Selling your home and starting afresh can be more expensive than you think – trust me, I know this from experience right now. We’re learning that there’s lots to factor into the equation. Legal costs, repairs prior to exchanging contracts, staging your property for the open market and even estate agent fees, it all adds up.
But here’s the good news: it’s possible to find ways to put a ceiling on your sale costs and keep more money in your back pocket to put towards your next, exciting move.
It doesn’t matter whether you’re moving up the ladder, downsizing or starting anew, we’ve got some smart tips to help you save big on your next property sale.
Be prepared to haggle estate agent fees
Conventional estate agents thrive on sale commission. They are usually paid a low basic wage, with the remainder comprised of commission through the month. Commission is often a percentage of your final sale price.
In many cases, sellers feel that the commission percentage is a fixed amount, but it’s almost never set in stone. You can try to haggle the fee if you’re not happy with it. Just by trimming 0.25% off an estate agent’s commission can save you hundreds, if not thousands of pounds. At this stage, you should also ensure you’re not tied to a long-term contract with the agency. Flexibility is everything when it comes to selling your property.
Cash buyers can sometimes make more sense
As an alternative to estate agents, selling to cash buyers can often work out cheaper than selling on the open market. Let’s take a look at an example. If you sell your house with We Buy Any Home or adjacent services, you can do away with the need for estate agents altogether, since it’s only you and the cash buyer involved.
Services like these can complete a transaction in as little as seven working days, which is great for getting you moving faster. There’s no danger of a deal falling through either, which can also mitigate against any expensive delays or having to pay more to complete a chain.
Declutter your home yourself
If you still decide to list your property on the open market, however, staging your sale doesn’t need to become an expense. Rather than paying for professional decorators or stagers, with a little time and finesse, you can handle the deep clean and decorating yourself. There’s a 15-stage guide to staging from Homes & Gardens that’s well worth reading.
Just focus on freshening living spaces and making them bright and neutral. A paint brush and a tin of paint needn’t cost the earth, but means the world to prospective buyers.
Shop around for conveyancing services
No matter who you sell to, you’ll still require conveyancing services to sort out the legalities. Conveyancing costs can vary from solicitor to solicitor, so shop around and get the best possible price in the process. You don’t even need to pick a local solicitor, since it’ll all be handled remotely. The GOV.UK site lists three types of conveyancers – solicitors, licensed conveyancers, and chartered legal executives.
Selling your much-loved property doesn’t have to feel like a money pit. With a few savvy moves, you can get your home sold efficiently and walk away with more to put towards your next intrepid chapter.
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