How should you sell your property?

When deciding to sell, many people think that the first step is choosing the right Estate Agent to market their home and give little thought to HOW they might sell their property.

In the UK there are three main ways to sell a property:

1. Private Treaty - Traditional method, usually through an Estate Agent. The agreement for the sale of a property at a price negotiated directly between the vendor and purchaser or their agents.

2. Private Tender - A property is marketed for sale with or without a guide price and there is a deadline for all offers. Anyone interested in purchasing the property would place an offer to the vendor’s agent, before the deadline. The vendor is presented with all of the offers, which are confidential, to be considered on the day of the sale.

3. Auction - A public sale in which properties are sold to the highest bidder.

For those people who have dismissed Auctions as a method of selling their property, there might be things that you would want to consider.

Auctioning a property is not the usual option for many property owners as they assume auctions are for run down properties, the sale of land and are just for investors only. However, auctions can be a very effective way to sell your home, as you make the buying community aware that you are committed to making an immediate sale. All property types can be, and are, sold via online auction and through traditional auction houses.

Auctions work particularly well if your house is unique or has unusual qualities or might be in a location where buyers would be prepared to compete for it. Properties that require renovation or have the potential to add value, generally sell well at auction.

If a property has been difficult or slow to sell for whatever reason, then auction could offer a quick and simple selling method.

Often properties achieve a sale above the guide price and sometimes the result can be better than that which might have been achieved by private treaty.

The main advantage to sellers at Auction is that the marketing and viewing activity are usually condensed into four weeks. Once the hammer falls on the auction day, contracts are exchanged and the purchaser is legally committed to the purchase of your property.

For more information on selling at Auction or RF&O’s Auction services please do not hesitate to contact us.