Doorsteps blog posts

If you are selling your house online, you can expect to find a buyer quite soon. But before you make a sale, you have to consider all your options. How many offers should you compare before you make a decision?

In order to choose the best offer, you need to lay the groundwork and develop a good understanding of your home’s value.

1. Decide on a Two-Stage Approach
Stack the odds in your favour by taking a two-stage approach. First, decide on an estimate for the likely price you may get for selling your property online. This helps give you a firm foundation to work with, so it should be based on rigorous research.

The second step is to consider your selling strategy for the house. Do you want to sell quickly? Or do you have the time to wait for a truly exceptional offer? Your preferred timeline will affect the price you’re asking for.

2. Take a Critical Approach to Valuations
Mortgage lenders and estate agents offer valuations that can help you decide on a price. But relying on them alone can be a mistake.

Working with estate agencies carries some risk. Some agencies will err on the side of an unrealistically high valuation, in order to prolong the sales process. Always check an agency’s reputation before trusting its valuations.

On the other hand, valuations from mortgage lenders may go the opposite way. They may give you a low estimate to protect their interests. So, take professional valuations with a grain of salt, and make sure to hire experts with a great track record.

3. Research on Your Own
With your professional valuations in hand, it’s time to do your part. Conduct your own research. Learn the selling price of similar properties in the area, and read up on general housing trends.

4. Negotiation Is Presumed
When you first start receiving offers, remember that the buyer assumes there is negotiation room. So be prepared for that when choosing your asking price and countering offers. Ask for 5-10% more than what you’d be happy to sell for, making room for negotiation.

5. Accepting Offers
Finally, you’ve received some offers for the home. Now it’s time to narrow down your choices.
On average, sellers do an average of 11 viewings before accepting an offer. But that doesn’t mean you should do the same. Some sellers compare dozens of offers, while others are lucky enough to sell after just a handful.

A Word on Negotiations
All estate agents, including UK online estate agents, have a legal duty to pass on every offer, according to the Estate Agents Act 1979. However, you’re not obligated to accept anything at all.

You may have heard that the best offers and the most serious buyers are the early ones. You definitely shouldn’t discount those, but don’t feel pressured to accept an offer that is lower than what you’re looking for.
Instead, you should start negotiations right away. Remember that a buyer will rarely give you their best offer the first time, and they expect you to make a counteroffer.

During negotiations, you want estate agents who actively advise you on your options. Whether they tell you to accept, reject, or counter the offers received, you want them to be engaged. If your agent pressures you to accept an under-negotiated offer or doesn’t have any advice at all, be wary.

What’s the Takeaway?
It’s impossible to know in advance how many offers you’ll compare before you sell. However, you can ensure that you receive the best offers possible by arming yourself with knowledge.

Ask for professional advice, but don’t rely on it exclusively, and make sure you understand the basics of your local housing market.

It doesn’t really matter what you feel you should be paid for your home. All that matters is what buyers are willing to pay. You may think that this leaves you at the mercy of the buyers, but it doesn’t. You can improve the offers you receive if you pay attention to the small details that attract good buyers.

Finally, remember that you aren’t obligated to accept low offers. Selling your home takes as much negotiation as it took to buy it. But in time, you and a potential buyer can compromise on an offer that makes you both happy.

Before selling your house online, one of the best ways to increase its value is to redecorate the kitchen. Buyers and online property agents in the UK in general value houses with nice-looking, fully-functional kitchens.
Redecorating a kitchen doesn’t have to be expensive.

You don’t need a big budget or to take time off work. You can do it with a few handy items in your spare time. Here are some cheap and trendy kitchen redecoration ideas that potential buyers will like.

1. Give your cabinets a vibrant coat of paint – yellow, orange, or lime can refresh your kitchen and make it instantly more appealing.

2. Remove the cabinet doors to create a fresh open-shelf effect and a lighter sense of space. Experiment with removing only some of the doors to create an interesting contrasting effect.

3. Paint an accent wall two shades darker than the rest of your kitchen. You may choose any of your kitchen walls for this, though often the one facing the kitchen table is a good choice.

