First time seller

[MishaBukvic]

Hi,

Do you have any tips for selling a house for the first time? A bit like a dummies guide to selling a house?
I bought in 2017 as a very naive first time buyer. Disclaimer - I have massive buyers regret. And I admit I was naive, inexperienced, and the seller who I bought it from must have been laughing.
I chose the cheapest solicitor when I bought and, boy, were they cheap for a reason (crap). It was only after completion that I started learning that we should have certificates for the doors/windows, when was it last re-wired, etc etc. I dont have any of that.
The long term plan was the modernise and renovate the house over a long period of time. However, due to a marriage breakdown, this hasn't happened. I put a new boiler in, but I haven't been able to afford doing the re-wire or the new kitchen for example.

Life circumstances mean I need to sell . There is no chain.
Where do I start? Do I chose an estate agent and take their lead?

I made so many mistakes when buying, I want to at least make an effort to learn what I need to do, to sell. Can it be clear on the listing that the price is priced to reflect that it needs modernising? Will the sale halt because I can't provide evidence of when the windows were fitted / when it was last re-wired, for example?

Do I shop around estate agents? Or is that not the done thing?

You can get valuations from different estate agents to see how their valuations compare. All depends on the area that you live in but the market is slow moving at the moment.

You also want to consider estate agent fees as these can be quite expensive also.

You don’t need any certification for wiring or windows although some buyers may want the peace of mind. It’s not a requirement though. The only thing you’ll need is certification of any building work you have had done to the property and if you haven’t got that then you’ll need an indemnity.

Most usually choose 3 local agents to get valuations. The choose the one you feel best about and the price you want to list at, based somewhere in the range of valuations you got.

NB you don't need to agree with the specific price your chosen one suggests if you think too high or low - you can instruct them to list at so and so price.

Bear in mind most agents suggest higher value than likely to get to get the business then often suggest a reduction after that.

Estate agent should ask you to agree listing text before it goes on (check they will do that when they initially come round to value?).

They usually only say 'in need of modernisation' if its a wreck. Otherwise they may say something like 'needs some updating' or may say nothing at all about condition. Viewers check condition on viewing and don't just go by what the text on listing says anyway and factor that into what they might offer.

As discussed in other threads the market is not great at the moment but that's unlikely to be a blip now interest rates are returning to a more normal level after years of ultra low. The estate agents looking for your business may talk things up but be realistic about price and how long it might take to avoid disappointment.

FENSA certificates only existed since 2002 so if the doors/windows are older than that they wouldn't have been certified anyway. If they're newer and you just don't have the certificate, your conveyancer can take out a (cheap) indemnity policy to pass on to your buyer.

You don't need to know when your property was last rewired. I haven't the faintest idea when mine was.

Do discuss with several estate agents what price they would be looking to list your property and and what they'd hope to achieve for you (and what their commission rate is, so you know what you'll be paying). I don't think any of the stuff you're taking about really constitutes being in need of modernisation, it all sounds pretty standard, but you can certainly say to the agents that you're looking to be realistic about the fact that there's likely to be some updating need and want to price to reflect that.

Bear in mind also that buyers may try to negotiate you down once they've had a survey done. My strong advice is not to let your feelings that you were naive when buying tip you into immediately agreeing to anything they ask. I personally take the view that I'll negotiate on things that a buyer couldn't have known without the survey, but not ones that are obvious to people who have eyes - so maaaaybe the electrics, if they have further investigation done that reveals an actual problem beyond just not knowing how old they are, but not the kitchen, say. But yes, as others have said, it's not a great market to sell in right now so you may need to be a bit flexible.

When we recently sold, I spent a bit of time looking at Rightmove for comparable properties, to get an idea of what a valuation might look like. I looked at which local agents had several listings and made a shortlist of 4 or 5. I then rang round to get valuations done. I didn’t bother ringing back the agents that didn’t answer- I only wanted agents that picked up the phone.

When the valuations came in, one was around our expectations, one slightly higher and one agent overvalued the property by over 10%- but I knew that by looking at their other listings, they overvalued to get listings and these then sat unsold on the market. You will hopefully get a feel for which agent knows the market best when you meet them. I have always marketed at a price around or just over the middle valuations- I think going in too high makes you look like you’re not serious about selling. Unless you have a really unique property which is difficult to value- in which case you might try a higher price and then drop. One house near me originally listed for £1.3m and dropped to £795k. It sold at the new price.

WRT solicitors, we’ve used a few. I don’t use the online outfits recommended by agents any more. Maybe have a look at the reviews for solicitors in your town and see how they fare?

Good luck with your selling.