After the house preparations are done it is time to get those buyers through the door, but how easy will it be to actually sell the house? My main concern was that no one would be interest in the house and all my efforts at de-cluttering will have been a waste of time.
So will I have any viewings?
Thankfully, I had multiple viewings all booked on the same day, with the estate agent sneakily timing them so as one viewer leaves the other would enter. Increasing the competition? – Maybe.
As I had lived in the house for more than twenty years I had agreed to show it to the viewers, being able to inform them how wonderful my sweet home was. Occasionally you got some people who came across as dis-interested, which I was, of course, expecting to a certain extent. One viewer for example did not want to enter the garden which in my opinion is the best part of the property so evidently I thought he was not interested. This certainly was not the case with him making an offer the very same day. Sometimes you just can’t know what the other person is thinking.
The clearout for sure paid off, with the house looking clutter free, compliments on how spacious the house was just kept coming, it was a good idea to put the extra furniture in the self storage units. And guess what, people actually do look inside the cupboards, good thing I had tidied them up too. The magnolia colour sure paid off as well, with comments such as “we could put the table there”. The downstairs bathroom paid dividends with people loving the new Philippe Starck tiles. I am very grateful that all the changes I made before placing the house on the market were noticed by the viewers, that can only mean one thing,- that they were worth it.
Is it sold?
After only two and a half weeks my house has been sold and taken off the market. It is an odd feeling I have to admit, the idea of having other people live in your home after 20 years of living there, but it’s a new adventure for me and that’s what I am looking forward to. The key factors for getting my house sold in such a short space of time come down to three points:
- Realistic pricing- as I had five valuations with one being higher than the rest I naturally wanted to select the highest one, but there must have been a reason why the rest where all similar. So I sensibly picked one of the other four valuations.
- The clearout- placing the things which cluttered the house in the loft, garage and in the cheapest self storage I could find, allowed the house to look spacious and tidy.
- The final touches- by doing the few minor repairs to the house it improved the overall look which impressed viewers.
Where does that leave me?
With my house sold just 3% under the asking price it just leaves one problem, where am I going to live? Should I stay in London or not? There are multiple reasons why London is the perfect location but is it time for a new place? The whole idea of having to pack all my personal belongings, transport them to a completely new place and then unpack and start exploring a new town is both exciting but daunting at the same time.
I recently read an article, where in some parts of the world you can move the whole structure of your house to another location which best suits you instead of having to move to a new house. To us in the UK this sounds a little crazy, but in countries such as the USA, Canada and New Zealand it is a well known. It normally happens when the land the building is on has been designated for redevelopment and therefore by moving the house they will preserve the historic building. I do wonder if I had the option if I would ever move my house to a new location. It would be an easier process than having to search for a new house which ticks all the boxes; however, do you still get the same excitement that you would do when you are relocating to a new house? –I don’t think so, but then again at least you have a house.
By Rebecca Siegel (Contact)
Bidding Wars
I have found myself in a bidding war twice since my house search began. With the first house I put an offer on I got so caught up in the moment and offered more than I ever thought the house was worth and not only that, I would need around £100k to fix the house up. It wouldn’t have been great to move in with only 50p to spend. Luckily I was outbid, but that has left me still on the search with the added pressure of wakening up and seeing a SOLD sign outside my window.
I have been constantly searching the internet, local paper and bugging the estate agents but there has still been no success. It looks like my possessions will have to stay in the storage a little longer; well at least I’m learning how to be minimalstic, in my eyes any way. One thing I didn’t realise was the amount of move related leaflets you would get through your door once that SOLD sign appeared, but they just keep coming through. I can’t wait for the day that I will be able to pick out of the dozens of leaflets the best house removal firm.
The whole idea that you have to soon move out and new people will move in marks a significant end to a chapter in your life. Nevertheless this was even harder due to the fact I still had not been able to find a house which I want to start my new chapter in, making me question if I had made the correct decision. Even though I had doubts in my mind I knew this was the right choice and the perfect house will come up soon; I just have to be patient, so for now the search continues…
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