SELL FIRST OR buy FIRST? - WE SOLVE THE HOME MOVERS 'CATCH 22' CONUNDRUM!
Watch our two-part film and download our free guide -
'Sell first or buy first - a guide to Active Reservation'
Part one - sell your home first or find your next home first?
The moving home 'Catch 22'
One of the questions we are asked every day in estate agency is whether a seller should place their property on the market before or after they have found a home to purchase. In this article we bring you our expert answer to this fundamental question.
Many clients have expressed that they are keen to move but that they cannot find a suitable property to purchase and would prefer not to bring their own home to the market until a suitable property becomes available.
On the face of it this may seem like the obvious route but in practice this approach can severely limit your chances of being offered the best homes – if any at all, from most estate agents. Unfortunately this approach is almost guaranteed to end in failure or cost you many thousands of pounds in lost selling price value and lost negotiating ability on your next purchase.
If you've seen the classic cult film 'Catch 22' you'll be familiar with the phrase: 'a dilemma or difficult circumstance from which there is no escape because of mutually conflicting or dependent conditions'
Let us explain…
So, you’ve decided to find your perfect home before you place your home on the market – sounds sensible enough? You’ve got a property that will sell quickly so the plan is to start house hunting, find the home you’d like to buy – get yours on the market, sell it quickly and bingo – everything falls beautifully into place. Unfortunately, in the real world it doesn't quite work like that.
Let’s look at that approach in more detail – and to do that, it’s important to understand how the majority of estate agents still operate.
You’ve contacted all the estate agents to tell them what you’re looking for, where you’d like to buy, the essential features you want, how much accommodation and so on. The estate agent politely makes a note of your requirements (some won’t even do that!) and then often follows it up with a very significant question – ‘what’s your position?’ – that odd estate agency terminology.
A strange question... 'Well, I’m stood up in my kitchen talking to you on the phone?’
What this question actually means is ‘how good a buyer are you and is it worth me keeping you on the top of my buyers list’
As far as you’re concerned you’ve registered with the estate agent, explained that you’re a committed and serious buyer, they’ve got your details and all you need to do is sit back and wait for the phone to ring or the email to arrive containing details of your next home – job done!
Part two - how to turn a problem into a perfect outcome
Missing out on that perfect home - because you're not a 'hot' or 'ready and able' buyer
The vast majority of estate agents still have an old fashioned disposition towards, what they call 'hot buyers' (someone who can buy today – a cash buyer, or someone who is already under offer themselves and set up with a buyer).
Let’s say an estate agent places on the market exactly the property you have told them you’re looking for – location, accommodation, condition, parking – it’s got it all.
So, with the new property listed, details all written down, the estate agent quickly returns to their office and whether it’s a list on the screen or a box of cards – at the top of that list are all the people who can buy today – those cash buyers, those people who are already under offer, all those people who can go ahead today. It’s those people who get the phone call, the quick email – because those people are hot or ready and able buyers.
The truth is that even though you might be on that agents list you are not on their radar. They are commonly looking to sell the property quickly to a ready and able buyer and at the moment that’s not you!
Perhaps worse still is the scenario where you do actually get to view the perfect home and fall in love with it only to find it sells to someone else the same day when sellers naturally favour buyers who can proceed.
Watch our two-part film and download our free guide -
'Sell first or buy first - a guide to active reservation'
Let’s say you did get a viewing and the home is perfect for you, so what happens next?
Well, you rush home, you call your estate agent (they’re probably booked up till next week) and you eventually get your home on the market. Meanwhile viewings and offers are still happening on the home you want to buy. The chances are you’ll get a phone call that day or a day or two later to say ‘it’s gone!’ before you’ve really had chance to do anything with your own home.
Even if it doesn’t go straight away - you’re now trying to sell your most valuable asset in a rush.
What if on day one you receive a low offer but they won’t increase – you don’t really want to accept that figure but you don’t want to lose that new home. It's not a great situation to be in.
In summary, by not finding a buyer first you are severely limiting your chances of finding the perfect home, let alone actually buying it, as well as limiting a higher price you could achieve on your own home through a structured comprehensive marketing programme.
Trying to sell in a hurry can lose sellers thousands of pounds, and the pressure is on - every day!
The reasons that most people want to wait to find somewhere to buy before they sell their own are totally understandable...
“What if we don’t find a house we want',
'We don’t want to let people down'.
'We don’t want to be under pressure to find quickly'.
Selling first, when handled correctly, is risk free and provides a range of financial, emotional and wellbeing benefits.
The solution - Crane & Co Active Reservation
The solution is simpler than you think – and something we’re doing every day at Crane & Co – we call it 'Active Reservation'.
This is where a good estate agent can put you in the driving seat, take the pressure off, place you in pole position for new property listings and save you thousands of pounds.
Time is your most valuable asset
In comparison to you having to consider low offers on your home on day one (because you don’t want to lose the house you want to buy), by going on the market yourself before you have found your next home, we have the time to build and structure a comprehensive marketing programme that builds interest in your home over a couple of weeks or more -
- time to run viewing events,
- time to engage with all interested buyers,
- time to run a best and final offers process,
- time to get the pictures absolutely spot on, the film, the 3D tour,
- time enough for all interested buyers to view your home and fall in love with it
- time enough to comprehensively negotiate over several days with interested buyers
- time enough to get you the absolute maximum price for your home.
At the point of negotiating your sale we are going to be agreeing it to someone who understands and accepts that you have yet to find, someone who is going to give you time to find your perfect property. We do this all the time for most of our sellers. We frame the sale, we set the scene and we help families, sellers and buyers work together for a mutually successful outcome.
With many of our active reservation sales, it has taken many weeks for sellers to find their next home to buy. It's not a problem because it's the expectation – and everyone understands it.
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Whether you're selling through us or not, we're keen to pass on our knowledge to help you move successfully without frustration.
Some of the advantages of using active reservation:
- Before making a decision you will receive a free no obligation consultation with one of our property experts
- Other estate agents will be more interested in keeping you updated with new properties coming onto the market
- When you see a property you like you can reserve it there and then
- You hear about properties when they come onto the market rather than after they are sold to someone else
- You do not have to proceed with your sale until you have found a suitable property to purchase
- Costs do not need to be incurred until you have found a suitable property to buy
- We will hold onto your buyers while you find a property you would like to buy
- You control events rather than events dictating to you
- We are achieving excellent selling prices, often above 100% of the asking price
- If we don't sell your property, we won't charge you a fee
As you can see, there are principally two ways of approaching this challenge. One way is to rely entirely on luck, lose control, limit your chances of achieving your top selling price and place huge pressure on yourself. The other is to approach it in a methodical and managed process moving from one stage to the next with you in control at every stage.
There are many finer details to discuss and explain as well as our expert guidance on how to 'train' estate agents to think of you first when they next list a home that could be perfect for you.
If you are thinking of moving home anywhere in the Eastbourne and Hailsham area, get in touch and let's talk about your moving plans.
It could be the best move you make!
