Alternative Ways To Sell Your Home Fast
1. Prize Draw Competitions
Prize draw competitions are an unusual but creative way to sell your home and have recently received huge publicity. Essentially you offer your house as a prize and promote the competition as widely as possible. You can define the prize draw conditions to set the minimum number of ticket sales you need in order to achieve the desired asking price and as a safeguard you can include a clause which offers an alternative cash prize should you not receive the minimum number of entrants. This cash prize is simply the total value of the money that you have received from entrants minus any administration charges that have been incurred in creating the prize draw. Whilst a prize draw competition may be a strange way to sell your home, it can be extremely effective as potential buyers commit themselves to very little risk, perhaps only spending £25-50 on purchasing a ticket.
It is important however that you consult The Gambling Commission prior to setting up a prize draw as a way to sell your house and to ensure that you do not fall foul of their guidelines. A prize draw competition as a means to sell your house is fine providing that there is some level of skill required in the question that you set to enable people to enter. However if you make your question very easy to answer then your scheme may be classed as a lottery which is heavily regulated and requires a special gambling licence which is very expensive.
2. House Auctions
House auctions were traditionally used by finance companies to sell houses acquired as a result of repossession, however house auctions have now become a method of choice for many homeowners looking to get the best possible price for their home. If you are intending to sell your house through an auction do some research on popular house auctions within the country rather than just your specific region. The difficulty with regional auctions is that they may not be the most popular, so it is worth finding which house auctions attract the most visitors as this will ensure that you increase your chances of selling your house. Regional auctions are also likely to be attended by locals who have a good grasp of local house price averages and who may be more likely to drive a harder bargain.
The process of a house auction is quite simple. You pay a registration fee and to list your house in an auction. You can also set a reserve price to ensure that it attracts a minimum price that you need. Your house will not be sold below this minimum price. Then you need to set an auction starting price. This is a difficult balancing act because if you set it too high then you are unlikely to attract sufficient interest in the property. It is advisable to do a little research and find out what similar properties have recently been sold for. The auction company should be able to provide you with information and figures relating to this aspect. Alternatively you can visit House Prices UK which searches the UK land registry and provides information about sale prices in your specific street!
One of the main benefits to homeowners of selling at auction is the potential to attract a higher price than you would normally be able to by selling your house through other more traditional methods. This is not always the case but the thrill of an auction can sometimes lead to higher bids than would normally be placed. One draw back is that you will have to pay a percentage of the final price as a fee to the auctioneer.
3. Leafleting
Leafleting your local area can be a powerful alternative to selling your house through an estate agent. Why pay estate agent fees of 1% plus legal fees, when you can directly target potential buyers yourself.
It is often the case that people will have family or friends whom they want to live close to them and receiving a leaflet through the door informing them that there is a local property up for sale can lead to an immediate response. It is also likely to be the case that these buyers will be more committed to the process because they already have an intimate knowledge of the area and wouldn’t be interested in purchasing your house unless they were serious. In addition if a buyer does pull out of the sale it is likely that you will have a short list of other possible buyers who have also responded to your direct leafleting approach and all of whom live in your immediate locality, therefore boosting your chances of a successful sale.
4. Online Property Sites
There are a growing number of online sites which are widely available to help you sell your home and cut out the estate agent. These sites usually provide you with the main tools that you will need to promote your house in the form of a sellers pack that include a blank sale sign to place on your property. Alternatively these sites will allow you access to a wider audience as they are internet based and as such will list properties UK wide. Some of these sites do not even charge you for list your site, so it is always trying them out first before considering other more costly routes such as an estate agent. After all what have you got to lose if you post an advert for your house and it doesn’t sell within a few weeks?
Some great sites include;