Options for Selling Your House Fast in Todays Market

In the current climate many people are unsure of whats the best way is to sell their home. Unlike a few years back when the only options where a traditional estate agent or a auction house, there are now many different routes. Whichever route that you choose depends on a number of different factors but what many people are concerned with is not only the price they will achieve but also the timescale, here we will take a look at open ended selling methods and also those where you can decide your desired date of completion. Also, before you decide what selling method to choose and how long you are prepared to give it a try with a certain avenue you need to weigh up the merits of your home which is discussed towards the bottom of this article.

House Selling Options with a Unknown Timescale

When you initially put your house on the market you often have a optimistic view that the house will probably sell within a few months, sometimes this happens particularly if your house is in a good location. However, sometimes time seems to run out and you may need to complete quickly for a number of different reasons, such as you have found the ideal house that you would like to buy, your re-locating abroad or having to move for a new job or even finances may have become a strain and you have to cut free. Firstly, we will look at the house selling options with no fixed time scale and then compare the time scale of other methods.

Using a estate agent is usually the first route to try and with this method you are advertising as a normal seller who requires a normal buyer and many people would typically expect to sell their home at around a few months with this route. Make sure that your estate agent is a company who uses the property portal Rightmove to advertise your home because this is the most likely way your prospective buyer will be attracted to your home. Another benefit of using a estate agent is being advertised in their shop window and in local papers, also they may have a couple of prospective buyers registered on their books who could even enable you to achieve a sale straight away without even putting your house on the open market. You will also benefit from the reputation of using a established estate agent, this could help reassure your buyer but essentially is not a deal maker or a deal breaker. At the end of the day there is only so much an estate agent can do and it’s the property and it’s price that matters.

After a few months of non activity your estate agent may suggest that you lower the price of your house this is a option you could take but you may also wish to consider employing another estate agent if you feel that your current agent isn’t doing a adequate Job. However, in doing so you will end up with two adverts on Rightmove and you may appear as a desperate seller to perspective buyers who could take advantage of this and give you a low ball offer.

Another popular option in recent times is the Do it yourself method and use a company such as purple bricks. In choosing this option you save a lot in fees and rather than paying around 2% to a estate agent once the transaction completes, with using a company that will assist you to sell your house yourself you will pay a far smaller upfront fee that is often a flat rate typically around £900. However, if you fail to sell your house via this route then you will of course lose your upfront fee. Most importantly your property will still be advertised on Rightmove and you will probably see the same amount of interest as if you were to use a traditional agent.

Options with a Fixed Timescale

There are many house buying companies like ourselves who will allow you to achieve a sale within a fixed time period that can even be within a couple of weeks. Depending on your time frame and location, your offer will vary in accordance to the level of discount and the market value for your home. This can be a very convenient option for many reasons, such as finding a buyer when you need it and also most company’s cover all costs and fees. In particular if you are struggling to get any viewings due to the condition of your house or its location it can certainly be seen as one of the only viable methods.

The auction house is another option with a fixed timescale, however this should be used as a last resort as you will be selling to cash buyers who are looking for a bargain and are often taking a risk themselves by purchasing a property  that they have not adequately viewed or even surveyed. The main benefit of selling this way is that the full payment and completion must take place within 30 days, if it doesn’t then you will receive the purchasers 10% deposit that they would have paid on the day of the auction. It’s always nice to know that this method is available but it is seen as the least favourable in terms of the amount of funds you will receive.

Factors that may Affect the Time it Takes to Sell Your Home

1. Your Property Location – it’s obvious to say that if you live in a popular city location with a large amount of potential house buyers then you have a much better chance of quickly selling than someone who lives in a rural area.
2. Competition from Other House Sellers – Regardless of your location it can be a real pain if there are similar property’s for sale in near proximity to your home. This may just be a couple of similar homes for sale in surrounding roads or even worse your next door neighbour. In particular homes that are exactly identical to yours can cause a real problem, this is why buying a flat in a large block or a new home on a brand new development site can be problematic to sell. In fact, the only way to make a identical property more attractive to a prospective buyer is to lower the value of your home, however as previously discussed you need to be careful when lowering your asking price as this will establish a new market value and if you change your mind you wont be able to put the price back up.
3. The Price Bracket of Your House – If the price of your home is around the average price of a house in your area then you will find that there is the largest amount of competition advertised at the same price as you. At the same time because it is the average price that people are prepared to pay you will also find that you have the largest majority of available house buyers. Therefore, within this price bracket you would have the best chance of selling your home quite quickly to a existing homeowner who has enough equity to simply make a move. Properties that are priced at the lowest end of the market are also good candidates for a quick sale as we have recently reported that the first time buyer market is quite buoyant and you may find a lot of interest at this price level. The slowest movers are homes which are outside city areas and are priced over a million pounds, these types of homes are notoriously difficult to sell due to a lack of buyers and you could even find your home advertised for sale for a number of years!