How to Sell Your House: Ten Tips To Get You Moving

If your property has been on the market for months and just won't budge then review these tips to get some interest and get you moving.

1) Call other agents and ask them to revalue your house. Your price may be too high. Of course you won't want to lower your price but if you want to sell then you may have to. With a lower price you should get more viewings, and if you get a lot more, then buyers could outbid each other. It's down to how much you want to sell.

2) View your house with fresh eyes. Do any rooms need a lick of paint? Providing you choose neutral colours new paint can add freshness to any room, it's cheap, quick and you can do it yourself. If you want to be more creative you could add a bright colour to one wall and have matching accessories but that will add to the cost.

3) Check your house f or DIY. Handles hanging off the cupboards, dripping taps, windows without curtains or not hanging properly make the property look uncared for. You want people to want to live in your house. Sure you will get the buyers who want to renovate property, but they will also want to pay less money. Most buyers do not want to renovate property, especially if it is a family house. Book in a couple of weekends and evenings to get those jobs done.

4) Smells - sounds grim, but does your house smell? Do you have pets? Dog-owners can become used to the smell of their dog but to non dog-owners, it can be very off-putting. You may need to clean your carpets and deodourize the furnishings. One house I've seen turned out not to have a u-bend in the loo... easily fixed and problem gone. People want a fresh smell in the house and especially in the bathrooms and kitchens. Avoid cleaners containing bleach as the smell of bleach will linger. If you have a coffee machine, then great, put it on before you have any viewings. It's a very welcoming smell.

5) What's the first impression of your property. Check from the outside and make sure it's a good one. Especially if your property has been on the market for a long time and you've give up hope, the outside of the property might look neglected. Keep it looking good - you only need one person to buy your property. You need your front garden in especially good condition - doesn't take much time and makes a big difference. Keep the hedge trimmed and everything looking well cared for.

6) Cleanliness. For every viewing, make sure it's really clean. Sure, first impressions are hugely important, but after a favourable first impression, people begin to look closer. They want to live in a clean house and feel good. Dirt will turn people off your property.

7) Declutter. People want space. If your property has been on the market for a while you may have let things get cluttered. Have another clear out, tidy up and generally create space. You want to create a light, spacious and welcoming feel to your house, and where people will be able to imagine themselves in your property.

8) Ask a few agents to value your property. You may need a new agent with a new set of house details. Talking of which, check your house details - do they actually sell your house? Are the photos good and is a floor plan included? Some house details can be so poor, even negative with unflattering photos. Check that your agent is actively doing his job of selling your properly, not merely listing it. If he is not enthused by your property then you need another agent. Also, if he has had

your property on his books for a long time, then he may have lost hope in selling it and this may come out in his voice or odd comment to potential buyers - hopefully not, but worth checking out.

9) Say Yes to all viewings and be ready an hour before - agents can turn up early.
Viewings are great on one hand, but you need to prepare for each one. You've got to tidy up, clean and ideally, be out of the property. People who are viewing your house really are interested in actually buying your house, even if their property isn't on the market. Clean and tidy and then go out and do something nice - at least then you'll come home to a nice, clean house and you've had a good time, even if it's just round to the neighbours. And most definitely, let your agent have a spare key. When you come to sell your house you'll be paying your agent a hefty fee so make use of them. Do not show potential buyers around yourself unless you are a salesman - in your nerves or over-keeness to sell your house you may hamper a sale instead.

10) When you've done what you think you need, enter your house as if you were a buyer and what do you see? Make more changes to give the best impression you can. It's a detail but flowers always add freshness, brightness and show you care about where you live. In making these changes hopefully you'll have the bonus of enjoying your property more whilst you live in the property!

Good luck with your house sale.

To Sell Your House Or Stay Put?

If you are a potential seller waiting to put your house on the market you need to consider your options carefully. Here we go through the issues to help you decide what to do.

Perhaps you were thinking of selling your house and just as you were going to go for it the credit crunch took hold and now you've been watching the housing market crash. Should you sell now before it gets worse or should you wait until things pick up?

It's a tricky one. How long do you want to wait? How much do you want to move? According to Nationwide, house prices rose in June 2009 by 0.9% as demand outstripped supply. Buyers who can obtain a mortgage want to make the most of the low interest rates and fallen house prices. The economy and housing market are no longer in freefall so if you put your house on the market now, then you may have a better prospect of finding a buyer than you would have done six months ago.

