Putting the house on the market, what do I need to bear in mind?

[JustinMumsnot]

We've been living here 10 years and I've forgotten everything I ever knew about buying and selling. We are planning to relocate for September and I'm actively looking for jobs in the area we plan to move to but we need to get the selling of our house underway asap. Have an appointment with one estate agent on Weds and plan to call two more. What sort of questions should I be asking? Do I need to negotiate on things like commission rate - what is standard at the moment? What would be your criteria for deciding which agent to go with?

Do they do the viewings or do they expect you to do them? I personally would not be prepared to pay anything more than an advertising fee to an agent who is unwilling to do the viewings as this is the main part of selling.

Also Saturdays are the most popular day for viewings. From your point of view, you want a prospective purchaser who calls up on Friday morning hoping for an appointment to see your house on Saturday to get to see the house, and for you not to be obliged to show them round yourself (best thing you can do to sell the house is to go out for the first viewings). So you could ask how does the agency cover Saturdays?

Which portals do they advertise in?

I know agencies would not agree with me, but there is only one pool of buyers per property type in each area, and people who want to buy tend to look on the portals (rightmove, primelocation, findaproperty etc), so they will see your house advertised whoever it is with. If they are interested, then they will ask the agent concerned for more details.

Do they take the photos themselves or do they hire professional photographers and floorplanners?

How long is the contract? How will the agency communicate who their buyers are if and when then contract finishes without the house being sold so there is no dispute should you appoint a new agent subsequently. The rule is that the agent who "introduces" the buyer is the one who gets the fee. However, you may feel that after 3 months, agent A has achieved nothing. So you terminate the contract and appoint agent B, who gets you an offer two weeks later. However, if the buyer was introduced to the property by agent A, then agent A will want the fee (and so will agent B). So you need to be clear about how this will work up front because contracts are for when things go wrong.

beat them down with commission - I sold in Surrey for 1% plus VAT, and that was with an agent who did the viewings. (I was quite surprised when buying further north that none of the agents do the viewings here!). The Surrey agent also made the effort to send all of the team round so that when they did a viewing, they had seen the house beforehand and asked questions.

Make sure the agent is open until about 5pm on Saturday too - another surprise here when they had shut up shop by 1pm. How are working people supposed to buy houses?

plus the obvious ones for the house -big declutter and clean, finish off any outstanding DIY jobs, give it 'kerb appeal'.

Don't go with the agent who promises to get you the highest price. IMO, most of the houses I have looked at have been overpriced. After 6 months of searching, I am an expert on which agents in our area are realistic with pricing and which ones overinflate the price to get the business, and then recommend a price drop 2 months down the line when there's been no offers.

Do your own research online as to which houses in your street/area have sold recently, and for how much. Then you will know which agent is being sensible.

Don't go with the agent who gives you the highest value.

They may give you that value because they want your 'business', but if its priced too high it will be difficult to sell.

When you have viewings, it's attention to detail. Have the house clean, tidy and warm but with a few windows open to let fresh air in.

Move/hide/bin any clutter

Make sure there's no pet smells or hair everywhere if you have pets

Think about who might buy your house and maybe move furniture to suit. So for example make the rooms look like they have a proper use. A dining room is for eating so clear away any toys, computer etc that you might have in there.

Make sure outside is clear and tidy too. Dig out weeds, sweep leaves up, cut grass/hedges, gate isn't rickety, windows an door clean etc

It's all little things and new owners will change the house when they move in, but if its a toss up between your house and another you want yours to be the best.

Also, I preferred to the viewings because I know my house best. I know the house is south facing and it's hot and sunny in the afternoons.
I know when all the work was carried out.
I know about the neighbours and local schools , transport and shops.
I know how old things are in the house.
I know how much utility bills are etc etc

And you should pay a little less if your doing the viewings yourself.

ScalesAndMirrorsLie - Are you good at selling though? Getting under someone's skin and persuading them to make the decision you want them to make? That's what an agent should do for you IMO, unless you are good at that yourself.

If you are then, of course, you will be the most motivated and knowledgeable person possible to sell your house.

But if you aren't, then you are in danger of making yourself synonymous with the house in the buyer's mind and then its down to how much he she wants to buy a piece of you. (I was an estate agent but a rubbish one - I saw how people do it, tried to copy, but I just couldn't).

Thanks for all the tips. I have booked three estate agents to come and talk to us this week so I will make a list of all the questions on here to ask them.
I have finally also persuaded DH that we have to hire a self-storage unit and move out some of the 2,000 books and some of the excess furniture. The house has been totally redecorated, with new kitchen extension and shower room, flooring etc within the past two years and looks fab but there is too much stuff. Garden is almost finished, new paving, front steps, outside light, but needs a bit of a tidy up also. I've looked at similar properties online and the very uncluttered ones are so much more appealing - having spent all this money on making the house perfect it would be a shame to obscure it with clutter.

self-storage is (a lot) more expensive than the type of storage you can't easily access which is offered to most removal companies.

we sold last year and I would go for an agent that has recently sold in your area/street with similar properties who can be realistic about what you can acheive

I also think it's worth bearing in mind that it is a buyers market and pretty soul destroying atm.

We also relocated for jobs and I think it is worth bearing in mind what you will do if it doesn't sell in 3 months, 6 months etc, will you rent it out etc?

I agree with Catriona, IME houses sell quicker when the agent shows as ask the open questions, overcome objections, are less emotionally involved with the property as they don't live there and viewers tend to be a lot more open and honest with an EA rather than the owner as most people don't want to offend other people.

Don't go for the highest valuation, don't batter the EA down so low on fee that they feel that they are slogging their guts out for very little reward and keep the house as viewing ready as possible so if that buyer wants to view that afternoon it is possible, you never know they could be the viewer who becomes a buyer. Oh and make sure that the house looks drive-by presentable at all times i.e hoover not visable from the road, curtains open first thing in the morning, ironing not piled on sofa waiting to be sorted, lights on at dusk etc etc

OK I have three agents lined up now. First one due tomorrow. Will cost £100 per month to rent a self-storage unit and I've been round the house and made a list of what needs to go into it. The main issue is our office - we both work from home at the moment and it is a huge room which was originally the dining room but so cluttered with books and papers and shelving units that you don't appreciate the true size. Also the two enormous Victorian wardrobes in our bedroom which DH refuses to get rid of even though they make the room look like an antiques showroom. One of those is going as is the bookcase and a chest of drawers. And a few of the 16 dining chairs. And the rocking horse. And about a thousand books.
Been looking at properties to buy on Rightmove and it is so clear that the less cluttered the property the easier it is to like.