Wondering when is the right time to sell your house? Is there ever a right time to sell your house? Yes, you should sell your house when you don’t need or want to. Clear as mud? As someone who has been through the whole stressful process of selling a house before and is now going through it again, I can tell you that without doubt you should sell your house when you don’t need or even want to.
The first time we sold our house was because we had to move. I was returning back to work after having Oldest and we realised that we needed a bigger house. We needed another room and we needed it fairly quickly. The second time we sold our house was because we were moving to Jersey; in fact Mr C was already in Jersey and I was at home trying to sell our house before we joined him. We had to get rid of it as we knew that we wouldn’t be able to afford the mortgage on our house in Yorkshire and the rent in Jersey. Our estate agent also told everyone this and as such we had lots of silly offers coming in. They could smell our desperation. It took nerves of steel to hold out but we did and finally we received an offer that was close to the asking price. It was just in the nick of time.
After these two experiences I really believe that you should sell your house before you need to. For example, if you know that you are going to have to move in a couple of years because you will need more space or because you want to be in the right catchment area for a good school. If you put your house on the market before you need to move it means that you can sit it out. You don’t have to rush it. However, saying that, there are certain times of the year which work better for selling a house.
When is the right time to sell your house? Spring!
Some people believe that the summer is the right time to put a house on the market. Yes, the sun is shining but I believe that this means people are more interested in their holidays rather than looking around a house. I believe that spring can be the right time to sell a house. Christmas is now over, the good weather is on its way and people in general are feeling more positive. It is the season for new beginnings and therefore it means people start thinking about buying a new house. Spring also means that your garden looks at its best, the flowers are out and the evenings are getting sunnier.
Dress your house
Before you put your house on the market you need to make sure that your house is looking its best. That means making sure all of those pictures are hung, checking that the walls don’t need another coat of paint and make sure that your house has kerb appeal. Take time to tidy up the outside as well as the inside.
Estate agents
Choose your estate agents carefully. Get a few in to value your house, check out reputations and look for the estate agent that has sold the most houses in the area, look for the one that has a good presence, look for the ones that have a good track record of achieving the asking price on a house. In selling our second house we picked an estate agent that we shouldn’t have. They didn’t listen to our suggestions and they were not proactive enough in trying to sell our house. They just told everyone that we HAD to sell our house. In the end we swapped estate agents and within one day of the house being on with the new agent it had sold. In the era of Rightmove you wouldn’t think that who you put your house on with would matter but it really does. When the estate agents send you a copy of the brochure check everything, check that it is all correct, and check that you are happy with photos. The photos of your house are incredibly important.
What you should consider before you put your house on the market
You need to check that you can actually afford to move. Work out the costs of moving, stamp duty, solicitors fees etc. Then work out what the asking price for your house would need to be to make it a worthwhile move. If the estate agent values the house at being less than you need, then hold tight for now and reassess in 6 months. The property market might have picked up and you might be in a stronger position to move. A lot can change in 6 months.
If you about to sell your house then good luck. Don’t forget that selling your house and moving house is considered one of the most stressful things to do. No pressure then.
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