The way things seem to be done here, is that you make your house look as though nobody lives here, and then every time someone is shown around you go out.
With 2 small people in the house, it's extremely difficult to make it look neat and tidy and keep it that way. My solution is to be out as much as possible - last night we went out immediately after school and didn't return until bedtime.
We've already had two lots of people around to view the place. I have this unrealistic attitude that it ought to sell *immediately*. When we sold up in London, the first people to view offered us the asking price. When we bought this place it was on the market for half an hour before we bought it. Therefore I feel it ought to happen again and am increasingly stressed by the day as it fails to sell (even though it's only been two days!). I suppose the main issue is time, we have to have it sold and be out by the end of June, not a great deal of time to do it.
Anyway - if you're interested in having a nosey (or want a house in suburban toronto) - here it is.
Posted by katie at April 20, 2005 09:42 AMSo what's the normal way of selling your house in the U.K.? I've only ever experienced our way so trying to make the place look like nobody lives there, and not being there following prospective buyers around the house, seems normal to me ...
Posted by: Steve at April 20, 2005 12:30 PMThat's also a good idea in the UK, especially now that the property boom times are over and things don't sell instantly!
In general the recommendations are to make the place "aspirational", paint the house in neutral colours and try and remove "personal" things so that the prospective buyers can see how THEY would make the place their own rather than how you've managed to make it YOUR own. Put the coffee machine on, put out fresh flowers and if you're really desparate bake some bread in the oven... all these create a "homely" atmosphere (seemingly).
Depending on the area, and the family, either people leave it to the estate agent to show prospective buyers round (and get out the house and make it look empty) or they show buyers round themselves (which is what I've always done).
Then it comes to making an offer and the giggles that follow this... in England (and Wales) the price offered is an "up to" price, so if a house is advetised at £200,000 then someone might offer £190,000 (or some other randomly stupid figure); the vendor can accept or reject it but even if they accept it the deal isn't finalized until contracts have been exchanged (which can take weeks/months/years or even right up until the day the new owners move in), it's a crazy system. In Scotland the price shown is a suggested minimum price (usually) so if a property is shown at £150,000 then the vendor is expecting an offer of between £165,000 and £200,000 (depending on the area the markup varies between 10% and 30%). There is often a sealed bid system so anyone that wants the property can put in an offer before the closing date and then the vendor chooses which offer to accept. Once this is accepted the house is legally going to be sold and it is very difficult for either side to pull out unless there's something been "hidden" in the paperwork... apart for the craziness of the sealed bid system in the main cities during a boom period this system works very well!
And this was going to be a quick comment too ;)
Also there's a big difference in the sale process there. There's no MLS for one thing. No central database. No real estate agents working for themselves taking people around to any old property.
If you want to sell your home you sign up with a real estate company - they will typically have a shop in the high street where they display pictures of your house in the window. They might have a web site. They will probably also advertise in the local paper. Potential buyers in an area will visit the local estate agent shops and be taken to see the properties that that agent owns.
As a seller, you committ to them for a certain time period..... depending on the agency. It can be a problem if they don't advertise your property enough because foot traffic to their shop can end up being the only way people get to see your place, if even that.
Other agencies cannot show your house.
On the plus side, they don't charge 6% commission! I think we paid 1.5% when we sold. You can list with a couple of agencies if you like, but you do end up paying lots more commission so people will generally list with one unless they are having big problems selling.
Swings and roundabouts really, I think the MLS system is brilliant and they could certainly use it in the UK. The system of agents being able to bring people around to any home on the market is also great. The commission is TERRIBLE!
Posted by: katie at April 20, 2005 11:01 PMAh, but there are somewhat central databases now... ok they are more prevalent in Scotland in England (but hey, no one really argues that the English system is any good)...
For example:
Edinburgh, Fife, Lothians (oh and round here for some reason)