The beginning of Autumn has been a tricky one for house hunting
The Stamp duty holiday will make a great ‘A’ level question at some point, but I’m not sure whether it would be better as a psychology question rather than on an economics paper.
The key looking forward is what will change to encourage sellers back to the market as there is very little stock.
Currently there are sellers trying high prices (vendor and agent prices) as some vendors don’t have to sell and others are not putting their homes on the market as they haven’t seen anything that they would be happy to move to. Consequently it’s very tricky to find houses and demand remains extremely high in and around Sevenoaks and Tunbridge Wells. There is going to have to be patience and give and take with both vendors and buyers. As the whole moving process can be very emotional, this isn’t easy or very likely.
How to approach your sale:
-Be honest from the start if you’re not going to sell unless you can buy a particular house i.e. the chain will break. Make sure buyers know that rentals are impossible out of London at the moment and that your life is not that flexible (unless it is!).
-Have ready all the documents you need to sell. Make sure you have gas and electricity checks, sort any problems out so that if the surveyor sees them they don’t become an issue whilst conveyancing (which is likely to cost you a lot more). Get your drainage checked if you have private drainage. Mug up on the new regulations and be ready to produce a report from a drainage expert. You’ll only have to do this anyway so get ahead. Start collating information on your home ie where all the window lock keys are, how often you have to top up the water softener, dig out your service reports etc. There are so many things you can do to make the process easier. Give as much information about your broadband as possible, buyers will ask.
-Start clearing out cupboards, order a skip (move before viewings, it’s not a great look and I’ve seen countless skips ruining first impressions) and recycle/repurpose.
-Give the buyer access for different surveys whether it’s drains or Japanese knotweed.
-Treat your buyers as you would like to be treated yourselves by your ongoing purchase. Some sellers think leaving just a pile of keys is ok. If you go to the holiday rental for a week you get a whole file of info on how to ‘work’ the house, start making one for your buyer now…
If you would like to talk through your sale (I may have clients looking for a similar house) or purchase this Autumn please do give me an informal call. I’m always happy to give you my view and I may well be able to help with your house hunting!