There are two main methods that you can sell your house by;

1. ESTATE AGENT
2. DIY SELLING

ESTATE AGENT

Estate agents take some of the pressure off of you to sell the house. They are there to help you find the best buyer at the best price.

They are there to :

• Value your property
• Advise on how to prepare your house for sale
• Handle enquiries and offers
• Have good professional relationships with other professional bodies. - usually!
• Make sure that the buyer are in a position to proceed immediately with the purchase
• Negotiate price on your behalf

It is best not to allow one agent sole right s to selling your house as there will be higher fees incurred. If you allow for at least three agents to value your house and pick a couple from these if not all. The commission from selling your house will be split between all the agents used based on who sells the house first.

The estate agents fee is normally 1-3% of the selling price + VAT

Tips for finding a good estate agent:

1. Recommendation - these are the best way they come
2. Image - look for good personal presentation and in the offices
3. Professionalism
4. Experience - they need to be able to cope with your requirements
5. Adverts - enable you to see who are the specialists in the area that you require.
6. Track Record - look for other houses using them and how many have 'sold' signs up.
7. What's included - fees, surveys etc
8. Communication - are they within a close enough range for you to be able to communicate easily
9. Information - give him an fact sheet about the house to look through

DIY SELLING

If you decide that you want to sell the house yourself then you must be aware of the amount of time that will be involved in this method.

• You must organise appointments
• Show people around
• Market the property

You must be sure that the market conditions are good for you in order to stand a chance at selling yourself. Another consideration is the type of property that you are selling. It is considered easier to sell a property at the lower end of the market yourself.

It is possible that you can save between 1-3% of the selling price of your house, however there will be costs that will be incurred;

• Advertising - not cheap
• Valuation - best to get a professional valuer which will cost about £120
• Solicitors fees - it is best to let the solicitor deal with the formalities once a buyer has been found.

A test of stamina and patience will evolve from a decision to sell yourself so if you know you are not a patient person then think again!

Strong Market - This is always a hint that the time is right! Watch or the conditions of the market when considering a sale.

Warmer Seasons - Everybody has a brighter outlook on life and what they see is often made to look far better in the warmer seasons

April - June - This is known as the peak period in the housing year.

Jan - March - During these months buyers are generally starting to look around and interest in the housing market starts to rise after the winter period.

It is sometimes easier to sell a property than to buy and vice versa.

This is when more people want to buy properties than there are properties available. It becomes relatively easy to obtain loan finance. You would probably be able to sell your property within a few weeks at a good price.

This is where there are more properties than there are prospective buyers. As a result loan finance becomes much more difficult to achieve. It may also take a long time for you to sell your property at the price that you want.

In preparing to sell the house yourself here are 5 handy hints that will help you through the first stages ;

• Pricing your Property - ask agents for quotes or look at similar properties
• Work out a promotional budget
• Make sure that people can contact you easily
• Ask your bank to recommend a solicitor or conveyor
• Get quotes in writing from suppliers

Some useful numbers :
National Association of Estate Agents - 01926 496800
U Sell Direct Chartered Surveyors - 0207 738 2222
Council for Licensed Conveyors - 01245 349599

Tips when preparing your home for potential buyers :

• Clear entrance of clutter
• Keep children and pets well out of the way
• Mention local plus points about amenities
• Switch the TV and radio off so there are no distractions
• Clean bathrooms and kitchen
• The old favourite of wafting homely smells about!
• Make sure the house is at a good comfortable temperature
• Clean the windows
• Show the potential buyers security
• Do the garden
• Make sure that pets and children are out of the way