Selling your personal residence has been rated as one of the most stressful lifetime experiences ranking alongside divorce, job redundancy, partnership break up and country translocation;
- Your house is often the most valuable asset you have and a bungled sale is far reaching and expensive
- There are often a lifetime of memories, experiences and emotional holds attached to your home
- If you sell without a clear idea of where you are going to re invest, you could “fall between the stools” and this can affect you both monetarily and emotionally.
However, selling your home for a good price can enable you to achieve your life’s objectives;
- Upgrading to a larger home for a growing family
- Downsizing to a home better suited to you in your old age
- Having enough money to enable you to purchase a home in another country, pay your children’s college fees
“Any lawyer is a fool who has himself as a client” also applies to the property business. It is unwise to do it yourself, but make sure that the property consultant you employ is an expert who can guide you through this potential minefield;
- Selecting an agent – your first decision must be whether to go for a sole agent or a multiple agency scenario (see Why choose a sole agency when selling your house?)
- Whatever your decision, choose an agent or agents with whom you have rapport and fulfill your need to feel comfortable with the way in which your house is going to be marketed.
- Ensure that you know how your agent is going to go about getting you the best possible price for your home. A logical, sensible and practical strategy must be devised in advance to achieve this.
- Your property will have instant appeal to a potential buyer if you can achieve a green lawn, well manicured flower beds, a blue pool, tidy rooms and no brown stains on the ceiling! Obviously, if you can afford it, a newly painted house always looks fantastic.
- Once you have received an “offer to purchase” , negotiating the final sale price requires foresight and attention to detail from your agent to ensure that you achieve fair market value. Be aware that verbal agreements are binding in Zimbabwe, be careful what you agree to and insist on having everything in writing.
- Ensure that your agent goes through the agreement of sale with you so that you can be sure that payment terms suit you, that occupation date is convenient and that fixtures and fittings have been thoroughly dealt with.