How can I speed up the sale of my house?

Almost everyone has a figure in mind that they would like to sell their house for and estate agents will offer you a property appraisal valuation. Given the market changes in recent months, sellers may not know what to expect. Don’t always go for the highest price even if it's tempting because if the estate agent fails to come up with a buyer you may miss out on a sale. 

Stephen Ludlow, Director of ludlowthompson comments:  “If someone needs to sell they can still sell, it's just that they'll have to take on board a price reduction.  The price reduction could be somewhere round about 5%, maybe as much as 10%.''

Choose estate agents who are able to keep pace with the latest IT; but beware the estate agency market is quite fragmented in its offering. For instance, some estate agents - such as ludlowthompson - started offering email property alerts four years ago and others have yet to catch up. It's no longer enough to have a nice looking website. When looking to buy property, people want interactivity akin to the best of online banking and property 'matching' facilities offered by the likes of Ebay and Amazon. The main advantages to you, the seller, of using an estate agent with sophisticated IT are:

1. The scale of enquiries the internet can achieve - more enquiries = better offers.
2. Reduced viewings from disinterested buyers - anyone visiting your property will be seriously interested because they have already seen in-depth information.
3. Online viewing feedback via My Account - crucial for evaluating why a property may not be selling so a solution can be decided rather than a 'shot in the dark'.
4. Your property being where most buyers will look - a website that's easy to use and ranks high on search engines and property portals will attract more people. If you put your property on an old website that's slow with poor photos it won't be so visible.  
5. Such estate agents can offer you both one-to-one and online account services; the best of both worlds. So if you don't have time to catch up with your estate agent during the day you can log on to their website whenever it suits you to check out progress on your sale and access documentation. 

Medium sized estate agents with ten or more Offices are large enough to afford regular investment for IT, but small enough to avoid the delays of bureacracy. ludlowthompson.com is one such estate agency, offering the usual traditional marketing coupled with the latest cutting edge technology that makes their website very useful and easy to use for both the buyer and seller. When you market your property with ludlowthompson its promotion will include:

• Internet service via mobile phones - ludlow.mobi
• RSS feeds (Really Simple Syndication) - see below *definition
• Full description room by room with floor plan and printable details in PDF format
• 360 degrees virtual photo tours
• Online journey planners to check out your particular routes e.g. to work or school
• Interactive Property Updates by email and text alerts with 'email a friend' + 'Call Me'
• Interactive ZoomMap plotting nearest amenities in relation to your property e.g.

- Supermarkets, convenience stores, bars, restaurants, cinemas, public parks, gyms.

- All nearest public transport types (tube, DLR, train, tram, bus stops & river taxis).

- Integrated London Journey Planner from TFL to plot and time routes.

- Schools in the area (public and private) including results and performance tables

- High resolution Satellite and Aerial Photography

- Council tax rates

- Mortgage repayment calculator

Six to eight weeks is a reasonable amount of time for your agent to generate interest and secure a buyer.  If you don’t feel you are getting sufficient foot traffic through the door after this period of time it is probably time to look for another agent. An agent such as ludlowthompson will post actual feedback at your online Account and review it with you to decide the best way forward which may be a price reduction or a spot of decluttering or redecorating.

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* Definition: RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a web feed which sends frequently updated content of choice to a computer via the Internet. In respect of property, buyers can keep up to date with what's new 'for sale' on the market. An increasing number of people prefer to use the RSS method instead of clogging up their email inbox with updates and newsletters.