WiggyWam, the all-in-one property platform, has launched a unique consumer-facing education library for home buyers and sellers, providing them with all of the vital tricks of the trade when it comes to finding, viewing and even making an offer in a highly competitive property market.
Current market conditions are tricky, with huge levels of buyer demand causing long delays and the result is that buyers and sellers are more in the dark than they've ever been.
WiggyWam has looked to address this by shining a light on the transaction process and providing a completely FREE video tutorial library, teaching buyers and sellers all of the inside tricks used by estate agents, conveyancers, surveyors, and other professionals when buying and selling homes.
Of course, it's impossible to share everything you need to know in one article but access to this library of knowledge will cover everything from Finding A Property, Viewing, Surveying, Conveyancing, and Making An Offer.
Here's just a handful of the tips that can allow you to reduce your selling time, save money and even maximise the price you get for your property.
Finding property
When trying to find the perfect property, don't just chat to estate agents, chat to letting agents, too.
When owners aren't quite ready to sell a house but no longer want to live in it, they will often put it under the care of a letting agent. In the same vein, landlords who have rented their property for a long time may now be thinking about selling it. Because of this, you should always talk to letting agents - they are often the first to know about great homes that are about to come on the market and may offer a fast track to a great deal.
Viewing a property
When first viewing a property, spend a really good amount of time outside examining the exterior and its immediate surrounding area. One example of the things not many people are taught to look for is Japanese Knotweed. If it's growing on the property it's never good news as the wild roots can cause severe structural damage. If you see Knotweed, be sure to check the integrity of the home's foundations.
Making an offer
Today's market is incredibly competitive, so in the leadup to making an offer, it's vital to pre-frame yourself as a winning candidate. Pre-framing is a lot like creating a CV for a job application, an opportunity to sell yourself in the best possible light, while always, of course, remaining truthful.
You need to express how quickly you can proceed with the sale, and how reliable you are when it comes to paying deposits and securing a mortgage. From here, it's about ensuring your opening offer strikes the right balance between saying 'I'm a serious, motivated buyer' and 'I know exactly what this property is worth because I've done my research'.
Selling a property
Among dozens of insights and tips for selling a home, comes this vital piece of guidance: Never allow buyers to start negotiating the price with you directly, always make sure your agent is the one doing the negotiating.
Many buyers will try and cut out the agent to negotiate with you directly, but you need to avoid this even if you have plenty of selling experience. First, you want your agent to earn their money, so let them do what they do best. But more importantly, there is always a chance that by trying to negotiate yourself, you'll be strong-armed or sweet-talked into a bad decision, the repercussions of which don't become clear until it's far too late.
WiggyWam CEO, Silas J. Lees MRICS, said:
"Homeowners don't move very often, maybe once every 10 or 20 years and, if you haven't bought or sold for two decades, entering today's market is a minefield: so much has changed in the past 12 months alone, it's a very different environment than it once was.
"We want to help enlighten buyers and sellers to offer them even just a small advantage when navigating waters which can be choppy at best and often have all sorts of potential dangers and pitfalls hidden beneath the surface.
"A consumer with just a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing for any industry professional who hopes to profit from inexperience. Today's market is in boom - there is a lot of money to be made and we mustn't pretend there aren't a few characters out there looking to take advantage.
"By spending an hour or so watching our videos, you will know how the process is meant to go, you will know what the experts know, and you'll be able to tell the difference between an agent who is worth their weight in gold, and one who you need to run a mile from."
ABOUT US
WiggyWam is a full service property platform that provides leads, listings, personal development training, instant tenancy referencing via its Tenant Passport and video conferencing capabilities to estate agents. It's also a means of enabling transactions to complete much more quickly and efficiently than is currently possible.
It's an eco-system and the route to re-establishing the Sellers Pack – the much maligned and misunderstood attempt by HM Govt in 2005 to provide upfront information to home buyers to ease and improve the home buying process.
'It's Facebook, Linkedin, CheckaTrade and TED Talks – all in one" says Silas J. Lees.
Are you about to buy or sell a property? Watch the videos now. Click here to find out more