How NOT to Sell Your Hailsham or Eastbourne Home: The Blunders That Scare Off Buyers

Most home sellers want three things: to get the best possible price for their property, to complete the sale in good time and to avoid bucket-loads of stress.

These three goals may sound simple and achievable, but you’d be surprised how many sellers lose their way during the marketing process.

As a result, they waste time and money and cause themselves more anxiety than necessary.

To help you avoid a few common pitfalls, here’s a guide to how not to sell your home.

In other words, do these things, and you’ll be headed for delays and disappointment.

Fail to get three valuations

Most industry experts recommend sellers get three agents to value their property. This is because if you only have one valuation, you risk going too low with your asking price (and missing out on thousands of pounds) or too high (and deterring genuine buyers). Is it worth cutting corners just to save yourself a few hours?

Get greedy with the asking price

You take a punt and list your property at a price far above what similar homes in the area are going for. You hope a clueless buyer will breeze in and pay well above the odds for your home. However, savvy buyers aren’t fooled. They stay away, and the sale stalls until you drop to a realistic price.

Don’t bother to declutter or depersonalise

Instead of offloading some of your belongings and having a tidy-up, you do nothing at all. The marketing photographs capture all manner of old toot, dirty laundry and mucky dishes. Potential buyers snigger at your choice of underwear (left hanging on the radiators) and quickly move on to another listing.

Make no effort for viewings

When buyers view your property, it’s a ‘warts and all’ experience. In between dodging your clutter and checking out the family photos on the walls, buyers notice the chipped paintwork and wobbly cupboard doors. They make an offer but take a few thousand pounds off because they know they’ll have to sort out this DIY work when they move in.

Respond sluggishly to requests for information

Once you’ve agreed a deal and the conveyancing process is in motion, you put your feet up. Instead of responding promptly to requests for information, you take your time. Your slow response irritates the prospective buyer – who is keen for a speedy transaction – and jeopardises the entire chain.