Winter is just around the corner and in a few weeks’ time the trees will be bare, bringing to an end the traditional Autumn property market. There has been a spate of transactions over the last month or two, but those Vendors who have not sold need to decide where to go from here. The winter months are not the most attractive to show off any house at its best and, while there continues to be a market with some strong and committed buyers, many houses will still suffer.

So here are some options to weigh and measure:

If you have to sell, then there is little choice but to keep your house on the market. The finer points of strategy are for discussion between you and your Agent and effective tactics need to be thrashed out that will give your property the best possible chance of selling over the Winter months. Think about having it re-evaluated, look at the marketing presentation, try to iron out glitches that have emerged from any feedback. There are often things that can be done to refresh the house and show it in a completely different light so now is the time to think laterally.

If you have to move, but don’t need the equity from a sale just yet, you should consider letting your house. This is a whole new ball game and you need advice on preparing the house for letting, not to mention legislation, tax, insurance etc. It needn’t be too complicated and the letting can be fully managed to save you the headache, but you may have to put in some initial effort yourself to secure a good tenant in the long run. You can let the property for six months or longer and then make a decision to sell again when the time is right.

You may be the executor of an estate and debating whether you should be waiting for a stronger market to sell a probate property. In this case the best option may be to attempt a simultaneous sale or let and go with whichever comes first. If you manage to sell the property then you will have fulfilled your responsibilities, and if not, a letting will keep the house occupied over the chillier months and you can attempt a sale once the daffodils are out.

If you are in no hurry to sell, however, there is little point in keeping your property on the market because it could start to look very stale. The obvious advice is to withdraw it until the Spring and enjoy it yourself. In the meantime keep a close eye on which comparable houses have been selling, so that you can make realistic and informed decisions when the time comes around for marketing again.

We generally take it for granted that a house will have a garden, but they come in all shapes and sizes and are often totally disfunctional.

There may have been historical land swaps and deals between neighbours causing gardens to become misshapen and occasionally detached from the house. Modern houses, too, are often built on very pinched plots because the developer sees more value in the square footage of the building, rather than its land. This might result in your outside space becoming anything but a selling point.

The value of land is generally dependent on its use and whether it ‘marries’ with a property. By and large, the smaller the piece of land, the more valuable it will be pro rata. Farmland has its own market (which has reached record highs recently) and amenity land is always sought after. Pony paddocks can realize exceptional prices, but the most valuable land is generally that which is attached to our houses.

Value in property is closely related to balance; not only of accommodation, but also of the house to plot ratio. A good sized house in a generous garden will always be a winner, while a large house in a small plot will struggle because the market that it’s trying to attract is greatly diminished. A small house in a large plot, however, will be more attractive to the market because it has space around it and might have scope to extend.

Negotiating with neighbours to increase the size of your plot is often helped along with a bottle of wine and a gentle chat. You should always seek professional advice, however, because landing on a mutually acceptable figure is rarely easy; it essentially boils down to the marriage value to your property and the detraction in value to your neighbour’s, but there can be grey areas.

We are currently advising two of our Clients to explore the potential of acquiring neighbouring land because it would have a huge impact on the sale of their houses. Both of them have would have the scope not only to substantially increase the size of their existing plot, but also to attract those who wish to keep ponies and horses right next to their properties. If they are successful in either buying the land or making it available by separate negotiation, they will be able to open up the market to a whole new tranche of buyers.

So think carefully about what you currently have and what you might gain following a bottle of wine and a gentle chat…it could make a big difference to the value of your property and its saleability.

Quite often, the houses that we buy are in need of tlc and require a sensitive injection of cash. We are all accidental developers to an extent, because maximising value should be at the back of everybody’s mind when tackling a project. The task may be as simple as replacing a dated Kitchen and Bathroom together with an overall  spruce up, or it may involve an improvement in the layout and fabric of the property.

Spending too much money in the wrong direction is a trap that can be easily sprung, so how do you know where and how to improve a house?

