If you want to escape the UK and make a new life for you and your family overseas, the first thing on your mind will be financing the move. For most people this involves selling one house to give up one life in exchange for another.
In a recession more people want to move abroad, but fewer people are able to sell their homes – which is a terrible catch 22 conundrum.
But if you want to break out of this restriction, sell your UK property and expatriate abroad, our top 10 tips will help you on your way to your brand new life.
1) Simply Clean Up Your Act!
If you’re the average person you spend a couple of hours every week cleaning your house with the odd hoover run around in between. Perhaps you have someone who cleans the windows and maybe you keep your garden quite tidy. But if you’re selling your house, I’m sorry that’s not enough! You need to look at your house with fresh eyes. Start from the outside, all those cobwebs over the porch suggest neglect, mud on the walls in the hallway from dogs shaking and welly boots being kicked off needs to be scrubbed away. Skirting boards and door frames need to be wiped down, and every floor, work surface and table top needs cleaning.
Spring clean your home – don’t hide dust under rugs, clothes at the bottom of a wardrobe and clutter under your bed. Serious buyers (and nosey people!) will be looking into ever nook and cranny in your house – don’t put them off with your mess!
2) Smarten Up Your Home
You know the adage, ‘first impressions count’ – well they certainly do when it comes to your property. If your front garden is a mess, you stack the bins by the front door, your window frames are peeling paint and your windows are grimy no one is going to give your home a second look – and why should they? There are plenty of properties on the market and plenty of keen vendors who will make an effort when presenting their house, so you need to compete too.
Fresh paint, a trimmed hedge and lawn a bin cupboard and clean windows as well as a hanging basket or window box all make your home that much more welcoming and appealing.
3) You Don’t Have to Throw Money at it
Unless your house is hideously dated or very run down, you don’t need to spend a fortune to smarten it up. And in this economic climate it doesn’t make sense for you to – especially if you’re hoping to sell your home to move abroad. You’re going to want all the money you can get in your pocket! So look at the ‘problem’ objectively, look at where improvements can be made for little outlay and make them. More often than not a good clean, de-clutter and a bit of paintwork wonders for homes. After all, few of us expect a house to tick all our boxes when we go and view it, we know that we will have to put our own effort in to make it our home. So, don’t get bogged down in the detail, just present a fresh, blank canvas to buyers.
4) Get a Good Estate Agent and Work With Them
There are good estate agents out there – and in fact, this current recession will see some of the worst ones go out of business which is good news for everyone. Those who remain are the ones who can sell properties – even in hard times. You need to find an agent who is selling houses, and selling houses like yours to buyers who are seeking a property just like yours! It sounds obvious doesn’t it! But what you need to do is look around and see which houses in your neighbourhood are up for sale and with whom. Keep an eye on which agents are shifting the properties on their books and contact them about your sale.
You then need to take their advice about pricing and marketing – although if you do feel they are way off on price be prepared to argue because it is your home you’re selling, not theirs! If you can, write up a great blurb about your house and add pictures, this adds even more to what an estate agent can do for you. Be available for viewings at short notice – or give the agent a key. Do all you can to work with a good agent and then together you will make the sale possible.
5) Presentation, Presentation, Presentation
If you have someone coming for a viewing that’s a great sign! It means that they have read about the property, probably know the area it is in, have even seen pictures of it, know the price and are still keen! So it is now up to you to perfect your presentation – your personal presentation, the presentation of the home, and the way you present the property to your viewers.
So, time for a quick run round with the duster to make sure your newly spring cleaned and pristine property is still perfect, then it’s time for you to smarten yourself up – don’t look like you have lost interest in your own presentation or you’ll send all the wrong signals to your buyers. You need to look smart, be friendly and welcoming and then show your viewers round your house carefully. Allow them to enter rooms first, highlight features and positive points, be prepared with an answer about you’re selling, and don’t lie, but have a good answer to any negative issues your buyers might come up with.
6) Sort Out the Plumbing!
If you don’t have central heating and a separate shower buyers can be very put off by a property. Installing both can cost quite a bit and require a lot of effort – so you either take on the burden yourself for a quicker more successful potential sale, or you reflect their lack in your asking price.
7) Lighten Up
There is nothing more depressing than walking into a dark and dingy house. It shouts out all the wrong messages to buyers. So, ditch the dirty net curtains and the brown 1970s décor, cut back plants that overhang windows and place lit lamps in rooms when showing people round. You want to maximise light in your home – it makes your home feel more welcoming, seem bigger and is a very positive thing to do to a property if you’re trying to sell it.
8) Post Your Pets Abroad
If you’re trying to sell with a thought to move abroad, perhaps you could send your pets overseas in advance! Okay, so maybe that’s not practical but maybe you could banish them to the utility room, garage or shed whilst you’re trying to sell your home. Doggy odours and feline poop in a litter tray are not particularly appealing – even if your would-be buyers are pet lovers themselves. And even if you are so attached to your animals that you want them around the house, banish them from furniture and bedrooms and put them right out of the way when doing viewings.
9) Consider an Open House and Auction Approach
In Australia people open up their homes on fixed days for potential buyers to have a look-see. It gives buyers from out of town time to get to see the neighbourhood too, and to have a relaxed time viewing a home. Whilst there are some security issues associated with opening up your home in this way, and you can be sure some of your nosey neighbours will pop in for a look as well, it can be a positive approach to marketing your home. You could also go the whole Australian way and put your house on the market at auction – this can be a quick way to sell, but you have to know the process well so that you don’t lose out.
10) Know Your Market
If your property is likely to appeal to an executive couple, dress it up appropriately. If it’s a family home, maximise bedroom space, if retired people might prefer it then perhaps down play the modern touches. Know who might well be interested in your property based on its style, location and asking price, and think about staging your home to appeal to your buyer.
