Selling Your Home in London
Selling a home can be stressful, especially if you are looking to sell and then buy or lease another property. There is a lot to think about and decisions to make. The stress of selling a property is often compounded by the fact that each decision you make can save or cost you thousands of pounds. If you are looking to sell your property in London, here’s what you need to know to get it right.
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Should You Sell a Home Yourself or Involve an Agent?
Most people sell their homes through an agent, but it is possible to sell it yourself. The main consideration when choosing which route to go is how much each option will cost you and how much time you have.
Selling your London home through a real estate agent will require that you pay for their services, but they will handle everything from advertising the home and showing it to potential buyers to negotiating the price and dealing with any legal issues that come up.
Finding a buyer yourself will be cheaper — sometimes free — but you should have enough time to deal with everything that the process entails. This includes ensuring you have an Energy Performance Certificate for the property as well as dealing with different offers from potential buyers.
All in all, selling through a real estate agent is often the better option as it will save you a lot of time and difficulties.
Selling Your London Home: Getting it on the Market
Before you start the process of selling your home, it is a good idea to consider whether it would be a good time to do so. House prices in London in 2023 vary a lot, with much of the growth in house prices in the past three years generated by higher demand for better and bigger houses.
Getty reported in early January 2023 that the price of homes in London grew by 3% in 2022. It also grew by 1.5% in December 2022 compared to December of the previous year. Additionally, there is an increasing demand and appetite for luxury homes and flats in London.
All the above figures point to a need to research the market to get the asking price right. Working with an experienced real estate agent will also help you get local sales data that will help you better determine the asking price.
How Much Is Your London Home Worth?
Once you have determined that it would be a good time to sell, the next thing is determining how much you can expect from buyers. The best way to do this is to work with a property appraiser to get a home valuation.
A home appraisal is an unbiased process that helps determine the fair market value of your property. Although it has other uses, an appraisal is important for helping you set your asking price. A price that is much higher than the valuation (overpricing) can frustrate people who come across the property and who are looking for similar homes but at a much more competitive price. This could leave your home on the market for much longer than you intended.
Additionally, a home appraisal is an important tool for lenders who use it to determine how much to lend to buyers. Lenders want to know they are lending the actual value of the home as opposed to what the seller thinks it is worth. Overpricing can lead to the deal breaking down, which often happens if a buyer cannot service the difference between the asking price and their loan amount.
What Fees Are Involved When Selling a London Home?
The types and amount of fees depend on how you appoint a real estate agent. A sole agency arrangement is where you instruct one agent to sell the home. Because you are only paying a single agent, your fees will be much lower. One thing to note is that if another agent sees forwards an offer during the exclusive period, you may be required to pay them a fee too if they find you a buyer.
The other arrangement is multi agency. Here, you do not give a single agent exclusive selling rights and there is no limit to the number of agents who could try to sell the home. Be careful to not instruct too many agents because sellers might think you are desperate, and this could affect both the service you get, and the offers buyers put forward.
Mortgage Considerations Before Selling
If you wish to sell a home that you have a mortgage on, you will need to think about the mortgage and what happens before selling. There are no penalty fees if you are still on the standard variable rate of the mortgage.
Another thing to think about is the early repayment charge. The repayment charge applies if you would like to change your mortgage or exit early, which often happens if you would like to sell the property without any hang-ups. It can also be triggered if you would like to move to another property, but the mortgage terms do not allow you to do this, meaning you have to pay the remaining amount before moving.
Preparing a Home for Sale and Getting Offers Quickly
Once you have dealt with the technicalities of selling the home, it is time to prepare it for sale. Preparing or staging the home for sale can make it sell faster in addition to leading to a better appraisal. These preparations should be done both inside and outside the house.
Handle Repairs and Upkeep
Before you do anything else, take care of smaller issues that are more likely to be forgotten. Performing repairs like replacing leaking taps and missing doorknobs, repairing the roof or changing outdated doors and windows can all help.
If there is extensive damage that calls for large-scale repairs, it is a good idea to consider a remodel. This option works if you are not in a hurry to sell the home. In addition to making the home more desirable to sellers, you can also recoup your expenses if the projects lead to an increase in the home’s value.
Work On Creating a Great First Impression
People will make up their minds about your property in as little as seven seconds. If you cannot take care of your kerb appeal, how can you take care of the home’s interior? Neglecting your home’s exterior might also make some people think about the costs of doing the work themselves and this can be a deal breaker.
Deal with any peeling paint and ensure both the foyer and front garden look their best. Ensure that the walkway or driveway also looks neat and well-maintained. Also, check that the windows and front door look nice from a distance. If you can, get a second opinion on whether your home’s exterior looks nice enough to attract buyers.
Define Each Room
Buyers want to envision themselves living in and using the home which is why defining different rooms is so important. One way of doing this is by using furniture and decor to differentiate rooms from each other. A kid’s bedroom should look different from the master bedroom, and so on.
Also, clear clutter in the home to ensure the different features in the home stand out. For example, it would be difficult for a buyer to think about where they will place various gadgets if clutter is obscuring outlets in different rooms.
The Kitchen and Bathroom are Critical
Numerous homeowners say that the kitchen and bathroom are critical considerations when looking at homes. The kitchen and bathroom should be clean, well-maintained and not updated. If you have the funds, you should consider remodelling them. Both have a very high return on investment, and you will recoup most, if not all, of your investment through a higher appraisal.
Let the Light In
Light, especially natural light makes a home look bigger and more welcoming. When taking photographs for a listing or showing people around the home, ensure all curtains and blinds are open. You can also turn on a few lights to better highlight the space.
Mirrors also do a great job of making rooms feel brighter and bigger because they bounce light around a space. Use them in the bathrooms and hallways for the best results.
Plant a ‘For Sale’ Sign
A “For Sale” sign can feel outdated in the age of digital marketing. However, planting one outside your property can attract additional interest, help you get more offers, and help the home sell faster.
A “For Sale” sign is especially effective for local buyers who might already be looking for new properties to buy. Just ensure that it has all relevant details, including your agent’s contact details if you are using one, to ensure people can demonstrate their interest easily.
Selling your home can feel daunting, but it does not have to be. All it takes is understanding the process, teaming up with the right real estate agent, and ensuring your home is ready for the amount of interest it is about to garner.
