We get asked this question a lot, and it seems there are many views regarding what is the best approach to buying and selling. We understand that it can be daunting for many people to put their house on the market without knowing if there is a suitable property out there for them. However, many others would prefer to place their home on the market and feel excited to take the first step of the property journey. We appreciate that everyone is different.

We would say that the perfect scenario would be to list your property, receive an offer and then commence your search for your perfect home. However, we totally understand there may be different factors in play and that each and every seller has their own preferences.

To aid in your decision, here are five good reasons to list your property first and ideally wait for someone to make an offer, before scheduling viewings:

Reason 1 – You will be in a much stronger position

As the season picks up, we are seeing many properties selling relatively quickly. This means that if you aren’t ‘under offer’ or not even on the market, then the chances of you missing out on a property can be high. This is especially disappointing if you felt it was your next dream home. Having an offer on your property means that you are very much proceedable and ready to offer yourself.

Reason 2 – Sellers may not allow you to view

Many sellers will not allow people who are not proceedable to view their property, meaning that you may not even be able to get through the front door. This of course is a seller’s right and in many cases, these sellers are not viewing other properties until they have received an offer themselves.

Reason 3 – Any offers won’t be accepted

In the event that you have viewed the property, have fallen in love with it, and want to make an offer, your offer, in most cases, will not be taken seriously if you are not proceedable. This could mean that you are on the market but not under offer or that you are not even on the market. We do see this where people do fall in love with a property and offer on the property but are not really in a position to offer themselves. This approach can cause some heartache and adds a lot of stress to the situation. However, many sellers will not accept an offer if the person is not proceedable. One or two will, but they will add a time restraint, which adds further pressure.

Reason 4 – You will know your affordability

As many people know, sometimes it is not possible to receive an offer for the exact asking price you listed your home for, especially in a buyer’s market. Don’t get us wrong, in most cases we achieve full asking or even higher, but it’s not always possible. Until you have received an offer and accepted it, you may be a little unsure of your budget for your next home. This is why waiting until you have accepted an offer can be a great benefit as you will know exactly what your affordability is.

Reason 5 – Being one or two steps behind

This reason goes back to reason one in that you will be in a much stronger position and not be behind other potential buyers if you are already ‘under offer’. If you weren’t on the market already and you found an amazing house, you would need to rush your property to market, meaning you would already be behind someone who was already listed or who even had an offer. As a company, we are quick to get people to market, but despite this, you will always be one step behind, and this could be the difference between securing or losing your dream home. We can get new clients on the market within 24 hours, and this includes professional images and marketing, but sometimes, this just isn’t fast enough, especially if the property in question is sought after.

Summary

We hope the above reasons resonate with potential viewers, and from experience, we would always recommend being under offer before arranging viewings. Just think, if you are viewing multiple properties and not on the market, then that’s a lot of time out of your life to find that the property you fall in love with has sold to someone else. We normally leave the ultimate decision to the sellers whether they want to allow viewings or not from people not in a position to offer.

It is also worth mentioning that if you do place your home on the market and receive an offer, you will have time to find a new home. We know many people worry about this, and this can actually be one of the main factors why people view first before listing their home. We understand this concern, but we will always ensure that our sellers have time to find their dream homes without being rushed.

Even if not viewing, you have excellent tools such as Rightmove and Zoopla which can be used to see what types of properties are available. There are also lots of area guides on various websites which are useful for researching new areas.