4. Add a backsplash or repaint your existing backsplash. Even if you decide to install new tiles, the limited surface of the backsplash will keep costs in check.

5. Transform your sink with a fresh coat of paint. Tired of your sink? You don’t have to replace it. All you need is some good-quality sandpaper and a can of water-resistant spray paint for metal. Don’t hesitate to choose a bold colour!

6. Replace old outlet covers with decorative outlets. Outlet wall plates have become a lot more exciting in recent years than they used to be. Alternatively, you can also repaint them.

7. Decorate your kitchen door with artwork or bright new curtains. You can design these yourself or buy them ready made.

8. Repaint your kitchen table or replace it with a coffee bar.

As you can see, making your kitchen more interesting doesn’t have to be expensive or time-consuming. Selling house online in the UK gets easier when you have an interesting kitchen to show off. So, what are you waiting for? Roll up your sleeves and get to work now!

Is the first offer you get on your house a bad offer just because it’s the first? Not necessarily. In many cases, accepting the first offer speeds up the whole process of selling a house online and brings you peace of mind.

When looking at first offers, look beyond the price. Consider the buyer, the timing, and the state of the local real estate market. All of these should inform your decision.

To help you make the right decision, we’ve put together a list of the key signs that saying “Yes” to a first offer is a good decision.

1. You Get a Cash Offer

Is the first offer you get all-cash? If it is a bit (but not much) lower than the price you want, consider accepting it. All-cash buyers save you time since you don’t have to wait for them to sell their home first or get their loan approved. They are not all that easy to find these days, which is why a first all-cash offer deserves your full attention.

2. Your House Has Been on the Market for a Long Time

When a property sits on the market for a long time, it usually sends a warning signal to buyers. They may assume something is wrong with it and stay away from it. So, if your house has been listed for several months now but you haven’t received many offers, accepting the first offer may not be so bad.

3. The Local Real Estate Market Isn’t Great

When property prices keep going down or are just stagnating, with no sign of improvement in sight, waiting for a better offer may not make sense. You won’t just lose time but have to deal with the costs of devaluing property. Before deciding whether to accept an offer, discuss with your real estate agent about the state of the local market.

4. The Buyer Proves They Really Want the House

When you sell your house online, focusing on the buyer rather than the price can be a good idea. Let’s imagine your first offer is decent and comes from a well-prepared buyer. For example, if the buyer has a pre-approval letter from the bank, a good financial situation, and shows genuine interest in the property, accepting the first offer can save you the hassle of waiting for a better offer.

Many house sellers derive some satisfaction from knowing that their new house is in good hands. If you are one of them, look beyond the price.

5. You’re Pressed for Time

When it comes to online property sales, most people want to sell fast. But then there are situations when you need to sell fast. If you’re relocating to a new city for work, need money from the sale, or notice that the move is putting a lot of strain on your family, you may not afford to wait for a second offer any longer. In all these cases, selling a house online becomes a much faster process if you accept the first offer.

6. You Have a Limited Buyer Pool

As online estate agents in the UK will tell you, selling a rare, unusual, or pricey property may significantly decrease the buyer pool. This often means a longer interval between offers. If you’re starting with a small buyer pool, waiting for a better offer may take a long time and turn the entire process of selling your home into a disappointing one. Accepting the first offer helps you avoid this. If the first offer is good, consider whether accepting it now wouldn’t prove wiser than waiting for a better offer to come in.

7. You’ve Inherited the Property

Selling an inherited property doesn’t come with the contingencies of selling your current home. You can afford to get a bit less on it if that means selling fast. Especially if you want to move on with your life and not spend time or money maintaining the property, accepting the first offer can be liberating.

8. The Bottom Line

Don’t say no to the first offer on your house just because it’s the first offer. While it’s true that you may get a better offer, the extra wait or the difference in price may not justify your decision. To maximise the value of your first offer, consider hiring the services of online estate agents in the UK.

At Doorsteps, selling your property online fast is our specialty. Learn more about us and how we can help you get a good first offer fast.