Selling your own house or property is no less challenging than buying one. It is a daunting experience and can be both, complicated and stressful. A lot of things have to be kept in mind before selling any property. Overall, planning ahead would always help you to avoid any pitfall and it helps to keep a checklist handy to make the selling process less cumbersome and more effective.

So, here is a list of things to do before you decide to sell your house or any other property for that matter:

Get your property “sale-ready”

Make sure the property has undergone adequate maintenance and repair drives, before you put it up for sale. Identify the damages and flaws like leakages or flooding areas or cracks, and work accordingly to get them fixed. This is very essential to create the right impression for prospective buyers, as all buyers inspect the space before buying. A little bit of rework is crucial to set a decent value to your property. But always weigh the cost of improvements versus the returns it would extract and don’t overspend on repairs.

Decide on the medium of sale

Decide how you want to take the property to the market, that is, whether you want to sell it yourself or you want to involve an agent or a middle man. If you decide to sell it yourself, there are several online sites and portals, wherein you can place an ad for your property with details and buyers can directly contact you. Do note that quite often, you may come across agents posing as buyers calling you up to get more information on the house and then later approaching you with a buyer.

But if you do decide to hire an agent, a proper research is advisable as s/he will be involved in every stage of the sale, right from identifying prospective buyers to negotiation, drafting sale agreements and the subsequent sale. Negotiating the agent’s commission prior to involving him/her is very important. Ensure that you have a written contract with the agent specifying transaction details, mode of payment, commission percentages and so on in order to avoid confusion at a later date. Also, a thorough background check about the agent is necessary before you sign the contract. Ideally, an agent referred by a friend or acquaintance who have used his services before, should be preferred.

Estimated selling price, advertising expenditures, process of auctioning the property and other such formalities should be finalised, before signing any legal agreement. Also, there are two ways to sell your property – private treaty or auction. Decide on any one depending on the current market trends. Your hired agent will give you a proper briefing on this.

Set a price

Pricing considerations must depend on the market conditions. Ask a real estate agent to give you a list of relevant properties that have been sold recently in your area. Also, go for an analysis of the listings on your own via newspapers, websites or from a certified appraiser. This will help you to get an idea of property prices prevailing in the market and in return, will also help you determine an estimated value of your property. Setting too high a price would deter prospective buyers and your property may end up being in the market for too long. Ensure that you have enough points to justify your property’s sale value to customers.

If you have an independent house, the land value along with the property itself is extremely crucial for arriving at the sale price. For apartment houses, factors like proximity to central business district, school, hospitals, grocery stores, medical shops can contribute to the property value. Proximity to transport facilities like the metro and airport can also elevate your property pricing.

The Legal Side

Similar to buying, selling property, understandably, involves various legal aspects. Most buyers would be having their own legal advisors and consultants to oversee the drafting of the sale deed. Make sure all records, proof of registration and other documents pertaining to your property are ready with you. In order to draft a transparent and unbiased agreement, it would be advisable to hire a lawyer with real estate experience. A good lawyer will guide you in making the contract of sale and will also assist you with the legal aspects pertaining to the sale.

Marketing Mantra

After sorting out all the prerequisites of selling the property, start planning your marketing objectives and channels. This mainly constitutes online and offline promotion and advertising of your property to let people know about it. These days, online real estate portals are very effective in getting information across to your target audience. Post photographs and details of your house. Align your marketing strategies as per contemporary trends, as this would attract more prospective buyers, which in turn would help gauge the market demand for your property.

The idea is to create a campaign that would maximise market response. Advertising in the property classified section of a newspaper is a more conventional method, but requires certain investment. But if you have an agent involved, they take care of the promotional activities.

What’s next?

Once you have decided to take the plunge and sell your house, you would have obviously thought of the next address. You can sell your property only when you have an idea on where you will move to next. Hence, fix a budget, decide a place and start looking for properties.

Ensure your next home is in living condition by the time you fix a buyer for you current property thus, ensuring a smooth transfer of property within a short time frame. In case you have not zeroed in on a property as yet, the buyer needs to be pre-informed about the approximate date of hand over. Usually, properties which can be immediately occupied are more in demand.Selling your property should be a smooth process. Any problem in the middle of the procedure might give way to a headache. From legal formalities to financial tit-bits, everything should be pre-planned. This definitely warrants you a safe and good sale of your home, safeguarding your interests in every aspect.

Authored By A Wienerberger Building Expert.

The article was originally published on Deccan Herald