Getting house ready for market?

[Doryhunky]

Have never sold a house before. Want to move quite quickly if possible. House is currently cluttered. Lawn could do with re turfing, a couple of rooms repainting and stair carpet replacing. Should I do that first before putting up for sale? Or have agents Round for valuations now and see? Realistically all that couldn’t be done before November when maybe market would be dead before Christmas. Anything else I should be thinking about? What do I need to ask the agents about terms? How do I choose an agent?

Yes definitely to de-cluttering and general tidying up - even if you can't fully complete a de-clutter, 'hiding' things away in cupboards, shed. garage or even your car so it looks nice and clear is fine. This will make a big difference to the pictures which are what gets people through the door. The other jobs I would probably say no to, unless you can DIY them to a reasonable standard or get done very cheaply, if you spend more than a few hundred pounds it's generally unlikely you'll see that money back in the sales price IMO.

I would get agents round asap and see what they advise about timing and the market, November would probably be OK to put it on I would have thought but it can vary from area to area. The biggest factor in how quickly it will sell is asking price so I'd think carefully about how you balance getting the best price with speed of move, what is your absolute minimum you'd expect etc.

Choosing an agent/terms, you basically need to understand 2 things, 1 is what is included in their package and 2 what % commission will they take and are there any upfront fees. At the very basic end of the market, the online agents e.g. PurpleBricks only charge a flat fee, no commission, and will take pictures and put it up on rightmove etc. for you, but not much else (some will do the viewings too for a fee). Higher end agents will do much more by way of active marketing, printing glossy brochures, perhaps advertising in local press etc. - but they will generally charge a higher commission fee. For an 'average' house I think it's probably best to go with a middle of the line agent with a good reputation locally (either independent or chain).

To choose an agent, look at their work on rightmove, do they take good, well lit flattering pictures of the houses, do they do clear accurate floor plans, are the adverts well written, informative etc? When the agent comes round to value it does s/he seem knowledgeable about the local market, are they able to say what kind of person they'd market to, do they already have buyers on their 'books' that would be suitable/interested? Ultimately agents are sales people and it's always a bit of a lottery choosing one so for me it mainly comes down to price, but go with what feels comfortable to you...

So many good questions...
1, Re state of house, have a good tidy and clean. Then get various agents in to advise on any work that needs doing (lawn / decorating etc). When we sold in 2017 we were told the work would not add value as most buyers plan to redecorate anyway. We did no work and sold in 1 week when we were ready to go on the market. Do not allow anyone to rush you to market before you are ready.
2, Estate agent T&Cs. Request copy of the contract you will be required to sign as you want to study it and understand the implications. If it isn’t clear ask or walk. We spoke to 5 agents and they were all happy to supply blank specimen contracts.
3, What to ask agents. Tricky, depends what you want to know, sit down and write a list. We asked anything we could think of, like

• How will you market it (Rightmove, Zoopla, info sheets, local press)?
• Do you do the showings?
• Do you do floor plan of house?
• How does exchange & completion work.
• Will it rain on completion day?
• Who will win the next grand national?

Well you get the idea, really go for it. If they don’t like talking to you & answering stupid questions then do you really want them to represent you?

4, How do I choose an agent. Tricky, for us it was who did we feel we could trust, bearing in mind ultimately all we could go by was gut instinct and all they want is your money. However our thinking included

• Did you want to go with an online broken like Purple Bricks or a local agent?
• is agent local?
• Do they have a good location re foot fall and things like parking for customers?
• Do you see any issues in the T&Cs you don’t like?
• Can you negotiate over fees.
• Are their boards very visible and easy to read? We have a local agent whose boards are very arty but really hard to read for agents particulars from inside a car.
• Do you like them?
• Could you trust them?
• Do they listen to you and talk to you about what you want to hear. Not at you, being so busy slagging off other agents and telling you how great and clever they are that you are left feeling over whelmed.
• Last but not least, do you have local contacts you can ask for recommendations.
• Get yourself down to their shop. Is it clean, are the staff professionally polite and not eating burgers off their desks etc?

Really my best advice is to talk to them. Ask any and everything. If you do not like them why would a customer? Ask yourself, if I met this person would I be tempted to buy from them?

Hope this helps.

Thanks all! Very helpful!