charge and they can put in for all the searches that are

I would put in on a property. Now, this isn't your job, but if you were to instruct the solicitor that they get on to sign apps, and then a week later, go to market and it takes a couple of weeks to get the property under off it. You are actually three weeks ahead. So, three weeks can mean the difference between it falling through and or going ahead, you know, Mortgage office can expire, Etc. So anything you can do now at this point is brilliant.

Another top tip particularly. Well, if your property is leasehold, is to request the management package straight away from managing agent. These can take weeks to compile and sooner you ask this. She sooner you're going to get it. Also on the subject of leasehold, if your property is on a lease is getting shorter as a under 90 years, in particular. I would go to the managing age and Freeholder and try and find out the cause.

Of extending the lease. It's one of the first questions that any buyer is going to ask. So it's important that your agent is armed with that information. So now in terms of getting the property ready for sale, some of the things I'm going to tell you will appear obvious, but you'd be surprised how many people do nothing or next to nothing?

So, remember, First Impressions count, this doesn't just apply to. When people are going to physically be crossing the threshold into your property. It also applies to how it will be shown in the marketing pictures and any other literature that goes out at a bare minimum. Make sure your property is clean and importantly, it smells clean. A lot of people forget to do windows. And that's a really, really big No-No, you know, having nice clean.

This gives a good first impression and having dirty windows. It's going to reduce your natural light. So get out there and do it yourself or get someone in to do it. I would also suggest that you grab a paper and pen and start at your front door and walk through every room in your house. Noting down, little things trying to look at it. Not through your own eyes Through The Eyes of someone who might be viewing it. Now, I guarantee you. If you do this, you're going to notice little scuffs and chips.

In the paint that you've never noticed before, mastic seals with maybe a bit mold on them, a little stain on the carpet, a little scratch here and there the books on your bookshelf. So it needs and tidy that kind of thing. And these are the kind of things you can do yourself or you get someone in and they're really low cost. Easy wins, you know, smoke pot pain, bit of elbow grease, change a few light bulbs, and suddenly things look just that bit better.

Decluttering is a very hard thing to do, but you want the house to feel and look as spacious as it can be. So even if you need to rent a storage room, look into that to try and create the look and feel that you want Endeavor to get as many clean lines as possible. People often neglect bathrooms and kitchens, you know, when you walk into a bathroom you want to see a minimalistic field. So yeah, it's okay, too.

Couple of nice hand lotion bottles out there, but they don't want to see 50 bottles of hair product in everything else there try and stall that away somewhere. Well, same goes for your kitchen. Particularly if it's a smaller kitchen, if you've got a rice cooker, slow, cookers all manner of dubbings on your worktops, is going to make it appear cluttered. So try and put them away somewhere and cluding, the fairy up liquid bottle and it will make it feel better.

A question. We always get asked, is should I dress the apartment or should I know and this varies greatly on your situation and the property itself. Generally properties that are furnished will look better and marketing and we'll create a look and feel to the, to the property that might be more appealing.

Even though you couldn't perhaps walk into an empty room in envisage, how it would look where the bed would go? Where your chairs your wardrobe, whatever it is. You'd be incredibly surprised number of people have absolutely no idea when it comes to that. So things like scatter, cushions throw some beds, couple of plants, maybe some fresh cut flowers. Nice hand soaps and kitchens and bathrooms and you read the fuses. Those kind of things. They're relatively low cost, easy wins, and you could go to somewhere.

Like TK, Maxx and get a decent look and feel for not a lot of money.

Same goes if you have outside, space bins are an ugly thing. Obviously, it's handy to maybe have them outside your front door. But yeah, it's better if they are hidden away somewhere. So if you could scream them in anyway, or pull them around the side, whatever you can do, try to do same goes for your flower beds, you know, if you've got a Lon, make sure it's freshly cut again. If you add in a few plant pots, these are things you can take away with you.

