Selling first house

CountAdhemar · 13/09/2025 23:55

Declutter once, and then declutter again.

Estate Agents will blow smoke by saying your house is worth 15% more than it is to get you to pick them to sell it. Pricing too high will ruin your launch (if you don't have multiple offers in 2 weeks it's too high).

As long as it's clean and tidy, you don't need to 'dress' it for sale. No need to paint it all magnolia or put in a new cheap kitchen (some people do this) which someone will rip out straight away.

Make sure the photography and floorplan is good, and price it sensibly (the market will tell you what it's worth).

A long chain will be a nightmare. The fewer the counterparties the better.

Good luck.

Whaleadthesnail · 14/09/2025 07:31

Get at least three local agents around and see which one you get the best 'vibe' from. Remember your potential buyer will be dealing with these agents too and you want them to have a great experience. Ask them who carries out the viewings. I had one lady who waxed lyrical about how great my house was and thought she'd be great to sell it, but it turned out they have an army of 'viewing people' so my potential buyers would be shown around by random people who had never seen the house. She was just there to sell me the business essentially.

If you're busy/short on time make sure the agent only books viewings from serious proceeedable buyers to avoid time wasting. I had a 2yo and baby at the time we sold so getting the house ready was a massive undertaking!

It's a nerve wracking time because you never know when 'the one's will come along and it could be one week or three months....so try to relax! Good luck :)

canyon2000 · 14/09/2025 07:58

If you need to sell quickly then I would think that you might need to lower your price. The market is quite slow generally at the moment.

Bluevelvetsofa · 14/09/2025 09:11

I agree with getting several agents to value and do some research on what properties similar to yours they’ve recently sold. I also agree that you need one person to do the viewings. You should have a separate meeting with that person and they should familiarise themselves with your house, so they can answer any questions from prospective purchasers.

You’ll want proceedable buyers only, if you are under time pressure and price the house to sell. In this market, I don’t think there are likely to be lots of viewings, so you need to make yours as attractive as possible. That means ensuring it’s clean and clutter free and has kerb appeal.

DisplayPurposesOnly · 14/09/2025 09:17

Put the bloody loo seat down for photos. People like me who find it annoying will love you. Normal people who dont care won't notice.

Stage each room for photos. By which I mean follow the photographer room to room, make adjustments just for the photo and put stuff back. Eg kitchen sides look more cluttered in photos than in real life so have them clearer in photos than you'll need for viewings. Ditto coats and shoes. That sort of thing.

MN2025 · 14/09/2025 14:13

Anotherplant · 13/09/2025 23:02

What do I need to know about selling my first house? Looking to move for work reasons, sooner than expected and I am panicking!

Are there any tips for how it should be for photos and viewings? Anything I might not have thought of?

As other posters have said - have a good clear out and be ruthless about what you need and what you don’t need. When people come to view your house they will visualise where they want their furniture to go etc…

What is your house looking like cosmetically? Would it benefit from a paint? How old are the carpets? If really old, I’d look to get some cheap remnants and get this put down - freshens the place up.

I wouldn’t bother replacing the kitchen and bathroom - just make it look presentable and clean - it gives the new owner a chance to put their own stamp on their home!

As you are looking to move for work reasons, could you not rent the property out and then you either rent yourself or buy a second property closer to your new job? Some people have done that before!

Original poster

Anotherplant · 14/09/2025 19:23

MN2025 · 14/09/2025 14:13

As other posters have said - have a good clear out and be ruthless about what you need and what you don’t need. When people come to view your house they will visualise where they want their furniture to go etc…

What is your house looking like cosmetically? Would it benefit from a paint? How old are the carpets? If really old, I’d look to get some cheap remnants and get this put down - freshens the place up.

I wouldn’t bother replacing the kitchen and bathroom - just make it look presentable and clean - it gives the new owner a chance to put their own stamp on their home!

As you are looking to move for work reasons, could you not rent the property out and then you either rent yourself or buy a second property closer to your new job? Some people have done that before!

Show quote history

Thanks all, and yes @MN2025 I did wonder about renting it out but I just think it could be a huge amount of stress. I could possibly hold off selling until early next year, I’m not sure how much difference this might make to sale price/speed of sale. I’ve heard spring is a better time to sell.

I’ve absolutely gutted it since I’ve had it, I was intending to stay longer - it’s been rewired, plastered, new bathroom/kitchen etc, so good condition.

Think I need to focus on emptying it out and giving everything a good clean!

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