Private House Sales UK: How Can I Achieve a Private House Sale?
Private house sales are becoming more and more popular for homeowners across the UK. Selling a house privately enables you to save a substantial amount of money by eliminating escalating estate agency fees. A private house sale also gives UK homeowners more control over the sale and negotiation process because they have direct contact with any potential buyers.
However, the process of selling your house privately without an estate agent may not be as straightforward as you think. It’s involves a lot of time and effort as you need to oversee the whole selling process and be happy to market your house to strangers. Selling your house privately in the UK is still essentially a gamble, but when done correctly, it can be a great way to sell your house and save a little money in the process. Discover more information about private house sales in the UK by getting in touch with National Homebuyers today.
Before deciding on selling your property, homeowners should keep in mind that estate agents are highly experienced in selling houses, they have a strong knowledge of market conditions and tried and tested negotiating skills. So before jumping into a private house sale to try to save money, homeowners should first weigh up the advantages and disadvantages of selling a home privately before making this decision.
If you still want to go ahead and sell your house privately then make sure you make the selling process as easy as possible for buyers to find out as much about your property as they can. In other words, make your house as sell-able as you can.
Below is some general advice for homeowners who want to achieve a private house sale:
1. Make the property presentable to buyers
Preparing your home is extremely important – it should be presentable to potential buyers. Just use a bit of common if you are thinking about selling your house privately. You’ll have much more success selling a property if you create an image of a lifestyle or an aspiration. If your house is messy, full of clutter and slightly dilapidated then it will be less appealing to buyers and will put them off.
To overcome this, one area of improvement is to get rid of any excess stuff that has accumulated in your house. Consider putting this stuff into storage or give it to someone to look after, private house sales UK tend to be a lot more successful when the home is tidy and presentable. You could even think about removing any large and bulky furniture to make any of your rooms appear larger, this could then be replaced with smaller more presentable furnishings.
Clean the house fully from top to bottom until it sparkles (including the garden and the carpets) and give the walls a fresh coat of paint. Also make any minor repairs that are necessary around the house such as any holes in walls or cracked tiles. By making your property presentable to buyers you will find the private house sales process much more straight forward. Buyers will then potentially be interested in your UK property because the house will look more attractive and buyers will get the impression it will be easier for them to move in and use the rooms immediately.
2. Set a selling price for your property
So now your house is looking great and de-cluttered, it’s time to establish how much you are going to sell your house for. The one part of the private house sales process most people struggle with is pricing. At this point, the expertise of an estate agent can be un-paralleled, they can usually give a very good estimation of how much your property is worth in the current housing market, something you don’t get with a private house sale. So how do you go about pricing your property when selling your house privately?
A Property value estimator is available here – Property value estimator. Alternatives to this can be found on websites such as Zoopla and Rightmove and all these tools can be really beneficial when selling a house privately in the UK. By putting in all your house details, these websites will provide you with an estimated price of how much your house is worth. Also look at the sold price history of your property and research all the properties similar to yours in the immediate area to see how much they have been valued at. Pricing is one of the most difficult steps when it comes to Private House Sales UK, but with a bit of research, a good ball-park figure can be established.
3. Write a detailed description of the property for sale
Like with anything, when selling a house privately you will need to provide a detailed description of the house you wish to sell so people can find out as much information about the property as possible. Home buyers will want to know whether it is a flat, a bungalow or a house they are looking at, how many rooms it has, what the size of those rooms are, and whether the house is a freehold or leasehold.
Try to avoid writing a detailed opinionated account of how wonderful your property is when selling a house privately. Keep the information about the property as concise and to the point as possible to help entice potential buyers through the door.
Also, don’t forget to mention any additional benefits of the property that are not tangible like its transportation links, local shops, schools, medical facilities and churches for example. This could just be what is needed to seal your private house sale deal.
4. Take quality high photographs of your house
Remember the old saying “a picture paints a thousand words”, always keep this in mind when selling your house. The item you are selling is your home so remember to take as many quality pictures of it as you can so that potential buyers can see your house in all its glory. When selling a house privately, listing all the sizes of the rooms and the house’s features is great, but pictures allow them to see these rooms and features for themselves. You have to remember that your potential buyers would have seen a lot of houses so it is vital to stand out, so make sure your photographs capture their attention to allow for a smooth private house sale.
Simple advice like: taking outdoor and indoor photos in daylight, and when taking photographs indoors open the curtains so you get as much natural light as possible, is essential. Poor lighting is a massive issue when it comes to selling a house privately, because a bad picture in low light makes a property look gloomy and less appealing. Views can be really beneficial when it comes to selling a house in the UK, so, if you have a great view from your garden or window then document it in a photograph, it may just be what’s needed to seal the deal on your Private House Sale.
Photos can also be counter-productive if they are poor quality and don’t do the property justice. You could even get a professional photographer in to take the photographs when selling your house privately, to add that extra touch.
5. Advertising your property for sale
Statistically, most people buy houses that are geographically no further than 5 miles from their current home, so when selling your house privately, targeting your local area should be a priority. When selling a house privately, make sure you advertise your property in as many local publications as possible such as local papers and newsletters. Don’t forget to also advertise your private house sale on notice boards in your local newsagents, supermarkets, and your parish churches to maximise your property’s visibility.
On a wider advertising front, it can be a little more difficult because, as an individual, your private house sale cannot be advertised on the main property portals such as Zoopla and Rightmove. These websites are the main way home buyers search for new properties and the main way estate agents sell houses. This is why homeowners tend to choose estate agents over private house sales, because they can provide them with more access to a wider scoop of buyers across the UK.
However, there are websites that allow you to market your private house sale online for free, an example of these would be Tepilo, owned by property expert Sarah Beeny.
There are also more generic online sales platforms available when selling a house privately, such as Ebay, Gumtree and the Friday-Ad Online. Social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter can also be a great way of spreading the word when selling your house privately. Maybe even consider filming the entire house, its rooms and additional features, and then post this walk-through video on YouTube for potential buyers to see.
Although private house sales in the UK may not have the reach an estate agent could provide, there are plenty of avenues to explore to seal a house sale deal.
6. Online estate agents
Instead of using a traditional estate agent to sell your house, you can still take advantage of the benefits an estate agent has to offer by listing your private house sale with an online estate agency. Online estate agents such as Emoov, HouseSimple and Purplebricks charge much lower fees for selling your house than high street agents.
The services an online estate agent provides is very similar to those offered by a high street estate agent including valuing, listing and marketing your property on popular websites such as Zoopla. The only real difference is they do not host viewings for potential buyers.
7. Selling a House Privately Fast for Cash
Another option available to homeowners who are thinking about selling a house privately is to go direct to a quick cash buyer without having to market their house or do any of the above tasks.
We buy any home companies like National Homebuyers can purchase your home for cash within 30 days. These direct cash buyers do not need time to arrange mortgages for the properties they purchase. This then allows for a quick private house sale without the homeowner actually having to do much work at all. Get in touch today to find out more information regarding Private House Sales in the UK.
So if you want a we guarantee to buy any home service then give us a call on 08000 443 911.
Get your no obligation cash offer now by using the Get Offer at the top of this page and take the hassle out of selling your home!