As the NRLA’s property sales partner, Movewise’s goal is to find the best possible sale route for any property – whether that is a direct sale to another landlord, or a managed sale through more traditional routes.
However, choosing the right sale method is only part of the picture. If you want to sell your property fast and achieve the best price, you need to present it to potential buyers in the best possible light.
For a buyer, any indication that there is work to be done to bring a property up to standard will be a reason to reduce the amount they offer for it – and this is especially true with landlord-to-landlord sales, because investment buyers are not driven by emotions in the same way as owner-occupiers, who might be happier to overlook flaws to secure a home they can fall in love with. Therefore, it is in your best interest to minimise the perception that your property needs time and money spent on it.
How you go about preparing for a sale will depend on whether you are marketing it with vacant possession or with tenants in situ, and whether you are targeting investment buyers or the wider market, but the same general principles apply. Here are seven things to bear in mind when you prepare your home for sale.
1. Tenanted or untenanted?
Having reliable tenants in situ during the sale benefits both you and the buyer: you carry on getting rental income right up until completion, and the buyer gets an income from day one. Movewise is working with the NRLA to offer direct landlord-to-landlord sales as a first option where appropriate, but we recognise that landlords may want to offer properties for sale to the wider market. In such a case, having sitting tenants may be more problematic, so you might wish to sell once the tenancy period has ended, allowing you time to do necessary work on the property.
If you do intend to sell during a tenancy, be transparent about your intentions and reassure tenants that their rights will be respected. Remember that the occupants have the right to “quiet enjoyment” of their home, so give them plenty of notice of visits for photographs, viewings and so on.
2. Carry out repairs
Buyers’ surveyors will be looking out for any defects such as cracks, loose tiles and so on, and these will give the buyer leverage to chip away at their offer. The amount they try to knock the price down will often be far higher than the price it will cost you to have the problem fixed – the perception may be that if the surveyor has found these problems, there may be others hidden.
3. Keep it clean and tidy
It might seem obvious, but tidying up and cleaning are the cheapest ways to make your house more attractive to potential buyers. For vacant properties, this should require nothing more than your own time or a small investment in professional cleaning, but if you intend to sell with tenants in place, it may be less straightforward. Maintaining a good relationship with tenants and giving plenty of notice ahead of viewings will help: you could offer a temporary reduction in rent in return for their co-operation. However, if you are selling to another landlord, having tenants in situ is a plus that should more than outweigh a bit of clutter.
4. Redecorate
A vacant property that has been rented is likely to look tired, and empty rooms draw extra attention to scuffed or dirty walls and floors. A fresh coat of paint, along with new carpets or flooring if necessary, will hugely improve the appeal of the property for a fairly modest outlay – and for a landlord it means less to do before they can let it out. This is especially important if there is evidence of past repairs, for example a stained ceiling caused by a leak: even if the problem is long gone, it will raise questions in a potential buyer’s mind. Rental properties tend to have neutral colour schemes already, but if yours is at the brighter end of the spectrum, tone it down: one person’s bright and welcoming colour scheme is another’s garish headache.
Additionally, it may be counterintuitive, but empty rooms tend to appear smaller. An empty bedroom can look like a small box room with nothing to give it a sense of scale, so consider “staging” it with an inexpensive bed and furniture.
5. Kitchen and bathroom are key
Dingy kitchens and bathrooms are one of the things most likely to put buyers off a house, so fitting new units and an inexpensive bathroom suite is often a sound investment, particularly if you are looking to attract people searching for a home of their own. Investors are likely to be less concerned about the prospect of upgrading, but will still factor in the costs when they make an offer.
6. Sort out the garden
Gardens often aren’t a priority for tenants, and a sea of weeds is not good for kerb appeal. Roll your sleeves up and get mowing, or pay a gardener to tidy up – and pay particular attention to any shrubs or climbers that are blocking natural light from windows and making the interior gloomy.
7. Be honest about problems
If a property has issues that a surveyor is likely to uncover, such as a history of subsidence, or Japanese knotweed, it is best to make the buyer aware of it so they don’t get any nasty shocks. A buyer’s surveyor will be out of your control, so if you have known issues it is worth paying for a friendly surveyor’s or structural engineer’s report upfront and giving it to buyers. Tell them: “We're aware of these issues – please take them into consideration in your bid rather than muck us around later in the process.”
If you've made changes to the property during your ownership, get a surveyor to check for any planning permission or building control issues that may arise in advance. You don’t want these problems coming up during negotiations. In general, buyers are likely to drop the price far more if they suddenly become aware of an issue later on in the process, rather than factoring it in from the outset.
To find out how Movewise can help you sell your property, whether it is tenanted or vacant, call 020 3409 4350 or visit movewise.co.uk