If you are tempted to move house, look at the reasons why you want to move house and prioritise them. Take tentative steps to research your options: ask an estate agent to value your house, get their opinion on what you could realistically sell for and whether there are interested buyers on their books. Speak to a mortgage broker to check what mortgage options are open to you. Check how much properties are in the new location. Gather as much information as you can to help you make an informed decision.

If you were thinking of waiting until house prices pick up then let's look at the factors that effect house prices. The credit crunch and subsequent recession has had a major impact on our economy. So far we have seen job losses mainly in manufacturing and banking and unemployment is expected to rise to over 3 million by the end of this year. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) believe that unemployment will reach 10% in 2010. Based on the recessions from the 1980s and 90s it takes nearly five years after a recession begins for employment to be back at the pre-recession levels, and with employment comes more spending power.

If you are waiting for house prices to rise significantly to get a better price for your home then you need to expect to wait a number of years as it will take this long for the economy to recover and for employment to return. Some economists believe that there could be a v-shape recovery, however others believe there could be a double-dip, or "W" recession, and thirdly that the recovery will be steady but very gradual. The latter two recovery types would have a particularly long lasting effect on employment and therefore spending, and therefore the housing market would also only slowly recover.

So you might want to try to sell before things get any worse! If you can sell quickly, that is in the summer months (avoid the run up to Christmas as this is traditionally the quietest period for estate agents) then you would need to prepare your house to sell and prepare a Home Information Pack at a cost of £250-450. Do you want to pay this much to try and sell your property?

If you are wanting to sell to buy another property in the same area then the fall in prices should be proportionate. If you wish to relocate to another area then you will need to research into the price falls of that area. You could be paying more for the same property or significantly less depending on the location.

There is unlikely to be a sustained recovery in house prices this year. There is a chance that prices could continue to rise in small degrees if demand continues to outstrip supply. Alternatively there will be a levelling out of small gains followed by small falls or most pessimistically, there could be more major price falls as unemployment rises. Next year house prices are likely to increase slightly as the economy begins to slowly recover.

There is very unlikely to be a return to the boom years of double-digit growth in the next few years so if you are waiting for major price growth then prepare to stay put for the medium term and make the most of where you are.

Use Your Property To Make Extra Cash

If you are waiting to sell your property or need extra cash then consider renting out a spare bedroom to a lodger. Here's some useful guidelines on how to do it.

Firstly how much cash can you make? Revenue and Customs allow you to earn £4,250 a year tax free from lodgers, that's just over £354 per month. Normally bills are included in the monthly rent so you could charge £80 per week to reach the threshold. That's more than handy money.

On another administrative note, you would also need to check with your insurance company and your mortgage provider. They are unlikely to object but they may need to add it as a note to your policy.

You will need to choose your lodger with care - you are letting a complete stranger into your home afterall. You should obtain references and credit checks and you can also use formal lodger agreements, similar to a tenancy agreement, for protection for both parties. You need to agree the amount of rent, how it is to be paid, the notice period for either party, what is included in the rent and what the lodger needs to pay for (i.e. any damage to property).

Once you have prepared the room and before you advertise the room, write a list of rules. You need to be prepared before you meet any prospective lodgers. When you do have a viewing, interview your lodger and give the chance for your lodger to ask questions. You both need to decide whether you would be able to share your house with this person and whether realistically you will be able to live under the same roof.

House rules that you may want to consider include smoking, alcohol use, visitors, overnight visitors, cleanliness of kitchen and bathroom, laundering, car-parking, noise levels, pets, etc. Lodgers generally share the use of your kitchen and your bathroom but do not use your living room.

Regarding the use of the kitchen and bathroom be sure to have set times when you both have use of them. For the kitchen have a designated place to store your food separately, both in cupboards and in the fridge, which neither of you raid! It's grim if you're looking forward to your meal, having planned it and bought the ingredients, to get to the point of cooking it and someone else has used your ingredients.

Once you have a lodger check that each of you are happy and check if any changes are necessary. Communication is key to a good lodger/landlord relationship.

Having a lodger isn't everybody's first choice but it can work well if you choose the right lodger. If you are willing to make some compromises and share your house, you could make some very handy money, especially in the current credit crunch climate.

House Prices - Beware

House prices are on the rise but be careful, the rise may not last.

In recent years much of the British public have made property into a sort of hobby. The TV shows have followed enthusiastic DIY'ers doing up some half derelict house into a lovely family home, rub hands with glee over the profit that was made, or alternatively spend over budget and be coping with difficulties along the way. We've seen how to transform rooms in an hour, how to buy property at auctions, or how to build a house from scratch. And so on it goes.