That if you go and plan anything substantially new guard and these are things you should be leaving behind. So I would say bear that in mind when you're in the garden center.

Just going on to Surly General housekeeping. Now, as I like to call it, something people neglect and often come back and haunt them. So, what I'm looking at in this area is works, you may have done during the ownership of the property lenders and solicitors are asking for more and more certificates for works. That being carried out. So if you've changed your boiler or if you've wired the property, if you put in double glazing or even just change glazing,

Dig out your permissions and certificates. Now, if you haven't got them, it will take time to get them again. And these are things that are more than likely going to be asked for. So, chase them up now because it can take longer than you think. Also, if you have a mortgage on the property.

Find out if there's any early exit penalties and what they are to factor that into your decision making process. If you're selling the property to buy, another one, find out. If you can move that mortgage to the other property, find out, if you can get more money as well. So speak to your bank, or independent broker to help you along the way with that process. And I'm more than happy to recommend people for you as well. If helpful now in terms of the next day,

It's a point in the agent. Now. This is something that over the years I have seen as cause the most angst amongst vendors and is crucial to the sales process. There's research out the moment suggesting that 55% of people in the UK either undervalued or overvalued their house by more than 20 percent. So, getting someone, who knows through the door is crucial. So, I would say, you know, ask your friends and neighbors for recommendations.

It's failing that you can look into websites that trust Pilots are all agents, to see what experiences other consumers have had. And when you get around to inviting them in, make sure you see at least three do awesome. Lot of questions about how they're going to Market, your property, do query, the comparable evidence. They're put in front of you. And do you query their valuation figure?

A lot of agents are perhaps a little lazy and they're just going to tell you they're going to get it on Rightmove. And that's going to do the trick Recent research suggests that like 70% ish comes from Portal leads. However, if you are just going to a lazy agent like that you're missing out on 30% and that could make the the whole difference also went on evaluation, no matter how hard you might be pushed.

Do not sign any agents including mine terms. I wouldn't even bring them to the valuation. But I know lots of people do. There's a lot to think about and you need to digest that information and you need to check what people have said is correct. So if you see multiple agents, as I suggest, you're often going to find one will have a substantially higher price. Now, I'm not telling you that this means they're wrong, but it should raise a wreck.

Flag and make you question it.

It took tip here. If you go onto right, move on a desktop there, across the top of the main screen and the top tab, there's something where you can search by estate agent. I'd strongly recommend you. Look at the listings of the agents that you're most interested. In this tell you how much they have on the market. But it will also tell you how many properties they've had, they've been reduced and that's not always the agents fault. Sometimes vendors. Wanted to test the market.

We and reasonable levels. But if you see an agent with things, multiple reductions, could suggest that they're overvaluing it to win your business. While you're there. Also, look at other listings doesn't have to be similar to yours, but that they that agent is showing I often see. Properties marketed and look at it. Think you've got a three-bedroom property and you've got four pictures of it. This is a lazy for one of another word. So, look at what

They're doing now. What is that? Showcasing, the property and the best way, is there any virtual tools? Are there floor plans is the description accurate, could more be written because all of these things are what the customers are looking at on a portal and it will give you a good Insight that if they're not doing it on a portals and not going to be doing in the office and getting people through the door when you're looking at them as well. Some agents have loads of instructions on and will

Talk about their vast network of this set. The other. It's not always a show of strength. It can often be a lack of valuing talent or lack of getting things across the line. Some of the best agents. I've met often, then it much on the market at all, but they're constantly transacting and as such pulling things off the market.

So bear that in mind and finally, never sign a soul agency of more than eight weeks. Some agents are asking for 20 weeks and ask yourself. Why am I going to give perhaps my most valuable agent asset. Sorry to someone, I don't particularly know and be contracting bound to them for that amount of time. If the property is priced, right? It should be seeing some traction also with this.

