Why rejection is like gold dust

Sellers often come to me desperate and despondent, having had viewer after viewer reject their home.  “So what was their feedback?” I ask them. “Not suitable they answer.”

Not suitable? Why? What didn’t they like? What did they like more about the homes of your competition?

You don’t know? That’s because your agent hasn’t asked them!

The wealth of information that your non-buyers could tell you, could help you reach a successful sale so much quicker and with less pain.

I can guarantee you that every single item on your supermarket shelves has been tested, tested, and tested again before going on sale. If it didn’t make the grade, you won’t find it on the shelf.  Those lucky manufacturers who have managed to successfully get their products accepted, have almost certainly changed the packaging, the text, the photographs or graphics, and the product itself, before it was finally deemed of a high enough quality for us to be able to buy it.

So – think of your viewing as market research! Educate and if necessary – beg – your agent to ask lots of questions of your viewers. Tell him you promise not to be offended! Encourage him to really open his ears to every comment during the viewing and report back to you.

You don’t need to hear endless comments about factors you can do nothing about, such as the proximity to the road, or the fact that you have a teeny tiny garden, but maybe your viewers just didn’t appreciate your orange carpet or your lime green ceilings! If you know what the stumbling blocks are to your sale, you can do something about it. Otherwise, all you can do is wait, and gloomily consider a price reduction, persuaded to do so by your agent who just can’t bring himself to suggest you slap a bit of magnolia on the walls!

So when you get your next “not suitable” reach for your notepad. You may just have a house-selling success plan.

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch

What to read next: First impressions

What to do next:  Sign up to my Selling Secrets http://www.home-truths.co.uk/selling-secrets

The post Why rejection is like gold dust appeared first on Home Truths.

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Five Reasons You Haven’t Sold Your Home Yet

When you first put your property on the market, you were probably full of anticipation and hope that you would get lots of viewings and even an early offer.  But now it’s a few weeks or even months down the line, and the few viewings you had initially have all but dried up, and your agent is on the phone at least once a week listing all the reasons why you should drop your asking price.So what has gone wrong?

Here are my top five reasons why you haven’t sold so far, and what you can do about it:

1. You launched at the wrong time of year – each home has a probably buyer, and each buyer has their own preferred time of the year to move.  For example, retirees tend to plan for a summer move, whereas lots of families move in spring or autumn.  Launch at the best time of year for your buyer, not for yourself, and you have a better chance of getting viewings.

2. You chose the wrong estate agent – does your agent actually like your house? Or you, for that matter?!  Agents are only human, after all, and if they don’t like you, they aren’t exactly going to be motivated to help you move on.  Keep them onside, work hard to make sure your house always looks great, and the result will be a happy, motivated agent.

3. Your house isn’t ready for viewings – take a long, hard look at your house – is it really ready to go public? Or would it benefit from a little tidying up, de-cluttering and perhaps even a lick of paint? Be honest with yourself, and give viewers a well-presented home that they can actually imagine themselves living in.

4. Your photography is unflattering – take a look at the properties on Rightmove – which images catch your eye? Is it the dark, amateurish ones taken on a slant? Or is it the brightly lit, well-composed shots that make you want to keep looking? Unflattering photographs will deter buyers from even looking at your advert, never mind booking a viewing.  Invest in good quality, professional photography and show your home at its very best online.

5. You put it on the market at too high a price – were you swayed by an eager agent, filling you full of tales about how much he could get for your house, despite the precedential evidence to the contrary? The problem with launching to the market at too high a price is that the interest you get in those first few weeks is directly correlated to the price you will ultimately achieve.  Get it wrong, and you risk putting those important buyers off, and perhaps losing them for good.  Price your property right, right from the start, and you’ll get the interest – and offer – you deserve.

If you have read this post and believe you haven’t made any of these mistakes, then why not get in touch? I’ll let you know what I think, honestly and without obligation.

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch.

What to read next: “What’s that smell?!” What prevents your home from selling?

What to do next: Sign up to my Selling Secrets http://www.home-truths.co.uk/selling-secrets

The post Five Reasons You Haven’t Sold Your Home Yet appeared first on Home Truths.

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Why rejection is like gold dust

Sellers often come to me desperate and despondent, having had viewer after viewer reject their home.  “So what was their feedback?” I ask them. “Not suitable they answer.”

Not suitable? Why? What didn’t they like? What did they like more about the homes of your competition?

You don’t know? That’s because your agent hasn’t asked them!

The wealth of information that your non-buyers could tell you, could help you reach a successful sale so much quicker and with less pain.

