Arm yourself well before trying to sell your home

ON THE MOVE:2013 might be the year for you to trade-up, trade-down or just sell out of Ireland altogether

Since our search began, all our attention has been focused on properties to buy.

It’s a frustrating process, but could be a lot more so, given that the drop in prices has meant that areas which would previously have been out of reach might now be achievable.

However, we found ourselves on the other side of the equation before Christmas, when I got our house valued. And it wasn’t as attractive a position to be in.

Thanks to the property register, I had a fair idea of what to expect but, human nature being what it is, there will always be a part of you that thinks “yeah but my house is different”.

It turns out it’s not so different after all. After quickly calculating just how much we’ve lost since we bought it – if, of course, there is even a market for it – I recovered some perspective by consoling myself that the prices of houses we’re now looking at have also declined drastically.

If you’re inclined to think like this too, and aren’t trapped in the grip of negative equity, then 2013 might be the year for you to trade-up, trade-down or just sell out of Ireland altogether. If you’re considering this, what do you need to know to increase your chances of getting your property sold within a reasonable time-frame and without several heart attacks along the way?

DIY sale

The first step is probably determining how you will sell your house. Selling it yourself might be a consideration, through an outlet like sellityourself.ie, which charges €195 for a listing. There is something to be said for taking control of selling your most valuable asset yourself, but the downside is that you will have to take on board all the viewings and the negotiation process, which can be both time consuming and mentally intensive. And for some reason, dealing with the vendor themselves can put off some buyers.

The other option is to appoint an estate agent, and it’s worth taking some time to find someone you’re happy with. Don’t get swayed by someone promising you a high sale price – one agent told me that prices had jumped by 10 per cent in our area, but there was no evidence of this on the price register. Also, estate agents are running at low capacity, so be confident that the agent you appoint will have the resources to put the time and effort into selling your house. We recently attended a house viewing that was scheduled for 9.45am. When we turned up 15 minutes later at 10am, the agent was about to lock up and told us we could have a “quick run around” because he had to be somewhere else.