With so much of our wealth invested in our property and with so much money having been made in the rocketing house prices up to August 2007 no wonder we are watching house prices closely. A lot of people have done well in the past. If we missed out on the good investments in the last round we want to be in the action if there is another rally.

However, be careful. In May house prices rose 2.6% compared with April and this was the fastest rate of growth since 2002 (Halifax) but is this sustainable? Is the wider economy supporting a rise in house prices? And as the end point, should you buy now if house prices are to continue to go up?

Let's see why house prices have gone up recently.

There is a combination of reasons to go in the pot. More new buyers are registering an interest and members from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors reported that buyer inquiries increased in May for the seventh month in a row and at a fastest rate since 1999.

Yet, with the property market having dropped to such an extent would-be sellers are holding off putting their property on the market. New instructions have continued to fall with the average number of properties on an agents book having dropped from 69.4 to 58.4 in May. There are not many properties on the market and there are new buyers wanting to snap up seemingly cheap properties along with the low interest rate.

Plus it's traditionally the house buying season. Spring is the peak time of the year when people buy and sell property - interest usually picks up in February after the New Year, people can be settled in by the summer when the holiday period starts and then it's the new school year and getting ready for Christmas!

The economy may be seeing glimmers of good news but the Bank of England's latest Inflation Report warned that the economic outlook was still very uncertain. The unemployment rate is currently 7.1% (2.22 million) and many economists predict unemployment to go above 3 million or 10% in 2010. According to the Office of National Statistics, in previous recessions unemployment took about 6 years to return to pre-recession levels.

Finance for first time buyers, although is improving, is still limited and has strict lending criteria.

For house prices to stabilise there needs to be stability in the wider economy. For house prices to rise on a consistent basis employment needs to be falling and that seems highly unlikely in the near future.

If you want to buy now and find what you want then the chances are that you'll be buying at a good time. However, there's still a high risk that house prices will fall as unemployment rises and therefore you need to be prepared to hold it for a number of years.

Keeping Up With House Prices

News about house prices come every month from various sources and all slightly vary. Here we look at who says what and why.

Let's start with Nationwide and Halifax. Both provide mortgages and their house price figures are based on their mortgage approvals, not on completed sales (remortgages and further advances are excluded). Their data includes property from the whole UK market but each is based only on the mortgages passed through their companies, a much smaller sample compared to the Land Registry. They do not include cash buyers nor sales that fall through. As their calculations can be done at the time of the mortgage approval they have their data sooner and are able to broadcast their figures before the Land Registry.

The Land Registry is based on actual completed sales regardless of any mortgage or cash buy. The Land Registry data set includes residential property transactions in England and Wales and does not include Scotland or Northern Ireland. It's calculations are based on repeat sales so that the prices changes on the same properties are measured.

Property websites such as Rightmove report on house prices but their figures are based on residential property asking prices (England and Wales only). Since offers are made on nearly all asking prices this does not help with accurate information but it will show general trends and contribute to the general picture.

Related to house prices, the British Bank Association provide statistics on lending, including mortgage figures: how much was lent and how many mortgages were taken out. And so the property market can be measured by tracking how many mortgages were taken out in any month which usually follows the trends of house prices.

So let's compare the house price figures for April 2009 from each of the mentioned reporters:

Nationwide reported a monthly fall of 0.3% and an annual fall of 15%.

The Land Registry reported a monthly fall of 0.3% and an annual fall of 16.2%.

Halifax showed a monthly fall of 1.8% and an annual fall of 17.7%.

Rightmove showed a monthly increase of 1.8% and an annual fall of 7.3%. - this may show that new sellers are setting too optimistic an asking price.

There are many more reporters on house prices and all can contribute to how the property market is fairing but generally the most accurate report for England and Wales is from the Land Registry . The results together can show a trend and provide historical information. However, people are very keen to have forecasts to gauge when to buy or sell and the above companies monthly reports do also include some general predictions.

It is also worth reading the general economy news and outlooks as property prices are dependent on the general economy in terms of employment (people need to be employed to get a mortgage to buy a house), interest rates (low interest rates are great for now but there are only low because the economy is in such bad shape), mortgage availability and the general global economy.

Looking at these different aspects, the ride for house prices for the remainder of this year is likely to be bumpy. Keep reading the reports and keep an eye on the property that is right for you.

Are House Prices Going To Go Up Soon?

Let's look at the latest information on house prices to see when house prices are likely to go up. Are we at a turning point?

In May this year, according to Nationwide, house prices have gone up by 1.2% and subsequently the annual house price fall has gone down from 15% to 11.3%. This is the second time in three months. Is the tide turning?

