Best way to sell a house quickly?

[ExhaustedFlamingo]

Sorry, this is long!!

We are moving to a new house which will have an annexe for my DM. We already have the new property - it's been a very long and drawn-out process.

By mid-February the building work will be done and we can move in. Problem is, my house isn't on the market yet.

Several reasons for this but to cut a long story short, it needs a lot of tidying up and sorting out to be estate agent ready. We are desperately overcrowded here and have been for a long time. It also needs some DIY - some of which I can do myself, other bits I can't.

DP has been off work since (with no pay) since September (hospital treatment). Not sure when he will be fit to return even P/T. I am self-employed which is sort of helpful because it means I've been able to work all the hours god sends to earn enough to cover the bills. Plus Christmas and DC's birthdays etc.

I'm very time-poor. I'm managing the whole build (DM is also disabled - cerebral palsy), both my DC are autistic (DS has high needs), and due to a lack of special school places, they're both currently home educated. I'm obviously working every possible hour to try and earn enough. DP isn't well enough to help with anything.

I could really do with moving in February. I bought this house on a 100% mortgage just prior to the 2008 crash (stupid getting a 100% mortgage I know!). So the rate is terrible and spiralling.

I could do with selling this house quickly. Having been through one very long and protracted house sale for DM, my heart sinks at the thought of going through it all again. I'm exhausted. I have zero spare time even for essentials for self-care, let alone managing a house sale.

We need some money to complete work on the new property but could take a bit of a hit on the price here and still be OK.

I don't want to go to auction because it's a faff. With two autistic DC (I'm autistic too) plus all the other pressures I have, there's a real value in just getting this gone quickly.

Has anyone had any dealings with one of those companies who sell your house quickly? I know some are utter bastards and rip you off by dropping price at the 11th hour. I've heard some offer in the region of 90% of the property value - can anyone recommend anyone? Or any other solution?

Apologies if this post is insensitive. I'm just so exhausted I could cry and I'm at the end of my tether trying to figure out how to get this done while keeping all the other balls in the air.

I'm exhausted just reading this.

Do not worry about cleaning up. If the price is right it will sell. Anyone talking about skips etc has not understood your problems.

Don't worry about the mess in the house. It does not have to be estate agent ready unless the house is targeting first-time buyer or homemover who wants a turn-key property.
Houses like yours are usually bought by a developer or DIY enthusiast. They can see through the clutter when they come to view the house. You can put the house online through a low-cost agent. They are much cheaper than a high street agent. Put "no chain" on your ad.

www.propertyroad.co.uk/online-estate-agent-reviews/

UPDATE

Hi everyone, thought I'd come back and give a little update as everyone was so kind and helpful before.

A very long story short, the building work didn't finish in February as planned so we weren't ready to move out then anyway. In the last 5-6 months, in between everything else, I have slowly just plugged away at the clutter and DIY jobs and done what I can. DP has dipped in and helped where he is able to, although it's only been very limited due to his health. We've been waiting to see a Neurologist since last year, the appointment finally came through today - March next year...ugh...!!! Anyway, I digress.

Everywhere is painted white. The ceiling has been re-plastered and wallpapered. I've decluttered and cleared out as much as I can by taking non-essential stuff that I want to keep to the new house. The toilet seat has been fixed and there's a new bath panel attached.

It's a long way from being perfect - but it's now marketable. Th estate agent came last week and valued it, and I was pleasantly surprised (and I know he's valued it at the competitive, lower end which is what I wanted - it's definitely not overpriced). He sold my DM's house - he's a local guy who owns his own agency and he's absolutely brilliant. He knows the market well and you can always reach him by text - I hate calling estate agents and waiting for them to get back to you. He thinks there's a very good chance it will shift as 2-beds are still going in this area, it's in a really desirable location and it's priced a bit lower than similar houses within the surrounding 3 miles.

He's back here tomorrow at 4pm to take pictures and list it on RM - eek!

I never thought we'd actually get to this point. I've cleared my work diary for tomorrow so I'm going to spend the day doing final decluttering and tidying.

