Selling an apartment

[modestus]

I would welcome any ideas people may have in relation to selling -leave it unfurnished/furnished -neutral colours -reducing auctioners valuation as the will always over price to get the business -any other comments sellers may have ?

 

[Dunners]

Before I sold mine, I decluttered, removed all personal belongings / knick-knacks etc and gave the walls a fresh coat of neutral-coloured paint. If you just keep things pretty simple, it will appeal to a far greater range of buyers.

I sold mine with all contents included, which seemed to be a big bonus for my buyer.
Regarding price, well the auctioneers know their business and were initially guiding it at what I thought was far too high a guide price, but to my great delight, it went into a bidding war and I got well above that price.

 

[modestus]

Thanks for that Dunners -how long was it time wise before contracts were signed and how long was it to complete roughly ?

 

[Purple]

Don't forget to haggle with the auctioneer for a reduction in the % they charge.
The same goes for your solicitor.
If it is a rental property and you are selling furnished make sure that the price for the furnishing is separate, as it will save you CGT on that portion.

 

[Dunners]

hi Modestus,

sale went through relatively quickly - about 2.5 months in total from the time I first approached the estate agents. Mind you, I was lucky, as I had a cash buyer who didn't need to arrange finance etc.

 

[modestus]

thanks for that Purple and Dunners -incidentally how long does a seller of an investment property have to make the CGT payment -is it usually done by the Solicitor as part of closing the sale or can it be left say until anytime before October 2006 even if the sale closes say in December 2005 -anyone any experience of CGT payment and I assume this should be calculated by an accountant especially if I want to set off substantial renovations incurred immediately before I close the sale -any views on this?