Do you list first or find first…??
Often the biggest question I hear and also any vendors most difficult and often scariest predicament. For Frank, its an easy answer…. LIST FIRST… But here’s a few reasons why…
The market conditions being the first and foremost, since we emerged from the first national lockdown, the market has seen an unprecedented demand for property from eager buyers combined with a distinctive lack of new listings in evey area and price range imaginable. The market conditions are what to I refer as a driver of how anybody can move regardless of how you or I would like it to magically happen in our perfect world of a stress free move. As an agent working within highly sought after areas, I am often finding that we are dealing with a minimum of forty viewings requests per property within two or three days of their listing. Now thirty of those requests will be registered and consequently booked to view because they have either sold their property or they DON’T NEED to sell, however perhaps the remaining ten requests will be from clients who do NEED to sell their property before they have the ability to buy their next home but they are not even on the market yet. Now let’s be ‘FRANK’ about this situation, in my experience given the amount of ‘proceedable’ viewings booked, ‘proceedable being the thirty viewings’, chances are it’s going to be sold. Therefore, if any of those ten viewers did like it, can they buy it? No. Are we allowing them to get their hopes up by even viewing it? In my opinion yes. This is a topic of discussion that is highly debated and contentious and I can always see both sides of the coin, however if you had your home on the market and had gone to the lengths that most people to do present their home, would you want people viewing it who are not in a position to buy it? I always compare it to when I was a young twenty something, window shopping a week before pay day. The harsh reality is, chances are it will be gone by the time you can buy it.
For the majority of 2021, the houses which Frank had the pleasure to list and then sell, were for vendors who had not yet found their next home. This means that firstly, there was no impending panic to rush the marketing, we were given the chance to take our time and perfect every element of the marketing strategy from carefully staged professional photography to a stylish editorial and then our nail biting social media secret leaks, eventuating in a perfect launch for each and every property. Then there is the marketing price, given that again there is no immediate panic to sell within 24 hours, we had the opportunity to test the market at the highest possible price. Now let’s not get this confused with ‘over-priced’ because that’s a whole another blog, but ‘the highest possible price’ is where I feel we can test the market without having a detrimental effect on the marketing as a whole. Then we can use our time wisely to achieve you the best possible price and as importantly from a buyer WHO CAN WORK TO YOUR TIMESCALES, a crucial factor when agreeing your sale.
This is the part that then entails complete and utter trust in your agent and their best interests for you and your home moving plan. Yes, I said it… TRUST. This is when we need to rewind in the process slightly, yes you should market before you find but with an agent that you trust to relay the importance of time management to any potential buyers and to stress the time constraints that will involve you being able to find your next property without worry or stress that you have to do this immediately. However, all being well you picked the right agent, so now having had the time to test the market and therefore achieve the best possible price, you are now free to explore the market as a ‘proceedable’ buyer, with a clear budget having sold with the added benefit of being taken seriously by selling agents. Yes, that all sounds perfect and I realise we are from a perfect world, but in my experience if it is expertly managed by an experienced and honest agent, it doesn’t often go wrong. The worst that can happen, your buyer gets fed up waiting and they withdraw, in which case it just wasn’t meant to be, so we start again. No, its not always that simple and there are lots of caveats I would always put in place to protect your best interests, no it doesn’t always work but within this market, it is the only way in my opinion to move and my success rate so far proves that I believe this is the best advice.
Equally, if you are reading this and you have already found your next dream home, Frank has been known to pull out all the stops and make it happen, no matter what it took!
Preparing your home to market…
If you are thinking of listing your home, there are several key factors which Frank considers essential, to enable us to help you achieve the best possible price for your home and attract the widest audience so that we are in position where we can carefully hand pick the best buyer for you. Equally, this then puts you in a strong position to secure your onward purchase, completing the home moving plan! Step one, together we set a goal we need to achieve by your photo shoot day, this goal will involve streamlining your home and de-cluttering personal effects whilst still keeping functionality for you and your family on a day to day basis. We can all be guilty of acquiring far too many possessions which can cause our homes to become cluttered, but even the smallest de-clutter can help your home feel fresh and spaces appear more usable. This is why pre-launch prep is key to help us achieve your expectations regarding your sale price and quite often proven, surpassed!
All part of the service from Frank, we know how important a move can be to everyone but also how daunting the prospect can seem, that’s why an honest approach is key but also means it can be really fun and quite exciting! In our experience, some of our clients have been amazed at the results just a little clear out can achieve, some in fact then wanted to stay!! All fun aside though, it really is a key element to showcasing your home in its best light, presenting your home with as much versatility as possible and highlighting the best features. Over the years (and even to this day) I am known to be shocked and in some cases appalled by the laziness by the presentation of some properties which are launched to the market by the listing agent, equally the standard of photography leaves a lot to be desired from some agents (no names mentioned).
The perfect balance is what we look to achieve for you, we don’t want to go too mad resulting in bare minimalism which feels overly clinical, we look to curate a warm environment which eludes an aspirational lifestyle which compliments your home. In other words, lets stash away all the less attractive daily essentials and display your favourite possessions within beautifully arranged collections. Potential buyers will appreciate your efforts and it will make you feel happy too. Once the little things are tackled try and take a step back and examine every room carefully, does that extra coffee table need to be there or would the room feel bigger without it? Freeing up floor space can make such a difference and gives a better illusion of space in general around your home as does thoughtfully placed mirrors. In bedrooms, try and keep bedding as neutral as possible otherwise it can appear quite ‘busy’ when photographed and ensure that it is neatly ironed and presented with bedside tables clear. There is no end of the perfect bed inspiration online, but The White Company are infamous on ‘how to get a bed right’.
Then there’s that little ‘to do’ list, we all have them and we have all said that famous quote, “I’ll get that done this week”, then it just never happens…!! Well now is the time, TO DO IT! Some viewers have a habit of getting quite up close and personal, so it’s worth tidying up as many last details as possible. First impressions are also quite important, someone once told me that once arriving at a property any potential buyer will have decided within the first 10 seconds if it is a contender or not and I believe this to be quite true. So de-weed the front garden and driveway, clean away any cobwebs around the front door, ensure the door bell works (if you have one) and that the front approach is generally clear, tidy and free from any un-necessary items. If your front door needs a freshen up, now is the time to get that job done too…
For ‘shoot day’, I always suggest some beautiful fresh flowers to stage your home, choose something that compliments your colour scheme but avoid anything too seasonal, for example Daffodils will ‘timestamp’ your marketing, so it will be obvious to buyers when your home may have launched to the market. If you have a cottage then a hand-tied bunch of country garden flowers will look perfect or for something more modern, lush white and soft pink Roses with Eucalyptus is a stylish nod to the current trend. Fresh herbs in the kitchen always add a little pop to photos as does a well stocked fruit bowl and lush house plants in the bathroom tend to add a little warmth and brightness.
Essentially, you can prepare as much or as little as you feel necessary, but with very Frank listing we are here to help you prepare and decide what individual touches will make an invaluable difference to your marketing.
