Selling your House Privately
Selling is an art and some are better at it than others, but it is a skill anyone can learn and many already practice these abilities subconsciously in their everyday lives. Think about the last time you sold something to someone else and identify what you did to achieve it. Have you ever sold a car or an item of furnishing? Do you sell your services as part of your job? Are you self-employed? Have you ever had to sell an idea to improve your company's trading figures or promote a new management scheme?
Consider all of these experiences as learning opportunities. If something you did worked well then recognise it and adapt it for use when selling your home. It is equally important to acknowledge what may not have worked well to ensure that such mistakes are not repeated.
An estate agent is an unbiased salesman who will offer your property for sale by promoting its best features to the general public. To succeed, you must do the same. But you have lived in it, decorated it, cared for it and protected it, and as a result you are likely to have an emotional attachment to it. Whilst it may be difficult to detach yourself from the property you call home this will be essential if you are to sell it effectively. To this end begin looking at your house or apartment as a commodity, a product with a price tag stuck to it, something that will eventually realise capital allowing you to move on to better things. Keep this thought in mind and you will gradually withdraw from any emotional connection and become a better salesman as a result.
To sell your property successfully you must:
- Be 100% committed to selling it.
- Be fully prepared for the throng of viewers touring through your home who will inspect every crevice and cupboard.
- Have the energy and stamina to withstand constant viewings and the preparation required for each one.
- Be virtually free from any other stressful events happening in your life that may otherwise distract or influence you, such as a pregnancy, school holidays, an impending close family wedding, an ongoing illness, problems or pressures in your career, a driving test or higher-education exam, or financial problems.
- Have the full support of your partner (if appropriate) and be able to rely on a close friend or family member if the going gets tough.
- Believe in yourself so that others will believe in you.
To Summarise
- Plan to launch your property on the market for sale during April to attract the greatest number of potential buyers and acquire the highest possible offers.
- Use the winter period to prepare yourself and your property for selling.
- Realise that your home is merely a saleable product made up of bricks and mortar. Reduce the emotional attachment you have for it by recognising the capital value it holds and associate that value with your future plans.
- Be certain that your personal circumstances are compatible with the stresses involved in selling your home.
- Examine your neighbourhood and assess ways in which it might be improved.
- Identify other properties for sale in the locality and gather information on them, including the asking price.
