How do I sell my house fast, without selling it for much less than its really worth?

The first thing we’d say is unless you are so desperate you cannot wait 6 -8 weeks, never sell to a buy and rent back Company.  they really are in it the for the money, and you’ll unlikely get more than 70%-75% of its actual value.  You are literally giving it away to save a month or two most.

I read in the Telegraph back in May that on average a property takes more than nine weeks to find a buyer, and brings in just 93 per cent of its asking price”. Working for an estate agent I know these statistics can be contended.

At Fish Need Water, we’ve focused on excelling in 6 vital areas that lead to shortening the length of time until your property is sold, and in some cases recently we’ve sold a property after many offers within the first week of marketing.  However the property was not sold for less than its true value, which can be said is a subjective thing.

Great photography:

High-quality, wide angle and well lit shots of your home and garden are a necessity. At Fishneedwater we use a professional photography company for every property we market – whether for sale and rent. This has proven to reduce the amount of time we have to market properties for.

We are able to accurately portray the quality of our properties through our pictures. Fashioning an accurate image of the house means that when the potential buyer views the property they know exactly what to expect and therefore have already made a connection with the property.

Choose the right estate agent:

Ask what your agent plans to do for you to sell your property for the best price.  What strategies do they have, what have they sold recently and what were the results?

Ask how many people they have looking for a house like yours and the answer will always be hundreds, or even thousands! If you ask where those buyers came from it’ll likely either be from a Rightmove or Zoopla enquiry, which proves buyers are ‘actively looking’ and they’ll find you.

Stage the property:

Imagine you have been called by Hello magazine and they are visiting today – what would you do?  You’d tidy, put away stuff for the visit to leave less on display, you’d clean and paint touch-up little area’s that needed it and you’d put your best bed linen on.

That’s a good starting point.

Consider an open house:

This technique is becoming increasingly popular simply for the same reason David Adams of John Taylors said “An open house creates a buzz, and possibly encourages higher and earlier offers”.  Fish Need Water often use this strategy as it works and does what it supposed to.

Incentivise your agent:

At Fish Need Water – We have a ratchet fee scheme which means we charge more for achieve outstanding results and this ultimately pushes us to work harder to get even more than you were hoping for.  Suggest to your agent you’ll only pay their fee if they prove they have earned it and negotiate a rate that means you are assured of hard work.

Whereas the typical agent may agree a flat rate which creates a sense of security. This is unlikely to mean you’ll also result in the best possible sale price.

Be flexible on doing viewings:

We’ve found the best person to sell your house is you – the seller. You know your house better than anyone else, so why wouldn’t you want to do the viewings if you could?

People buy emotionally and you have the emotional attachment to your property and your enthusiasm about your property and the general area can help to create ‘a want / must have’ in the mind of the buyer.

You can leave all the negotiations and deal cementing to us but carrying out viewings is something that we believe the seller can be best at – all that’s needed is a little guidance.

You’ll know the best pubs, restaurants and local schools. You’ll also know the history of your house and be able to be candid about all features of the property and any improvements you’ve made.We also encourage this service by offering discounted fee’s for sellers doing their own viewings.

If you follow these steps you should be able to secure a fast sale for your property at market rate and without having to resort to a cut price buy and rent back company.

Darien Neavin

Darien@fishneedwater.com

LinkedIn – Darien Neavin