Unromantic though it may seem, you should always remember that one day you will sell, and your house is as much a property for you to live in, as it is a commodity, that in the future might have to attract a wide market.  In a sense, therefore, you are improving your house as much for yourself, as for its next owner.

Decor of your property

The key is to avoid extremes and think about what might appeal to a wider audience. Of course you will want to furnish a property to your own taste, but it is risky to be too radical; ultra-modern, for instance, is not everybody’s cup of tea.  An occasional cry from viewers of ‘done’ houses is that they object to having to pay for someone else’s excessive taste.

Improvements to your property

Think about rooms and features that tick boxes for people. The most important room in the house these days is the family Kitchen. If this can be a large and light space of reasonable quality, it could sell the house by itself. Anything that you can do to open it up and create light, therefore, would reap benefits. There are some very good and reasonably priced kitchens around and, of course, excellent local craftsmen for the bespoke look.

Having more than one Bathroom is important for most people and if you can squeeze in a small ensuite without taking up too much space, it would be worth it. It’s amazing what you can fit into a couple of square meters.  Think about effective lighting, opening up fireplaces, improving flooring, exposing beams and walls. Character can be injected into most houses with the minimum of difficulty and expense.

Extensions to your property

You often don’t have to extend to increase value. We handled a house in Dorset where the owner had simply divided a large bedroom into two to create a four bedroom house. That, together with a new septic tank and some landscaping realised a far higher price than he paid only six months earlier. If you are going to extend, think about balance and cost. A house with a good overall balance of ground and first floor accommodation will maximise value. If you over-extend on a small plot, however, the ratio of house to outside space will be impractical. It’s often a good idea to obtain planning consent and then you have the option of simply selling on with that in place.

Of course there is far more to say than will fit in this concise blog, so if you are in doubt about adding value without compromising your own lifestyle, seek the advice of an agent and an architect…it could reap benefits in the long run.

Downsizing to a more practical and convenient property is a decision that most people have to make at some point. It may be that you are in a remote location, or rattling around in a substantial house. It may be that the children have fled the nest, prompting a change of scene and release of capital.

This is, understandably, a very emotional time and the whole process can look terribly daunting, especially if your family is remote and you have little local support structure.

There are initial steps to downsizing and, having helped many Clients with this particular move, I can share some of these with you.

The Initial Steps

The first and most obvious task is to decide where you want to move to and what sort of house you would like to end up in. Ask yourself searching questions. You may want to be closer to your children or friends, in a town with amenities on your doorstep and with a cultural buzz, or in a village with a shop and a good bus route.  You may want to do away with stairs, have ease of maintenance or a smaller garden.

Having pinpointed these priorities, you need to do your sums. Have your house valued by a few local agents and choose the lowest valuation to work on. Take advice on the costs involved in the moving process and decide how much capital you want to release. The net result will provide you with a realistic figure for your next purchase.

You should now spend a bit of time viewing the sort of house that you can afford, within the parameters that you have chosen. This will allow you to visualise the space that you can expect to inhabit and enable you to decide what pieces of furniture and possessions can come with you. These are often the most emotive decisions, given the sentimental attachments that you may have, but now is the time to try to be ruthless. Family members may be able to take some pieces and local auction rooms can be very helpful with collections.
Now that you have an idea of restrictions, the process will start to look less daunting. If you can get to this stage, there is suddenly light at the end of the tunnel, because once you start the ball rolling by instructing your agent to proceed it is amazing how the rest falls into place. There is still a way to go and you will continue to need advice and support, but a good agent will provide that shoulder to lean on.
The most important thing is that the process will now be a lot clearer and you can begin to start looking forward with more confidence.
We have had great experiences with local removals/storage companies over the years and a good personal service is so important when downsizing. Mews Moves is just one of these firm and you can find more information on  http://www.mewsmoves.co.uk/

Selling your house under any circumstance can be a stressful experience.