This seems as good a place to ask as any, since almost everyone on here has either done this recently or will be doing this soon (hopefully!).

We're in the process of getting our house ready to sell, and have 3 estate agents coming in to give us rough valuations and generally peddle their wares to try to convince us to sell with them.

We were first time buyers, so we've never sold a house before, and aren't entirely sure what we should ask them (besides the obvious "how much for the house?" and "how much do you charge?").

Can anyone give some house sale advice (the house itself is in great shape, we've just spent the last several months getting it in perfect condition for selling)? We're in England if it makes a difference (I know house sales are different in Scotland).

Thanks!

Well with my massive experience of selling two houses in my life.......

Ask each estate agent to value/price the house. Assuming you want a relatively quick sale, as them what is realistic/fair price for a speedy sale. Don't try (or allow the estate agent to drive you to) be greedy. Do some research on what similar properties in your area are selling at. e.g. if the house across the street went for 200k a month ago dont expect yours to sell for significantly more. Common sense really.

Negotiate the agents commission. Ask for sole and multiple/dual agency rates. Most estate agents (leastways in Essex in 2005) were charging around 1% for sole agency (e.g. only that agency is allowed to sell your house) and upto 2% for multiple. I ended up negoatiating a deal for 1.35% (+VAT) for dual agency. Try to avoid getting locked into a long term 12 week sole agency with one agent. Look for a shorter commitment.

Above all try and find someone you trust and can get on with. Estate Agents get a bad rap but there are concientious and decent individuals amongst them. Fripperies such as 360 degree webtours etc are OK but a good agent, who will market your property well and take care in their approach is worth their weight in gold. If your plans could mean that you move to Canada before your house sale (as I did) then its doubly important to make sure you have confidence in your agent. An ability to communicate by email and a willingness to pay for the transatlantic phone calls is a definate bonus!

Declutter your house. Make it look as good as possible without being too bare. Touch up paintwork/redecorate etc. If there is something that you know a survey will bring up (and surveyors seem to bring up absolutely everything these days) then get a quote to get it fixed. Not that neccessarily you'll want to do it yourself but when the buyer raises say the rotten windowframe in the bathroom and asks for a 5k discount to fix, you know it will only cost 2k and can negotiate accordingly.

Are sellers packs required in England yet? Cant recall.

If you there is a likelyhood of you moving before its sold then you will need to get a power of attorney set up so that someone (a relative or trusted friend) can sign the paperwork for you. You solicitor should be able to do this very easily and shouldnt charge you much if anything beyond their fees to sell.

HTH,
AX

Thanks for the advice. We're in a fortunate situation (well, depending on how you look at it ) of putting our house on the market now, with the intention of leaving the country in October. As soon as the house goes, we'll be moving in with my husband's parents until then. We've been tracking house sales in our area for the last few months, there have been 3 up in the last couple of months, one was on the market for 2 weeks, one for 3 and one for 4, so they do seem to go quickly. Ours is bigger with more rooms and land, so is more expensive, but it's a desireable area, so we have our fingers crossed. Of the 3 estate agents we're getting in, one sold the other 3 houses in our street, and one said they've got a list of people interested in our area (whether or not this is true remains to be seen).

Although living with relatives will be a bit stressful, we just keep thinking of the money we'll be saving by not having to pay the mortgage, bills, council tax, insurance, etc...hopefully enough to keep us going in Canada until we get settled in jobs!

Well I wish you luck and hope it goes as you say. I expected to sell my house (in a sought after area) in 2 or 3 months. It took a year.........

Under no circumstances let it be known that you are emigrating. Do not tell the agent or people that come to view.

"Why are you selling?" is a standard question. Your answer should not imply any urgency or need on your part. Lie, if you have to.

I agree with that too a point. If you are not planning to move before selling then absolutely. Once you've moved to Canada its a bit difficult NOT to tell your agent!

Good point. We've already told the estate agents a variation of the truth...we commute almost 2 hours to work every day, so will be moving in with family closer to work until we learn more about the areas before we buy another house. Haven't mentioned the "this is temporary until we leave the country" part, and don't intend to!

