Find Your Dream Home | Vanilla Square

So you found the home of your dreams and decided you are ready to make an offer – what an exciting and nerve-wracking time! In the current seller’s market, where many buyers compete for the available stock (there is currently an average of 19 property viewings for each property coming on the market – source), your best chance of success is being well-organised, getting your finances in order and making sure the sale of your own home is going as smoothly as possible. Here are our top tips on the best chances of getting your offer accepted on a new home.

Making an offer on a new home

Understand the pricing in the area. Take time to do some research on similar properties in the area and their recent sale prices to make sure you are offering a reasonable figure and not either paying over the odds or making an offer that’s too low.
Get your documents ready. Work out where your money is going to come from and have it documented by your mortgage advisor. Ideally, aim to get a mortgage agreement in principle so that when you approach the estate agent to make the offer you can reassure the sellers that your finances are organised and you’re in a good position to proceed with the sale.
Consider your offer. Your estate agent will be able to advise on the best approach and possibly find out if other offers have been made. If you are worried about a bidding war due to hot competition for property in your desired area, it might make sense to go in with your best offer in order to secure the sale. If the property you are after has been on the market for a while, has had little interest and the owners are keen to sell quickly, you can perhaps be more reserved with your initial offer – if it gets accepted great, if not you can always increase a little knowing you are still safe within your budget. Remember to set a firm budget for yourself too and resist over-borrowing to secure a dream home, which could just lead to financial stress in the future.
If your offer is declined, consider carefully if you can offer more and if not, don’t be disheartened. Subsequent offers could fall through on that property and your offer may be reconsidered. Or, it may be time to get back out property hunting. It’s hard to avoid setting your heart on a specific property but try not to get carried away until your offer is accepted where possible!

If you are selling property at the same time, this is what you should consider to make sure you take advantage of the great opportunities out there and achieve the best price for your home.

Selling your property

Get an accurate valuation so you know what your house is worth and to ensure it performs competitively on the market, helping to drum up interest from serious buyers. At Vanilla Square, the person you initially meet to value your home is the one who is responsible for the sale through to completion, so you can be sure you will be looked after.
Once you have set a competitive asking price, find a dynamic agent who knows their local market inside out and who will work hard for you. They need to take quality photos for and produce great marketing material that will catch the eye of potential buyers.
Remember that smaller bespoke estate agents have as much if not more marketing power than any national agent, but will work harder to give a service than no others can offer.
When it comes to viewings, present your property at its best, taking up-to-date advice from your estate agent as they know what helps people visualise themselves in a new home, leading to them making an offer.
The extra details. A great estate agent will go above and beyond until keys are exchanged and you are settled and happy in your new home. At Vanilla Square we like to make the moving process as easy as possible for our clients and can even recommend things like removal companies and can advise on the purchase of your new home, regardless of who is selling it.

Vanilla Square – highly personal sales and lettings! Whether selling or letting property, you will always be liaising with one of our business partners, which makes our service that much more responsible and approachable. When you instruct us, your property will reach a wider audience as we are one of the few agents who are present on all the major property portals to offer sellers and landlords maximum exposure. If you’re looking to buy, sell, rent or lease your property, or you’re simply considering the idea, contact us by calling 0141 229 0210 or pop into our new office at 711 Great Western Road. One of our partners will be delighted to help and provide you with impartial, expert advice.