Buying And Selling A Property: Your Questions Answered

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Whether you are looking to buy your first home, or sell a much-loved family property, we know how time-consuming and stressful the process can be. Here at Foden Property, we believe that buying and selling your home should be as easy and stress-free as possible. This is why we will work with you every step of the way until your house purchase has been completed. 

As your property journey progresses we know you are likely to have plenty of questions, so to help you feel more prepared we would like to share the answers to some of our most frequently asked queries. 

How much input will I have with the way my property is marketed?

Here at Foden Property, we like to work really closely with you, the vendor, when it comes to  marketing your home. If there is something specific which you would like us to market, or something which you don’t want to be photographed, then we will work hand in hand with  you to achieve your aims. 

How long will it take to sell my house?

That is a very difficult question to answer. It is so hard to determine a timescale when it comes to selling your property as there can be so many issues and problems which come up along the way. Whilst some homes might sell in a matter of days, others could take several months. We would always advise that you listen to us during the selling process as we are here to help you and will always have your best interests at heart.

Something has come up on the survey, what do I do now?

The most important thing to remember is: please don’t panic. What we find a lot with the home buyers survey is that they have to highlight everything which doesn’t match up to today’s standard. If you are buying a brand new home then it will be up to today’s standard. However, even if your home was only built a year or two ago then, as amazing as your electrics and fittings are, they will not have been built to today’s standards. This means that things might get flagged amber or red on a survey, which we know may be scary to buyers, especially if you’ve never come across this situation before. 

Our advice would be to highlight these concerns to your agent, send them the survey with a list of things you are concerned about and then they can go through it with you and answer your queries. Your agent can also speak to the vendor if necessary and make sure that if there is anything which needs to be addressed, it is dealt with before the sale progresses. 

Is it worth doing major renovations to my home before putting it on the market?

The short answer is no. Nine times out of ten you will be spending money you do not need to spend and you will not get it back in terms of property value. For example, if you install a new kitchen or bathroom for £10,000, it doesn’t necessarily mean that your home will be worth an extra £10,000. We have also seen plenty of cases where someone has installed a new kitchen only for the new homeowner to say they are going to rip it out as they want to knock a wall down. 

If there are any obvious issues such as marks on walls from previous DIY work then we might suggest filling in the holes or re-painting a room to make it more neutral and sellable.  However, if your home does need major renovation, and you are not planning on spending the time and money to complete the work, then you should be aware that your property will be sold as a renovation project. 

What do I look for when choosing an agent?

We know that often the first question on people’s minds when choosing an agent is “how much will it cost to sell through you”. Whilst you don’t want to feel as if you are paying more money than you need to, you have to think that if you do just pick an agent based on price then what is your money going to get you? Will you get the same level of service as you would if you’d picked another agent who is slightly more expensive? 

Many people, often find during the selling process that they need more support than they thought they would at the outset. Therefore you need to make sure the agent you’re trusting to sell your home with is someone you can personally trust. Pick an agent who you actually like and feel you can build a relationship with as you need to be able to trust that they can answer any difficult questions and give you honest feedback and support when you need it.

Trust is the number one thing you need when you are choosing your agent - if you don’t trust someone then you shouldn’t really be asking them to sell your property. Don’t just choose them because they are cheap. 

Contact Foden Property

We hope you have found the answers to these questions helpful and that they have eased any concerns you might have during the buying and selling process. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with our friendly team if you have any further questions about buying and selling your property. 

For more in-depth discussions about the property market, listen to the latest podcast from our team on YouTube.