It's still early days. The economic climate is still unstable with employment expected to continue to rise - some think another one million will lose their jobs before the end of the year. Although access to credit is beginning to ease, it's easing slowly - in April mortgages approved edged up by 1000 and the gross lending increased from £3.4bn to £3.5bn.

Let's take a look at supply. Stock levels are falling and new property onto the market is scant. Fewer new houses are being built and potential sellers do not want to put their property on the market if they are only going to get a low price. Many want to hold out for a year or so in the hope of achieving a better price - and a better price on a house sale is worth £1000s. And then there are also the sellers who have taken their property off the market, either to stay put or rent out until the market picks up. Supply is unlikely to pick up significantly in the months to come. Only those sellers who have to sell will sell at this time, so that's the probate sales, repossessions (they tend to sell at auction more than through estate agents), marital splits and relocations.

On the demand side, house prices are low, interest rates are low and mortgages are becoming easier to get. There are increasingly more interested buyers out there - people who are in safe employment want to make the most of this opportunity and slowly those buyers will translate into sales. Or those that want to invest in property at a time when their savings are making a poor return. They will buy up the best of what's on offer and as the supply continues to fall or remains flat, house prices in turn will rise.

Seasonally, this is the busiest time for estate agents. People buy in the Spring and slightly less so, in the Summer so house prices are expected to go up a little at this time. Come Autumn and leading up to Christmas estate agents become quiet again until the next Spring. By early 2010 the economy will be more stable and then property prices may then be on a slow increase (and interest rates may have started to rise by then - they won't stay this low forever). As this gradually happens companies will begin to reemploy workers again - but it will be slow. As more people become employed, they will have more money to spend and so make more purchases, including purchases on houses.

If property prices follow what happened in the 1990's downturn, property prices are likely to bump along the bottom of the trough with rises and falls for a few months yet.

If you find the right property and can buy now, then buy. Or if you can't buy now, then save hard for a deposit, be in secure employment ready to get a mortgage, or if you are self-employed make sure you keep up to date with your paperwork - the mortgage company will want proof of your earnings. Speak to a mortgage broker or bank now and find out what you are going to need in order to secure a mortgage. And if you can, buy before early 2010. From early 2010 and as the Spring sales start to go through house prices may then be on a slow but sustained rise. Just before Christmas is usually a good time to buy - people want their property sale out of the way before the Christmas holiday.

However, opinions vary! Analysts expected house prices to fall in May and they rose. Some analysts believe that house prices will be on the up by the end of this year, others expect them to continue falling until mid-2010! It's a guessing game and house prices are only one part of the wider UK economy and the global credit crunch.

1 In 5 House Buyers Are First Time Buyers

Six months ago mortgage lenders demanded high deposits and impeccable credit references and as a result first time buyers were all but out of the market. However, things have changed...

According to the mortgage broker, John Charcol, just over 20% of purchasers using their services in April 2009 were first time buyers.

Lenders are beginning to lower their requirements for first time buyers. HSBC are now beginning to require only a 10% deposit for first time buyers and since just last week, Lloyds are offering 95% mortgages (ties attached).

There are also a number of government backed schemes offering shared ownership schemes, very low interest loans for people earning less than £60,000, key workers or council tenants, and plenty more initiatives to help first time buyers. Be aware of what is on offer and make the most of them!

Plus of course house prices have fallen since last year by around 15% and are thought to be nearly stabilising at the bottom of the trough. Although they are expected still to fall they are not expected to fall much further.

And interest rates are the lowest they have ever been. Fixed deals are attractive and the monthly mortgage repayments are a lot cheaper than it was just a couple of years ago. They are likely to be cheaper than rental payments and take much less of your monthly income.

It's a good time to buy. There is not much supply on the market with would-be sellers keeping out of the market, or renting out their properties, but if you can find the property you want then go for it. There will after all be some new properties coming onto the market from probate, divorce or job relations. And remember that sellers want a first time buyer - no chain and therefore the transaction should be straight forward.

The economy is in recession and unemployment is expected to continue to rise this year, possibly by another one million according to leading economist, David Blanchflower. With this, housing activity is expected to remain subdued for the rest of the year. If you want to buy a place, and you find what you want then go ahead - make the most of the low interest rates and low prices.

But if you do not find what you want don't feel you have to rush to get something. Any housing price increases will be slow - the economy needs to recover and unemployment needs to be falling which won’t be happening until next year at the earliest. And as that happens more houses will come onto the market making it easier for you to find what you are looking for.

Keep a keen look out and good luck.