Regardless of who you sign with, there's a two-week cooling-off period And if they're doing everything, right and the price is right, you should be seeing some activity during that time. So if you're not, you could consider using it. Finally, getting onto the types of agreements with agents. I always believed that you should go with the sole agent that you're comfortable with. But if you want to use to that's fine, but it's going to cost you a bit more money. Some people.

Give it to loads of Agents. They feel that that will increase the exposure, the marketing and everything else. And that can send out the wrong message that, you know, you're desperate to sell that you're taken off. And the fact that people are seeing it multiple times. It might make them question if there's something wrong with the property. So if you've got one good Agent, I genuinely think that that's

Find and you will get the results you need.

Getting onto the well, the really important thing really is setting the price.

The first two weeks of marketing, any property of the most effective, you know, it's the hot ticket in town. It's the thing that everybody wants. So if you set the price, right, you're going to see traction if you said it wrong.

You're not going to see people coming through the door, the market speaks, so quickly, and bear this in mind, if a property comes on at a below market value.

You will be inundated, absolutely inundated with viewings. You might end up in a best and final situation and the property ends up selling for more than the price. It was marketed to that and perhaps even more than the, you know, the actual market value because people become overexcited and see the competition. So testing, the market is one thing setting, a price that's beyond fantasy, you're harming yourself and the speed of the sale and research suggests if you get it on.

Right. Price to begin with, not only, you're going to sell quicker. You're actually going to sell for more money. So that's very, very important to think about. So when it comes through to the office stage now get as much information on the buyer as possible, how they're going to finance it, how long they're planning to complete the transaction.

What level of mortgage they are, if they are mortgage, all of this is so important. Particularly, if you get multiple offers and remember.

The best monetary offer won't necessarily be the least stress, and if it takes longer, think about the opportunity cost as well. Or, you know, you're missing out on that dream home, or if the property is currently vacant, the mortgage costs. If it goes on for three months, four months, five months, whatever. It might be. So it's not always the best offer in terms of parents Shillings and Pence. That's the going to actually net. You the most money.

So, think about that, when you're under off, get back to the agent, your solicitor, whoever it's quickly as possible. If you've done as I've suggested put in for searches prior to going to Market, you could be a fair way down the line. Do be patient with the buyers. It's easy to sort of second. Guess what they're doing, you know most cases they're going to need access for evaluation quite possibly full building.

Survey, they may want to come back around again with a bit more time and envisage, how they're going to live there and won't look at your fixtures and fittings. So do try to be amenable to that. But it's as you go a few weeks down the process and things don't appear to be moving. The frustration can kick in what I'd say, is selling the property, does take time and there are unforeseen issues that are thrown up by surveyors and the legal process can delay things.

So try and be patient, try and be understanding, and work closely with the, your agents and solicitors to try and get it through. And I'll be promise you once. It's gone through all of The Angst and all the annoyances that have happened during the process quickly become Distant Memories because you've got what you want at the end of the transaction. So when you get to the exchange stage, you're nearly there. So start packing up.

And get the movers in ready for the completion. Now, on a completion day. I should warn you. It can be a very busy, quite stressful and potentially long day. Also, if you're in a chain and you need to move out of a house and into another one on the same day, so be thorough with your clearance of the property in a, make sure you've got everything out and do bear in mind that even though

Leaving the property someone is going to be going into it. So I think it's a nice thing to try and leave it as clean and tidy and a GOP will pay for a cleaner to go in after you just to make sure that the person who goes into that property, your old home is having a nice first experience. There's nothing worse than seeing someone look deflated that they've spent all of their money on this place and it's just a bit dirty and grubby. Finally just bore anecdotally.

Remember to take a picture yourself set outside the property. It's a significant moment in your life for good or bad. So you might want to live somewhere Mentos in years to come to look at it. And then, another top tip, something I found in valuable over the years is to particularly we're moving into a new home to make sure, you know, where the kettle is in the bottle opener because it's can be a long day. And you might want a cup of tea or something quite a lot stronger. So make sure, you know, where

Are they are anyway, I hope for the most part. This has been useful for you.