Alternative ways to sell a property

The first in our series about alternatives to the traditional property sales process. These strategies are commonly referred to as "creative" strategies within the property investing world and have fancy terms and labels associated with them. Often the traditional high street estate agent will not inform you about these strategies as it is harder for them to earn there fee. Today we are going to examine Assisted Sales.

Assisted sales are one of our favourite strategies as they are a great way to help people sell houses that have been on the market a long time or that require a quick sale without the need for large discounts on the price. Like the name suggests the developer "assists" the homeowner to sell there property but without actually buying it themselves. How exactly the developer does this is very specific to the property and who the potential buyer is but it could be as simple as "staging" the home in more appealing way for new photographs or viewings, changing or removing items of furniture or tidying the garden.

The property might need a freshen with specific rooms redecorating, carpets cleaning or replacing. Possibly a new bathroom or kitchen. Maybe the external render is loose and falling off and needs replacing. These are all tasks that the current owner possibly hasn't got the time, skill or money to organise or do themselves however it is putting off potential buyers that either overestimate the cost of getting these things fixed or would prefer to move into a home that looks fresh and modern and doesn't require any work.

Why would a developer do this to a home they don't actually own? If a developer buys a property they have to pay searches, stamp duty, legal fees and possibly borrow money in order to complete the purchase. The whole process will often take 2-3 months as a minimum and these costs need adding to the cost of actually doing the work. The property will always have a fixed final value in relation to similar properties in the area or street so the price a developer can pay for a property needs to allow for not only the works but also all these fees. Often a home owner isn't able or prepared to reduce the price to a level that makes it viable for a developer to buy, pay all the fees and complete the work before selling the property again.

With professional organisation a property can be completed transformed in as little as 3 - 6 weeks widening its appeal and making it much more likely to sell. With the developer investing time and money into the property they too will be striving to find a buyer for the property as well as the estate agent again making a quick sale more likely.

Not all solicitors are familiar with this strategy and it is important to find one that understands the process and what roles and responsibilities and undertaken as part of this agreement. Nettle Tree will be happy to suggest an independent solicitor that can act on the home owners behalf. Most importantly in an assisted sale it is important to have a connection with the developer, shared values and standards are equally as important as the shared goal for the arrangement to be stress and hassle free.

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