Fear is a driving factor in any human being’s decision making process. Many homeowners avoid getting their property valued by professionals due to the fear that they will be pressured in to selling.
Estate agency has developed a bad reputation. But, we’re at a turning point where there are now many smaller, independent agents driving change in the industry. And we’re one of them.
Transparency is key to that drive, so let us talk you through exactly what happens when you arrange to have your home valued by Sims Williams.
Thinking about a valuation
Getting what is possibly your largest asset valued on a regular basis is important. Whether the reason is a remortgage, estate planning or plain and simple curiosity, you should always have the knowledge of your home’s value.
Online valuation tools can be extremely useful for keeping track of your property’s value. However, whilst these tools give a great indication, the true value of your property can only be determined by a professional visit. There are often elements of your home that an online tool doesn’t take in to consideration, such as spend and quality of improvement, so it is important to arrange for an estate agent to provide you with a valuation whenever your circumstances change.
When it comes to moving home, the process of ‘considering moving’ to actually being ‘ready to move’ can take months, or even years. It’s not always an easy decision.
Regardless of the reason, our professionals will never pressure you in to marketing your home for sale. Not only would that contribute towards the industry stigma we are fighting so hard to change; but, from a business perspective, it makes no sense to try and compel someone who doesn’t want to sell, in to selling. This would lead to a higher fall-through rate, with sellers changing their minds; and since estate agents don’t get paid until a sale completes, all that marketing of homes with no real desire to sell would become extremely costly!
Booking your valuation
Valuations are booked over the phone. This is because our Property Consultants will need to gather information that will enable us to research your property’s value. This information is crucial to providing an accurate valuation.
We start by asking a few questions about your home: it’s accommodation, location, and condition. We will also ask if any alterations or improvements have been made over recent years, which may have impacted the property’s value.
Once we’ve gone through your property details, we will arrange a mutually convenient time for one of our experienced Property Consultants to visit your property.
During the appointment
Our visit wiill normally take between 30-45 minutes.
Upon arrival we will introduce ourselves, have a chat about your reasons for requiring a valuation and outline the process. We will ask for you to give us a guided tour of your propert, not forgetting gardens and outbuildings, and will take notes accordingly.
Next, we’ll present our views on value, based on current market conditions and backed up with comparable evidence (where available) of other recently sold properties. We’ll discuss any potential changes in the market and, if selling is your ultimate goal, we can also discuss what price your property should be marketed at. Asking prices can often vary depending on your timescales required for your move.
Whilst we are always happy to try asking an initial higher figure, it is important to build in a timeframe to review the activity and adjust the price if necessary.
We will also outline our services and explain how our team of 30 and 4 office network will utilise our experience and knowledge to best promote your property to our extensive database, and online with the various portals and social media.
After the valuation
Our visit will be followed up with an extensive market appraisal report for you to keep until such time as you are ready to take things further and look to market your property. Our consultants will not put pressure on you to market your property, but rather provide educational insights relevant to your personal situation.
With your consent, we will continue to keep you abreast of changes in your local property market via our newsletters and social media channels.
We’ll be ready when you are.