Property News

Here's a quick oversight of some common head-scratchers from the point of view of both sellers and buyers.

1. Getting your property valued

If you're selling, it's always best to commission an in-person valuation. Some valuers prefer desktop surveys. They'll rely on information from the seller plus publicly available data to come up with their valuation. While this can produce a fairly accurate figure, it's clearly not the most reliable method. An in-person survey, where the valuer assesses your property's condition, layout and location and then benchmarks this information against the current state of the market, is always preferable.

2. Preparing for a valuation

Although your valuation will not hinge on either the cleanliness or the tidiness of your property, a clean and tidy environment makes it easier for the valuer to assess what they've come to assess. Try to accompany your valuer as they inspect the property - or at least be on the premises at the relevant time. This gives you the opportunity to point out any refurbishment work, alterations or improvements that you've made. It also makes it easy for them to ask you any questions.

3. Questions to ask an estate agent

Before engaging an estate agent - who, of course, may or may not be your solicitor, you should ask a few pertinent questions. These include:

 

. How much will you charge to market my property?

. How do you structure your fees? Do you charge a percentage of the final sale price, or is it a fixed sum?

. Can I expect to be billed for incidental extras, such as photocopying and postal services?

. What is your payment schedule? For example, will you require a partial upfront payment or do all sums only become due following a successful sale?

. Will someone from the firm conduct the viewings? If so, who will do this and can you ensure that it's someone familiar with the property?

. How will you market my property?

. Do you already have a list of potential buyers?

. Have you recently sold other similar properties? Can you direct me to their particulars?

 

Some of these questions might seem a little on the nit-picky side. However, a good estate agent will understand why you're asking them and be happy to supply all the information you request.

4. Property price trends

Over the last few years, including the pandemic years, Scotland's sold property prices have shown less movement than those in many other areas of the UK. However, the wider economic conditions are starting to affect the country, and some industry experts are now predicting slumps of as much as 15.7% from previous peak price values. While this sounds alarming, it's important to recognise that this figure is averaged across the entire country.

Clearly, some areas and types of properties are likely to be more affected than others. For example, at the moment, interest in large country sporting estates is proving more sluggish than, say, interest in family homes in smart areas of Edinburgh such as Morningside.

As ever, where and what you're selling will prove key. And, if the prospect of falling prices alarms you - perhaps because you are not planning to reinvest the proceeds in the property market - you might want to consider holding off on marketing your property until the economic climate stabilises. Obviously, this won't be an option for everyone, but it's certainly worth exploring as a possible alternative.

5. The highest offer doesn't always get the house

Although this is true elsewhere, it's particularly obvious in Scotland as a result of how properties are marketed and offers are collected. Interested buyers usually have until a specified closing date to put in their offers. Some buyers like closing dates because it means they don't feel rushed into putting in an offer. Others are not as keen because the presence of a closing date signifies a seller who anticipates, or at least hopes, for multiple expressions of interest - and some buyers will be deterred by the prospect of competition.

Once the seller and their estate agent have received all the offers, the seller will consider which, if any, to accept. While this may be the highest bid, it won't necessarily be so. Other factors, such as the date of entry (specified as part of the offer) and whether or not someone needs a mortgage, may also have a part to play.

6. Gazumping

Much less of a problem than it is south of the border, gazumping nonetheless sometimes still occurs in Scotland. Buyers concerned by the prospect might choose to target properties where the seller is not asking for sealed bids. As sealed bids have no legal status in Scottish law, these are the types of sales that tend to be most vulnerable to gazumping. Unfortunately, they're also often a component of the selling process of the most popular properties anticipated to attract the most interest.

7. Offers over

Many would-be buyers are perplexed by "offers over". If you look at a list of offers over and then compare them to the subsequent sold property prices, you'll almost certainly spot some disparities. Doing this can help you work out how much to offer on a particular property, but it's important to restrict your data to recent sales as trends change.

8. Home Valuation Report

The valuation in the Home Valuation Report may or may not relate to the "offers over" figure. However, it's always important to check and to know how it feeds into national trends. In 2022, for example, the average property in Scotland sold for around 10.2% above the figure in the Home Valuation Report.

9. Finding a property

In a strong buyers' market, finding a property before someone else snaps it up can be a real challenge. Driven by this issue, Scotland is seeing a growing market in property finder agents. As a would-be buyer, you pay for their services just as a seller pays for their estate agent. In return, you hopefully get the inside scoop on newly available properties, including those not advertised on the open market. These agents are particularly useful for anyone looking for country estates, historic homes and high value properties in general.

10. How long to a sale?

A recent survey suggests that the average Scottish seller expects to sell their property within three months. Most buyers, too, expect to make a purchase within the same time frame. This is broadly consistent with long-term trends in the length of time between initial marketing and completing a sale.

 

Nethouseprices Newsletter

You can sign up to our newsletter and join Nethouseprice’s community of over 160,000 members who get regular property tips, relevant offers and news, click here  http://nethouseprices.com/auth/user-register