I wanted to buy new curtains for upstairs and a rug for the DC's bedroom because they rubbed slime into the (very old) carpet and I've never been able to get the marks out. But it is what it is. Honestly, I am just fucking THRILLED to be able to at least go to market with this house.

Pleas keep everything crossed for me that we find a buyer soon-ish. I don't know how long I can stop the kids messing up my nice clean, tidy house 😅

(I took my summer clothes to the new house because I thought we'd be living there by now - and now I've taken over my winter clothes. I have a tiny capsule wardrobe I'm working with - so if this sale takes too long, I'm going to end up just wearing a pair of knickers and nothing else at this rate 😅)

Thank you all again for your kindness and advice earlier this year. I was at such a low point and I really appreciated the ideas, support and understanding from so many lovely people.

Great update! Best of luck with the sale and well done for getting so much done given your other responsibilities.

I love an update so thank you @ExhaustedFlamingo

I've got my fingers crossed for you! Well done on all the decluttering, tidying, cleaning etc you have done to make the house more appealing to buyers. I hope you get a quick sale as it is priced realistically.

If you DM me I do have some contacts who are very reputable and honest "we buy houses" type people, that are usually buying on behalf of investors. They will want it to be keenly priced but won't rip you off. DM me with details of the house, location etc. I invest in property myself but am not currently in a position to buy.

Sorry didn't RTFT -well done that's great news!

Thank you @100Bees, @lurchermummy, and @Twiglets1 - Lurcher, if you'd seen this post six months ago, I would have snapped your hand off with that offer hahaha! So thank you anyway.

The house went live on Right Move yesterday morning and we have four viewings booked in for the start of next week already! So not a bad start at all in a slow market, right? And hopefully more people will have a browse on RM over the weekend and we'll MAYBE get some more interest. Ever the optimist haha! Just need someone to make an offer now.....

Wish me luck! I'll come back and update, just in case anyone wants to know what happened 😊

It’s a strong start and yes, please keep us updated!

So happy to see your updates and wishing you the best of luck with the sale - you deserve it after all your hard work. We'll done getting to this point!

Sounds so positive! Well done for getting to this point, everything crossed here.

Just a little update.

We've been on the market for one week, and we had five viewings. We don't have any more booked in and the general market conditions round here are pretty sluggish.

One viewing cancelled as she had an offer on another house accepted before she saw ours. One person said the house was too small because she has an older child (bit nonplussed why she came to see it as the dimensions were online and it would definitely be too small but maybe she's new to looking at houses and couldn't visualise the space). Another person was concerned about the construction across the road (they're building a carpark for the residents in this road and the next road).

That leaves two. One person liked it but was viewing for a friend, and said they'd have to talk it over, but wanted to book a second viewing.

The final one offered £170k (against our listed price of £180k) - they offered less as they want to put in a new bathroom and kitchen, plus replace the upstairs carpets. And all of that is fair enough, tbh.

It was priced taking into account the fact the kitchen and bathroom are old and tired but I said at the start I'd be happy if we got £170k. So I didn't mind dropping £10k. They're also first-time buyers, keen on the house, and want to move quickly. So lots of other positive facts in their favour.

So long story short, we've accepted the offer. I don't see the point in prolonging the agony of house viewings for another few weeks potentially, just to get another £5k. Maybe. Maybe the next offer would be less. And the other person who wants to get their friends back round sounded faffy. Also, my autistic DC are finding the process excruciating, and getting this wrapped up will really help them.

I'm honestly delighted and hopefully the sale will go smoothly - I'd never have guessed we'd have listed and accepted an offer all within the space of a week! I'm utterly ecstatic to be honest haha!!!

Thank you all again for your very kind words.

Yay, Congratulations!
179k on a property listed at 180k is a good result in this market. Good on you!

Sorry I meant to type 170k but can’t edit my post.

@Twiglets1 - haha! Aaah, thank you very much!!

I'm really pleased. Delighted actually. And relieved! I feared we'd have to end up accepting way less due to a stagnant market and our need to move asap, so it's been rather wonderful getting such a solid offer.

The survey is the next hurdle, so please keep everything crossed there's nothing unexpected lurking!

Brilliant news!

Brilliant news OP, keeping fingers crossed for you 😊🤞

Congratulations. Hope everything is straightforward.