The 7 things house sellers in Maghull should (and shouldn’t) do in 2022.

The 7 things house sellers in Maghull should (and shouldn’t) do in 2022.

Reports in the press suggest that 1 in 5 homeowners are considering moving home in the next 18 months – that could mean around 2,000 homeowners in and around Maghull are thinking about selling their home between now and the summer of 2023.

If you’re thinking of selling – how will this impact you?

Well, there are a few things that you should think about before putting your property on the market which should help you to get the best price, reduce the hassle and even more importantly - when you do sell - ensure the move actually takes place.

1 in 3 Maghull house sales fall through between sale agreed and the keys being handed over.

Plus - the average length of time a property is taking from sale agreed to key hand over is 19 weeks, and the longer the sale takes, the greater the chance of the sale falling through. The average window used to be 12-16 weeks, and we’ve had more than a handful take 6 months plus over the last year or so…

So, if you are thinking of selling your home, here are 7 things you should consider (plus some tips for those homeowners in the area currently on the market) …

1. Get your ducks in a row.

It may seem obvious but having everything in place when you come on to the market really can take weeks off the time between the sale being agreed and key handover.

If you have had any building works done on your house, do your best to ensure that you have the relevant paperwork - that could be the Completion Certificate from Sefton Council for that extension you had a few years ago, the service history of your boiler or the FENSA certificate for your windows.

If you haven’t got the required building regulations or planning consent for work it doesn’t mean the end of the road for your sale, consent can sometimes be obtained retroactively and your solicitors will have more work to do – but it may impact the final agreed price and the timeframe of the sale.

Also, if your Maghull home is old (say 150 years plus) or even listed, you should think about spending a few hundred pounds and get a survey done on your own house, especially if you have been in the house for more than 10 years. This will highlight any issues that need to be rectified (and be shown to potential buyers) in case they start to nit-pick. If you need recommendation of a good chartered surveyor in the area – drop me a line.

2. Photo bombing.

First impressions are everything, and you only get to make a first impression twice.

Yes - I said twice - once with the photographs on the listing and the second time when the potential buyers view your home.

They say a picture speaks a thousand words, so ensure your agent photographs the best rooms from the best angles. The most important photograph is the front shot of your Maghull home, so it can be a good idea to ask to see the photographs before your property goes live on to the market to make sure they show your property in the best light possible.

The second ‘first impression’ is when viewers view your home. One of the things that can let the side down here is your carpets. If your carpets are more than 10 years old, then seriously consider replacing them with something inexpensive with some decent underlay or give them a good professional clean.

In this Facebook world, your home needs to look as good as it can to appeal to as many buyers looking at the Maghull area as possible.

3. Make it a potential home for your buyer, not a shrine to you.

There was a house in the East Midlands called “Disaldu” (as in “This will Do”) that had been on the market for four years with six estate agents. As soon as it changed its name, it sold in a week. Be careful about over personalising your property as that could be off-putting to possible home buyers.

Try not to be too daring with styles and colour schemes in your bathroom and kitchens, as your buyer won’t want to spend another £25,000 changing your neon pink kitchen units to something a bit more mainstream.

Buyers often hate to change something which has just been finished but is not to their personal taste. Now I am not talking about magnolia everywhere as there is room for some flare, but it’s a fine balance between your personal tastes and making your home attractive to as many prospective buyers as possible.

Finally - is your home cluttered or untidy? Many people won’t be able to see past the jumbled house and overflowing bookcases. If you are unsure, drop me a message and I can pop round your home when I am passing for 5 minutes if you want an impartial opinion.

4. Highlight the potential of your Maghull home – but not too much.

If you were considering extending your home with a garden room or loft conversion, then getting a local architect to draw you up some outline plans to demonstrate the development potential of your property could be worth spending a few hundred pounds on.

It sometimes pays to get the plans drawn up without doing the work just to show the potential, as the final scheme may not be to the buyers liking. Plus, we sometimes over-extend our homes making them too large for the plot, it’s easily done to accommodate growing families, and something worth stopping to think about if you were planning on extending to add value before selling.

Again, if you are uncertain in any way, drop me a line and I can give you some impartial advice (even if you aren’t moving for another 12 / 18 months).

5. Don’t let your garden grow (on you).

Since the lockdown began in spring 2020, our gardens have become one of our most cherished features. homes with good sized gardens and usable outdoor space have attracted a premium in the Maghull area.

However, over-fussy and poorly planned gardens can also be detrimental to the value of your Maghull home, rather than add value to it – bear this in mind.

6. Offices, offices, offices.

Working from home could be here to stay for a few years yet. With this new age of homeworking, and even if you don’t work from home, maybe set up a study area. It might even be worth investing in one of those office pods for your garden, versatile enough to be a summerhouse or home gym as well as an office.

7. Make sure the price is right.

The likelihood is that if a Maghull property isn’t selling it probably means the asking price is too high. Yes, even in a market as lively as this.

31.7% of Maghull properties have been on the market more than 3 months.

Putting your Maghull home up for sale at too high an asking price is one of the most harmful things you can do as a seller. This approach regularly costs homeowners between 3% and 5% of their potential price agreed – as tempting as it might be when you’re seeing prices rocket around you.

If you decrease your asking price at a later date in order to achieve a sale on your Maghull house, you probably won’t get what you might have done if it had been realistically priced from the beginning – we really think it’s worth listening to the agents that you invite to market your home and taking their advice on board. Some will over-price to win the business, and it’ll be tempting – but bear in mind how long the sale takes if the property is on the market for longer and then reduced, and how that impacts your walk away figure. It generally pays to get the price right from the get-go.

I am aware of a 3-bed semi-detached property in Maghull which came to the market with an asking price of £306,000 yet ended up selling for only £259,500. It would have likely achieved £274,000 with a £279,950 initial asking price (even worse, the sellers may have missed out on the property of their dreams because that one, being realistically priced, sold before they dropped their own price).

The sturdiest and most important property market response is always in the first couple of weeks of exposure. Many homeowners waste this optimum sales time by being too hopeful on their asking price.

If you are on the market in Maghull and believe you should reduce your asking price, be courageous with your reduction. Make one substantial change of at least 5%, not a series of salami price changes of a 1% here or 2% there.

So, if you are currently on the market and feel you aren’t getting anywhere, and think it could be your asking price, then again, drop me a line.

Kate