When people first think about selling their home, nine times out of ten they will first think that the best way to sell it is through an estate agent but this is not the case. Estate agents are seen as the easy and usual way to sell a property but in reality the best person to sell your home is you. With just a little bit of hard work and spending a bit of money you can sell your house easily.



When selling a house, industry experts will advise you to make your home as appealing as possible by making your home appear like it has been lifted from the pages of an interior design magazine and spotlessly clean, but in reality very few people live like that and now realise that their home does need some sort of marketing. This can range from painting the walls and replacing the handles on doors and kitchen drawers to give them a more modern look for the least amount of cost. Don't just think about the inside of the house, tidying up the garden and planting flowers will help the potential buyer see a nice bright clean house and more likely to make an offer. If your house is full of family pictures then these should be kept to a minimum, you want to give the potential buyer the impression of themselves living there, too many pictures and you are telling them that it's your space. If you are still living in the house you are selling, always try to keep the house clean and tidy at all times. Nothing puts potential buyers off more then dishes in the sink and unmade beds. If you can, try to get into a routine where you vacuum the carpets every other day and make sure any furnishings are dust free. Enhance the properties selling points, if it has a fireplace then make sure the chimney has been cleaned if it has been used and buy some flowers and put a couple of arrangements on the mantle.

After you have done the work to the house, you are now ready to put your house on the market. Go get an appraisal and always be realistic with your price, if you aim too low to attract more buyers or maybe a quick sale you will end up losing money as the buyer will always try to lower the price. Also don't set the price too high or no one will bother to look and you will just waste time.

When advertising the house the best place to start is online. Many websites now offer to market your home for a one-off fee which is about 150. Some send round a photographer and will put a 'for sale' board outside. It is a growing trend in today's market and now one in five properties is advertised privately. Also advertise the property in a local or Sunday newspaper to attract more potential buyers.

As people start getting interested in the property and you start to show people round, remember three important points which can help the buyer make there mind up and may lead to a sale.

1.When showing viewers around rooms, let them walk in before you do, this makes the room appear less crowded to them and allows them to view the entire room.

2.It is always good practise to have accurate information on hand such as important dimensions, average annual bill costs and the boiler history.

3.Always try to be interested and enthusiastic but not too much to appear desperate, this could make the buyer think that you are hiding something and may be put off. Or they could offer a much lower asking price.

Even though you aren't working with an estate agent, try to look in an estate agents office windows to see what houses similar to yours asking price are and how long they are for sale for before they are sold.

So don't despair if you are having difficulty selling your house, as there may well be an alternative solution than using an estate agent.