Whether you’re buying or selling, the process is always fraught with stress, worry and unanswered questions – especially in today’s housing market.
But help is available from Roger Punch of Marchand Petit in Devon, who is one of the South West’s best-known agents with more than 50 years’ experience.
Here are his top tips for landing a sale – or buying at a bargain price.
With over 50 years of experience, Roger Punch of Marchand Petit in Devon is one of the South West’s best known estate agents
Sale
- Interview several real estate agencies before choosing the best one. Ask if they have sold many other properties in the area; how long did it take to sell them? Make sure they put an experienced negotiator in charge of your sale, not the new kid on the block.
- Keep a parking space available for viewers. You don’t want a viewing to start off on the wrong foot and your buyer to have to duck into a parking lot two blocks away.
- First impressions count, so make sure the exterior looks neat with clean windows, walls, paths and driveways. A power wash can do wonders. Hide the waste containers.
- Ask a friend to take an objective look and nose over your home. Are there smells of wet dogs, diapers or worse that you are immune to but leave the buyer craving fresh air?
- Make sure each room has a clear function, whether it’s a kitchen, study, games room or home theater.
- If your home has an obvious flaw, such as a kitchen that is too small, hire a contractor to give you an estimate for knocking out a wall or adding an extension. Show the written quote to the buyer.
- Price the house accurately by checking the competition on the real estate portals. If you’re asking for more than the house down the street, make sure you have good reasons ready for potential buyers, such as a larger yard, a new kitchen, two bathrooms, and a new bathroom. Be willing to give a little. The average seller only gets about 92 percent of the asking price.
- Claim your garage. If your garage is full of clutter, not only is it not serving its purpose, it is also a sign that the storage space in your home is inadequate. To sort.
- Keep your neighbors informed about your sale. Then, when they see you doing a viewing, you can make the necessary introductions and the buyers will feel welcome. That’s certainly better than being looked at over the neighbor’s fence.
- Not everyone likes animals, so if you have a viewing, remove all cats, dogs, snakes and rats. Make sure your children are presentable. You may love it, but the sight of a teenager growling from his bed while listening to deafening music could turn off a potential buyer.
When selling, do the basics right: fill vases, light a fire and pay attention to the lighting
- Tidy up your garden. Keep lawns pruned, flower beds tidy and patio furniture clean. But don’t overcomplicate your planting and create such a gardener’s paradise that your buyer feels intimidated. Not everyone has green fingers.
- Some conservatories – especially the small lean-to variety – are a turn-off for most buyers. If you have one, give it a good function, for example as a ‘book corner’ or mini orange. Don’t let it be a hiding place for your unused rowing machine or exercise bike.
- If you don’t yet have a good ‘eye’ for interior design, hire an expert home stager. A one-day makeover may seem expensive, but these people recoup their costs by helping to sell your home in double the time.
- Do the basics right. Fill vases, light a fire and pay attention to the lighting. A few well-placed table lamps are visually soothing and also conceal dark corners.
- Selling a house is about selling a lifestyle. Give your buyers leaflets from the local council or tourist office with color photographs of the local parks, country walks and river views.
- Be friendly and welcoming to your viewers. Offer them coffee. Tell them about the local schools, nurseries, childminders, sports and arts facilities and any coffee houses and gastropubs nearby. But don’t give too much away. There is no need to tell buyers how long the house will be on the market. Don’t show it if you’re desperate to sell quickly to secure your own new home. Play your cards close to your chest. During a viewing, a former client painted a sweet word picture of her village as a rural idyll with church bells on Sundays and the hunt passing by outside. When I called to ask the viewer what she thought of her visit, she said: ‘Nice house, but the village is not for us, I’m a hunting saboteur!’
To buy
- Don’t judge a building from the outside or rely on Google Earth or Street View, which are always historical.
- Visit the home several times before making an offer. Preferably go there during the week and at different times on weekends. Look for signs that you or your family may not feel safe there. Damaged signage, skid marks on the road, graffiti, litter and unkempt adjacent properties should all display warning signs.
- Once you’ve roughly decided which area you want to live in, focus on your favorite road. You can improve a property, but not a neighborhood. So don’t make any compromises. The best long-term purchase is usually the worst property on the best street.
- Don’t make a ‘silly’ offer to start negotiations. It will probably result in you annoying the seller and losing the deal.
- Make notes. You may have trouble remembering everything about the house later, especially if you have to view multiple properties on the same day. So make a note of details such as the condition of the window frames, the proximity to the main road, the distance to the shops.
Visit the home several times before making an offer. Preferably go there during the week and at different times on weekends
- Make a wish list of what you need in your home. How many bedrooms and bathrooms do you want? Is a spacious garden or home office important to you?
- Study plans for local infrastructure. You may like that your chosen home has countryside views across fields and valleys. Check that there are no plans for suburban sprawl that could destroy everything.
- Make sure the seller knows that you know your business. I once had a buyer in Cornwall who asked, ‘What time does the tide go on Saturday?’ Credibility ruined!
- Don’t overestimate your own DIY skills. Installing a kitchen or bathroom may seem simple on television, but it’s not that simple. If you’re buying a home with a renovation project in mind, ask a proven builder to tell you what’s involved. Maybe it’s best to leave it to him or her.
- Be considerate of the other members of your family. The stream at the bottom of the garden looks peaceful, but could it be a danger to your toddlers? The steep stairs may be cute, but would Grandma be able to handle that if she came to stay?
- If the property has been recently built, make sure the seller has a building control certificate.
- Be careful when moving to the countryside. You may be attracted to the Sagittarius-style rural way of life, but are you really happy to be woken up by chickens every day? Will the smells of the pig farm add to the charm of your garden? If you share a country lane, are you ready to be held up by cows returning from milking? The country people were there first and they will be there long after you leave.
- Be friendly, but don’t give the seller too much information. If you say, “I’m desperate to move this month because my wife wants to evict me,” the seller will likely stick with their asking price.
- Never make an offer immediately. Remain flexible and negotiate other terms, such as closing dates or furnishings, to reach a mutually acceptable agreement.