I can guarantee you that every single item on your supermarket shelves has been tested, tested, and tested again before going on sale. If it didn’t make the grade, you won’t find it on the shelf.  Those lucky manufacturers who have managed to successfully get their products accepted, have almost certainly changed the packaging, the text, the photographs or graphics, and the product itself, before it was finally deemed of a high enough quality for us to be able to buy it.

So – think of your viewing as market research! Educate and if necessary – beg – your agent to ask lots of questions of your viewers. Tell him you promise not to be offended! Encourage him to really open his ears to every comment during the viewing and report back to you.

You don’t need to hear endless comments about factors you can do nothing about, such as the proximity to the road, or the fact that you have a teeny tiny garden, but maybe your viewers just didn’t appreciate your orange carpet or your lime green ceilings! If you know what the stumbling blocks are to your sale, you can do something about it. Otherwise, all you can do is wait, and gloomily consider a price reduction, persuaded to do so by your agent who just can’t bring himself to suggest you slap a bit of magnolia on the walls!

So when you get your next “not suitable” reach for your notepad. You may just have a house-selling success plan.

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch

What to read next: First impressions

What to do next:  Sign up to my Selling Secrets http://www.home-truths.co.uk/selling-secrets

The post Why rejection is like gold dust appeared first on Home Truths.

from Home Truths http://bit.ly/2JfLkff
via IFTTT

Five Reasons You Haven’t Sold Your Home Yet

When you first put your property on the market, you were probably full of anticipation and hope that you would get lots of viewings and even an early offer.  But now it’s a few weeks or even months down the line, and the few viewings you had initially have all but dried up, and your agent is on the phone at least once a week listing all the reasons why you should drop your asking price.So what has gone wrong?

Here are my top five reasons why you haven’t sold so far, and what you can do about it:

1. You launched at the wrong time of year – each home has a probably buyer, and each buyer has their own preferred time of the year to move.  For example, retirees tend to plan for a summer move, whereas lots of families move in spring or autumn.  Launch at the best time of year for your buyer, not for yourself, and you have a better chance of getting viewings.

2. You chose the wrong estate agent – does your agent actually like your house? Or you, for that matter?!  Agents are only human, after all, and if they don’t like you, they aren’t exactly going to be motivated to help you move on.  Keep them onside, work hard to make sure your house always looks great, and the result will be a happy, motivated agent.

3. Your house isn’t ready for viewings – take a long, hard look at your house – is it really ready to go public? Or would it benefit from a little tidying up, de-cluttering and perhaps even a lick of paint? Be honest with yourself, and give viewers a well-presented home that they can actually imagine themselves living in.

4. Your photography is unflattering – take a look at the properties on Rightmove – which images catch your eye? Is it the dark, amateurish ones taken on a slant? Or is it the brightly lit, well-composed shots that make you want to keep looking? Unflattering photographs will deter buyers from even looking at your advert, never mind booking a viewing.  Invest in good quality, professional photography and show your home at its very best online.

5. You put it on the market at too high a price – were you swayed by an eager agent, filling you full of tales about how much he could get for your house, despite the precedential evidence to the contrary? The problem with launching to the market at too high a price is that the interest you get in those first few weeks is directly correlated to the price you will ultimately achieve.  Get it wrong, and you risk putting those important buyers off, and perhaps losing them for good.  Price your property right, right from the start, and you’ll get the interest – and offer – you deserve.

If you have read this post and believe you haven’t made any of these mistakes, then why not get in touch? I’ll let you know what I think, honestly and without obligation.

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch.

What to read next: “What’s that smell?!” What prevents your home from selling?

What to do next: Sign up to my Selling Secrets http://www.home-truths.co.uk/selling-secrets

The post Five Reasons You Haven’t Sold Your Home Yet appeared first on Home Truths.

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via IFTTT

Why rejection is like gold dust

Sellers often come to me desperate and despondent, having had viewer after viewer reject their home.  “So what was their feedback?” I ask them. “Not suitable they answer.”

Not suitable? Why? What didn’t they like? What did they like more about the homes of your competition?

You don’t know? That’s because your agent hasn’t asked them!

The wealth of information that your non-buyers could tell you, could help you reach a successful sale so much quicker and with less pain.

I can guarantee you that every single item on your supermarket shelves has been tested, tested, and tested again before going on sale. If it didn’t make the grade, you won’t find it on the shelf.  Those lucky manufacturers who have managed to successfully get their products accepted, have almost certainly changed the packaging, the text, the photographs or graphics, and the product itself, before it was finally deemed of a high enough quality for us to be able to buy it.

