How to Sell a Residential Property for the Full Asking Price in a Week!

Selling property can be a nightmare.  First you have to get find people interested enough to view your property, then you have to sort those that are serious buyers from those that regard viewing property as a leisure activity, and have no intention of buying.

Once you’ve managed to find serious buyers, that have the capital to buy, aren’t in a long purchase chain that will never result in your sale and are interested in your type of property, you have then to convince them to make a serious offer for your property.

It has probably never been harder to sell property; but don’t despair property is sold everyday. We all need a bit of luck when selling a property but there is a lot we can do to improve our chances of making a sale. 

I’ve dealt with finding the right people elsewhere.  In this article I’m going to deal with my top tips on getting that elusive offer.  I accept that selling in Portugal is difficult at present but the basic principles I use can be used anywhere in the world. 

The last three properties I have personally marketed have sold in days. 

In the first case we used our agent to prime prospects that a property was coming onto the market and had them arrange all the viewings on the day we released the property.  When buyers sense interest and urgency it piques their interest.  We had an acceptable offer for this property by mid afternoon on the first day and it proceeded to completion.

In the second case we had two agents refuse to market the property at, what they considered to be, an inflated price.  The third agent agreed to market the property and we sold, at a price just below our “inflated price” in ten days.

The last property sold a month ago and completed yesterday.   It was on the market for four days before we had our first viewing and we accepted an offer for the full asking price from the first person to view it.

So what is the secret to residential property selling? 

Starting the selling process
In my case the selling process starts before I buy the property myself.  Before I buy a property I ask myself who else would buy this type of property.  Why would they buy it and in what circumstances.

The last property we sold was bought for my own use as a second home.  It was on the Devon coast.  Within our price range we had the choice of new property overlooking the sea, older property a little inland, property with a garage or without, one bedroom or two bedroom properties.  Two questions came to mind.  What will suit our purposes and what will resell easily when we want to move on?  

We actually only needed a one bed property and didn’t really need a garage.  But both of these features made the property more saleable long term.  In the end the choice was between a modern one bed flat overlooking the sea or a two bed ground floor flat a on the edge of a residential area.  The two-bed property suited our needs but, at the same price as the one bed, it had more space and more potential buyers long term. 

When to sell residential property
There is nothing worse than trying to sell a property in cold wet weather. So unless you have to sell in winter choose the spring or summer.  The warmer weather certainly helps you to a speedy sale.  Having said that the time that demand outstrips supply, in the UK, is February / March and September.  This will vary in other parts of the world.

Kerb appeal
Several properties we looked at have failed the kerb appeal test.  They look great online, and in the literature, but when you stop outside fail the “first impressions” test.  Overgrown gardens and cars on bricks are never shown in the literature but are sure ways to make people drive off without a thought.
Assuming you’ve a well-maintained garden then consider the smaller things.  Is your drive free of dead leaves and path clear of vegetation?  Is the flower border weed free and colourful?  A few minutes spent weeding and a trip to the garden centre to buy flowering plants for the borders can really improve kerb appeal.   

Wow Factor 
Does your property have the wow factor?  It might be a wonderful kitchen or bathroom, a wonderful view or beautiful garden.  Every property needs a wow factor if buyers are going to fall in love with it …. And buyers are emotional animals, they need to fall in love with your property. 
In some cases you need to create the wow factor.  In our current home we have kept it simple.  The kitchen has an integral conservatory … no brick piers or archways to get in the way .. and it leads through huge windows onto a well-designed and stocked garden.  Both the kitchen and garden provide wow factors.  
Another important point is to keep the key rooms up to date.  Kitchens and bathrooms, for example, need refreshing from time to time. Sometimes it is as simple as using a steam cleaner to really deep clean tiles and surrounds but sometimes you also need to spend a little on modernising the fittings.  Styles change and new radiators, baths, sinks, showers and lights cost little compared with the wow factor they provide.   

Double Ds can be the Answer
The two Ds of selling a property are declutter and de-personalise. Just because you like ornaments doesn’t mean your buyer will and a cluttered appearance makes places look smaller and less attractive. 

So declutter and de-personalise.  Even if it means renting a storage unit to put your personal possessions in it is vital that the property looks like a dream. It should be the dream home everyone wants.  Make it so. 

The property we have just sold stood out as being clean, spacious and desirable.  Compared with the “lived in” appearance of the properties we were competing against it wasn’t difficult to look so much better.  We had no children’s toys littering the floor and garden, no animal smells and no cooking smells except fresh bread and coffee…always a help with sales. It isn’t that we don’t love children or have pets; we just didn’t impose them on our buyers.  If it means your pet dog or cat has to go to stay with friends or to kennels so be it; the objective is to sell the property. 

Freshen up
The smell of new baked bread and fresh coffee is a good way to freshen up your properties image.  But you also need to look to your paintwork and fittings. Over time paint fades and the odd scratch appears even in the best kept home.  A quick session with a pot of paint works wonders.  Neutral colours work best, as we don’t want to impose out love of cerise or apricot on to our buyers. Likewise, if steam cleaning isn’t enough then re-tile bathrooms .... or at least regrout to bring a fresh look to these areas. You might also consider chrome fittings; replacing any broken light bulbs and tired looking shades; re-painting the front door; installing up-lighters in the living room for subtle lighting; and strategically placing flowers throughout.

Clean, clean, clean
If you'd rather not re-decorate, you still need a spotless property. Employing an industrial cleaning company can really make the place sparkle and will be money well spent.
Have them clean the carpets, furniture covers, oven and windows. You should pay special attention to the kitchen and bathrooms, which need to be inviting and hygienic.  Once cleaned add a few finishing touches such as displaying fresh fruit and veg .. natural colour at a low price and redolent of a life style.  In the bathroom fresh white towels and a strategically placed plant or two can work wonders.

Watch out for overfull wardrobes. People will look into them and a full wardrobe says there is not enough storage space .. so take surplus items and put them in store.

Finally, lets go back to the garden as this is always viewed as an additional room, even in wet England, so be sure to make your garden feel like a great space for entertaining and relaxing. That means a spotless barbeque, well swept patio and spotless patio furniture ..... a tired sun shade is not on .... so buy a new one. And dress patio tables for lunch or dinner.  In other words create an image and some desire. 

Stefan Drew
www.StefanDrew.com

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