Nigh on impossible, I would have thought. However, my point is that it is a mistake to freely give away information that shows you to be under pressure to sell, for whatever reason (emigration, divorce etc). It's just an invitation for low offers and buggering about by the buyer at exchange time. Even in the run-up to completion.

That being said, I did let on that I was emigrating when I sold my flat in Epsom. It had no bad effects but I think my case was an exception.

I also admitted to emigrating but when asked for timelines said "whenever - we can be out next month, or we can wait as long as it takes". We also offloaded big TV, american fridge (a Maytag that wasn't dual voltage, can you believe it!!!), sofa, etc to the buyer so I'm glad he knew we were emigrating. Convenient indeed.

But then this was in an area where properties weren't on the market longer than 4wks, had risen 15% in the previous 2yrs - I wasn't fearful of not selling at all as seems to be the case with a lot of sellers here...

That was pretty much my situation too. I'd paid over asking price for it just 15 months before, just to make damn sure I got it. It was an unusual property for the location (Epsom). Town centre, large 2-bed, 2-floor Victorian conversion with most original features, half share in the freehold, cul-de-sac. You could count similar local properties on the fingers of a boxing glove.

I was fortunate in that I had somewhere else to live - my partner's house in London - and my emigration date was flexible. My buyer, the first person through the door, and mere hours after the agent first visited, was aware that I was emigrating. He didn't mess around with me. He knew that he had only one shot at the place and he wanted it. I accepted an offer slightly below asking. That was OK; I was making an obscene percentage profit on the place anyway. I could have held out for higher offers but my buyer had two very attractive features: a pre-arranged mortgage and no backward chain. As a first-time buyer, he was also happy to inherit loads of my stuff, which I would otherwise have had to pay to get rid of.

It doesn't get much better than that.

I must be sounding smug here. I really do feel for people that don't have it so easily.

Hi all, just thought I'd pop my thoughts in here as I work in the trade (not estate agent before you ask!!) - all advice given above is very sensible. I have just dealt with my cousins sale in Rugby (don't know whether this is near you) whilst they were emigrating to New Zealand. They have had a terrible time with their buyer who has messed them around since day 1. However, their house went back on the market 3 weeks ago and since then they have had 3 offers. All under the asking price by around 3-5K but all realistic buyers with a seemingly good intention to proceed. I am making two points here 1) yes, yes, please ensure your asking price is realistic as you can't help but be disappointed with lower offers. I noted with my cousins house that all the offers they received were fairly consisent with each other and they were left choosing the offer from the people in the best position to proceed and secondly, these three offers were made within a week of putting the house back on the market. They are using "Newmans" and to date are proving to be fairly proactive.
Good luck
Susie

Make sure the agent does his/her job when you hire them! They should give you a copy of the sales particulars to approve - make sure it sounds good, and it mentions all the benefits/features of your property well.

Find out where your property will be listed online (I think rightmove.com is the big one) and ensure the pictures, details are up to scratch!

Make sure you know how often your property will be listed in the local press - if they say every threee week, make sure it is! Estate Agency is mostly about marketing, a lot of them don't seem to know much about it.

Above all, don't let the bugger out of your sights, call them at least once a week - don't let them forget about you! And yes, I am speaking from bitter experience....

Hi all,
I live in Leicestershire and have a property which is fairly large. I had an agent who in my opinion grossly overinflated the estimate. Although another agent valued it a bit less, I have a feeling sometimes they can over inflate the estimate to lure your custom and tie you in for weeks. I got tied in for 8 weeks from begining of Jan. I had lot of viewings but no serious offer. I suspect the asking price was too much. We have now reduced the price and keeping fingers crossed. A bigger property seems to be more difficult to sell. I am panicking a little, but if it does not sell by May I will have to come back and sit it out until it sells. Best of luck. HCS

Where are you in Leics Harrys as you may be competing with me for buyers!
All sensible advice so far, don't say you are emigrating, declutter and price realiostically. Get at least 3 agents to value it and go for a middle price. Try and find out how many active lookers they have in your price bracket. If no-one is using that agent in your price range then it may take longer to sell.

We let it be known that we were emigrating and therefore had no upward chain.

However, buyers were keen back then. Times are much tougher in the UK now, so I doubt we'd do the same right now.