So – think of your viewing as market research! Educate and if necessary – beg – your agent to ask lots of questions of your viewers. Tell him you promise not to be offended! Encourage him to really open his ears to every comment during the viewing and report back to you.

You don’t need to hear endless comments about factors you can do nothing about, such as the proximity to the road, or the fact that you have a teeny tiny garden, but maybe your viewers just didn’t appreciate your orange carpet or your lime green ceilings! If you know what the stumbling blocks are to your sale, you can do something about it. Otherwise, all you can do is wait, and gloomily consider a price reduction, persuaded to do so by your agent who just can’t bring himself to suggest you slap a bit of magnolia on the walls!

So when you get your next “not suitable” reach for your notepad. You may just have a house-selling success plan.

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch

What to read next: First impressions

What to do next:  Sign up to my Selling Secrets http://www.home-truths.co.uk/selling-secrets

The post Why rejection is like gold dust appeared first on Home Truths.

from Home Truths http://bit.ly/2JfLkff
via IFTTT

Five Reasons You Haven’t Sold Your Home Yet

When you first put your property on the market, you were probably full of anticipation and hope that you would get lots of viewings and even an early offer.  But now it’s a few weeks or even months down the line, and the few viewings you had initially have all but dried up, and your agent is on the phone at least once a week listing all the reasons why you should drop your asking price.So what has gone wrong?

Here are my top five reasons why you haven’t sold so far, and what you can do about it:

1. You launched at the wrong time of year – each home has a probably buyer, and each buyer has their own preferred time of the year to move.  For example, retirees tend to plan for a summer move, whereas lots of families move in spring or autumn.  Launch at the best time of year for your buyer, not for yourself, and you have a better chance of getting viewings.

2. You chose the wrong estate agent – does your agent actually like your house? Or you, for that matter?!  Agents are only human, after all, and if they don’t like you, they aren’t exactly going to be motivated to help you move on.  Keep them onside, work hard to make sure your house always looks great, and the result will be a happy, motivated agent.

3. Your house isn’t ready for viewings – take a long, hard look at your house – is it really ready to go public? Or would it benefit from a little tidying up, de-cluttering and perhaps even a lick of paint? Be honest with yourself, and give viewers a well-presented home that they can actually imagine themselves living in.

4. Your photography is unflattering – take a look at the properties on Rightmove – which images catch your eye? Is it the dark, amateurish ones taken on a slant? Or is it the brightly lit, well-composed shots that make you want to keep looking? Unflattering photographs will deter buyers from even looking at your advert, never mind booking a viewing.  Invest in good quality, professional photography and show your home at its very best online.

5. You put it on the market at too high a price – were you swayed by an eager agent, filling you full of tales about how much he could get for your house, despite the precedential evidence to the contrary? The problem with launching to the market at too high a price is that the interest you get in those first few weeks is directly correlated to the price you will ultimately achieve.  Get it wrong, and you risk putting those important buyers off, and perhaps losing them for good.  Price your property right, right from the start, and you’ll get the interest – and offer – you deserve.

If you have read this post and believe you haven’t made any of these mistakes, then why not get in touch? I’ll let you know what I think, honestly and without obligation.

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch.

What to read next: “What’s that smell?!” What prevents your home from selling?

What to do next: Sign up to my Selling Secrets http://www.home-truths.co.uk/selling-secrets

The post Five Reasons You Haven’t Sold Your Home Yet appeared first on Home Truths.

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We're nearing 40 – is it too late to buy our first property?

We thought we would never buy, but just came into some money and are wondering about a mortgage

Q We are at a complete loss. We never imagined that we would be in a position to buy property as we have struggled for years to save but recently we have come into some money which we could use as a deposit. However, both my husband and I are nearing 40 so are we too late? Where do we even start with trying to organise a mortgage? Surely it would need to be a shorter term one. I am fearful of taking out too much and finding ourselves stuck at age 58 or higher. Most people our age are working towards paying their mortgage off whereas we would just be beginning. Should we just stick the money in a savings account instead?

A No, I wouldn’t just stick the money in a savings account. Buying a home of your own is clearly a long-term goal of yours even if you didn’t think it was an achievable one. And at nearly 40, you and your husband are spring chickens when it comes to being considered as older borrowers. Most mainstream mortgage lenders set the maximum age you can be at the end of the mortgage term at 70 or 75 so you could easily get a mortgage with a typical term of 25 years. At least 15 building societies – which, according to the Building Societies Association, ‘tend to be more flexible than high-street banks when it comes to maximum age limits’ – have scrapped upper age limits altogether. As a result borrowers can take out a 25-year mortgage regardless of their age at the time they apply for a mortgage.

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