So, there you are minding your own business quite happily trundling along in life. Then all of a sudden, BAM, the unexpected happens - partner files for divorce, you lose your job/made redundant, serious accident resulting in prolonged time off work, your business goes belly-up or other life-changing and personally devastating event. These situations usually mean that at some point you will have to sell your home fast, either to downsize to something more appropriate or to raise cash quickly to cover personal or business debts.What are the options for anyone looking to sell their property?

• Traditional Estate Agent route - expensive and VERY slow
• Online Estate Agent - less expensive but still slow
• Property auction - fast but price not guaranteed to reach reserve, still have to pay auction house fees and VAT
• Sell to a buyer who specializes in purchasing property for cash - slightly below market value but VERY fast
• DIY private house sale - a fast option that could save you £000s

So, how do you go about selling your house privately?This might sound like a scary alternative but with the advent of the Internet it really is a viable alternative to the snail-like High Street option and is gathering popularity amongst house-sellers fed up of being charged £000s for selling their properties. We often forget that Estate Agents are unregulated salesmen with no professional valuation training other than an inside knowledge of what other properties on their books have sold for. The only true professionals involved in the house buying and selling process are the surveyor and conveyancing solicitor.There are just 4 easy steps to making a private house sale:

1. PRICING. There are websites available where you can check the actual selling prices of properties in your area (rather than the over-inflated estimates dreamt up by untrained agents). These will give you a much more accurate idea of what your property is worth. Depending on how quickly you wish to sell should influence how much above or below this figure you are willing to set your price at. Bear in mind that a potential buyer may wish to negotiate you down on the advertised price so don’t pitch it at your absolute minimum, as this will leave you no room for manoeuvre.
2. ADVERTISING. Online advertising fees are much more reasonable than those of commission-based Estate Agents and websites that advertise your property have clear itemised lists of added extras you can purchase if you so desire but these are not always necessary.
3. HIP. Any property sold on the open market must have a Home Information Pack, which will cost around £350 and can be commissioned independently.
4. DETAILS. All you need is a digital camera and a reasonable eye for a good photo. You need around 6-10 decent pictures of the front of the house, garden and key rooms plus accurate internal measurements. For a small additional cost, online property advertising sites will also provide a customised For Sale sign, as these are great for generating interest from local buyers. You can get your property details online in a fraction of the time it takes an Estate Agent to start advertising.

If you really don’t feel up to trying this alternative why not consider a quick cash sale to a company that specializes in this market. They can complete within 4 weeks of your initial enquiry and provide the peace of mind of a guaranteed property sale (no pulling out at the last moment and no broken chains). When you consider that Estate Agents over-value properties by between 5%-15% and you may have to reduce your price to slightly below the surveyors valuation to secure a quick sale this option doesn’t sound quite as bad as you might first imagine. If you also factor in the benefits of a free valuation by an independent surveyor, free legal fees and no requirement for a Home Information Pack plus completion in around 4 weeks Sell-My-House-Fast could beTHE quick and economical solution to your current financial difficulties.

Each type of house buyer has a different set of criteria that will affect just how quickly they sell an existing property and purchase their next one. Whether they are a first-time buyer, property developer, buy-to-let investor or a couple downsizing.

First-time house buyers and those house-sharing will often over-stretch themselves in their desperation just to get on the property ladder. Lenders have in the last few years been encouraging this by offering larger mortgages than borrowers can realistically afford to repay. The awful truth of just how much it costs to run a home can come to light several years after they have bought their first home. The temptation to buy everything new and to want everything “just right” will eventually dawn once the credit card bills have reached their limit. Young people have a greater “live for today” attitude and the thought of putting money aside to cover contingencies just doesn’t occur to them. So, when the boiler breaks, they lose their job or have an accident there is nothing in reserve. Admittedly they are likely to earn the least and have less spare cash to put aside but it reflects their general air of invincibility. These are also likely to be the house buyers who do not have contents insurance and only the most basic buildings insurance cover to satisfy their mortgage lender. When reality does finally hit home what are the options? Seek help from the parental piggy bank, sell on the open market or sell and rent back from a company specialising in buying property fast. Potential first-time buyers should think long and hard about whether having the responsibility of looking after a property is something that is right for them at this point in time.

Buy-to-let investors fall mainly into 2 camps - those who are serious about running it as a business and those who dabble at it to try to shore up their dwindling pension plans. Those who don’t fully understand the buy-to-let market can come seriously unstuck; often having invested heavily from financial reserves or even re-mortgaged their family home to start up. Problems can arise if the market takes a sudden dive, if they need to access cash quickly or if tenants don’t prove to be as reliable as they had envisaged. There are companies who will buy your investment property even if it currently has problem tenants.

In a similar predicament are inexperienced property developers who can make the mistake of under-estimating the amount of work and cost involved in a project, especially if they have bought at auction and failed to have a survey (yes it does happen). It is all too easy for unforeseen problems to arise that will seriously affect the profitability of a renovation, particularly if you have to buy in skills. The best solution in this situation is to try to find an experienced developer or property buyer who can take that money pit off your hands and allow you to start afresh with another project.

Expanding families and those down-sizing are at the mercy of very fragile property chains. There are ways of ensuring that you don’t lose that perfect house just because your property won’t sell or your buyer has pulled out. The stress involved in a protracted house sale can aggravate many health issues so if your property just isn’t shifting you could try selling it to a company that buys properties for cash. That way you can complete in around 4 weeks and exchange on a date of your choosing.

Emigrating or relocating to another area is a logistical nightmare as there are 1001 things that need to be done. By selling your property for cash you can ensure that you have at least one less problem to worry about. Some companies will even allow you to remain as a tenant until the day you emigrate/relocate. No upheaval whilst moving into rented accommodation and trying to ensure everyone knows your temporary contact details or worrying about not receiving important letters. A very simple solution to an otherwise stressful problem.

If you want to find out how much you could get for your property just complete our quick quote and we will get back to you.