Living a life of luxury often requires time and effort. Speak to anyone currently living the high life, and the majority will have worked their way up from relatively humble beginnings. This is almost always the case when it comes to owning a high-value home, and finding ways to climb the property ladder faster can make that dream a reality sooner.
A lot of people get onto the first rung of the property ladder and stay there until their asset appreciates in value. We’re not saying the property you own will always be worth more than you paid for it. However, in general, the data shows that properties are a sound investment.
Time Isn’t On Your Side When It Comes to Property Sales
The trend of properties increasing in value gives owners progressively more purchasing power. This, in turn, allows them to buy something bigger each time they sell. Again, this is by no means guaranteed, nor is it mandatory. However, if you’re someone with aspirations of moving up the property ladder, this is a way to do it. Selling, however, isn’t always easy.
The average time from listing to handover for properties in the UK varies depending on the source you use. Estate agents often cite a figure of 16 weeks. However, government data puts the timeframe at five months. Therefore, if we split the difference, you can expect the average sale to take around four months. That’s a lot of time to be waiting around, particularly if you’re looking to move up the property ladder quickly.
Fast Sales Can Get You Bigger Profits
Why would you want to complete sales and move up the ladder faster? There are many reasons, but the main one for anyone looking to maximise their profits is the volatility of the housing market.
Although properties have a positive long-term expected value, short-term price fluctuations can cost you. Therefore, if the market is hot and you want to strike, a quick sale is imperative. So, how can you speed up what’s an otherwise inefficient process?
1. Make sure your property is sale ready. A coat of paint, some new curtains, and a general facelift can make your property instantly more desirable. We’re not saying you need to spend thousands of pounds. However, if you can breathe new life into tired parts of your property, it could facilitate a faster sale.
2. Make your property non-personal. Selling a private dwelling requires you to convince people that it’s a nice place to live. The best way to do that is to remove as many personal items as possible. Buyers often struggle to visualise their own possessions in new settings. Don’t make things harder by having a plethora of personal items crowding a room.
3. Advertise to pre-qualified buyers. A pre-approved buyer is someone who has been vetted by an estate agent and demonstrated they have funds in place to make a quick sale. How do I find these buyers if I want to sell my house? You can use online estate agents. As well as offering a fee-free service, these agents offer your property to their pre-approved buyers. Advertising to a limited pool of eager buyers can improve your chances of a quick sale.
Those are three tips that could help grease the wheels of your next property sale. As we’ve said, the process is notoriously inefficient. However, with some careful planning and the right contacts, you can sell, bank a profit and move up to the next rung of the property ladder.
