Thinking Of Selling?

Are you thinking of selling? Should you wait or should you sell? Here we are looking at what your options are.

Selling property, buying property, it s all been a bit of a mess. The fact is that sometimes you can t wait for longer and you need to sell up. Right now there is a shortage of property for sale as potential buyers stay clear of the low priced market yet buyers are out there as they want to make use of the low prices.

If you want to wait until prices go up remember that prices could remain low for some years or worse, could fall further. Unemployment is set to rise to over 3 million in 2010 and many companies have gone bust or have suffered, resulting in redundancies, frozen pay or reduced hours. For companies to recover and then to reemploy people will take a long time. For the economy to become stable after the government has pumped billions of pounds into it will take years and in the meantime there will be spending cuts in public services generally speaking people will not have money to spend and instead people will be paying off mortgages, reducing debt and saving. The house prices from 2007 will not return until the country has recovered and there s a lot of recovering to do.

However, not all areas are all doom and gloom. In some areas prices have risen over the last year Windsor has increased by 9 in the last 12 months and Pembrokeshire is up 5.8 in the same period. This compares with an overall annual fall of 12 . You need to check with your agent how your area has fared or check locally sold prices on the internet.

So in the meantime what do you do?

Well, the key question, is why and how much do you want to move?

Even if you are just beginning to think of selling it s worth calling estate agents and have your property valued. It's free, it s easy and you are gathering information. What could you'realistically get for it? Be sure to have your property valued by at least three agents they will all be very keen to persuade you to put your property on the market and may give you an unrealistic high price to convince you.

Are you thinking of trading up or trading down? How much does your desired house cost? How much mortgage would you need and how much mortgage can you get? The banks are beginning to lend out more money with higher income multiples and lower Loan To Value percentages but the criteria is still strict and lending isn't guaranteed as it almost used to be.

What s happening in your neighbourhood? Is a tram link being built which will benefit your property? Is a development due to start which will adversely effect your property? What is going on which could effect the sale or desirability of your property? You need to gather information together to get a clear picture of what your options are.

Estate agents want to market your property. Buyer enquiries are increasing but the estate agent does not have enough stock to sell. That puts you in a good position to negotiate their fee and get the lowest commission you can.

In the current climate it may pay to improve your house rather than sell. If you need more space then compare the costs of moving to extending your house, converting your loft or adding an office in the garden. Moving house is very stressful and most people want to avoid it, even when the property market is good. If your problem can be solved by improving your existing property then that might be the most economical and practical path to take.

Be sure to know exactly why you are thinking of selling and see if the problems can be solved in another way. Commuting may be made easier by negotiating how to work from home more often. The problem of the lack of local transport may be combated by buying two cars far cheaper than moving house. Go through and think carefully about all the reasons of why you are considering selling and see what solutions you can come up with. Try to think outside the box and be open to new ideas.

Buying and selling property has been a quick money making fashion in the past, pre credit crunch. If you are thinking of selling gather as much information as you can and think through your options slowly and carefully. If you market it and price it realistically then there are likely to be eager buyers out there as there are so few properties coming onto the market. And then you can move on to your next chapter.