The House Hop Guide to Selling

Receiving enquiries and arranging viewings

One of the great advantages to selling privately is that you stay in control of the process.

Dealing with potential buyers directly gives you a much better idea of the interest in your property and also speeds up the sale process.
Being in contact with the buyer also gives you the chance to vet them before they view and find out what they're looking for. This avoids wasting their time (and yours) if your property is really not what they are looking for (whereas estate agents normally send people regardless).

Receiving enquiries

Once your listing goes live buyers will be able to contact you by email through the House Hop website.

Emails from interested buyers are automatically forwarded to your selected email accounts (eg, work, home and blackberry) so that you get to know about enquiries straight away.

This keeps your email address private and stops it being picked up by "email address spiders" protecting you from fraud and spam. If you are happy to do so you can then give your contact details to the buyer and communicate safely using your normal email account or by phone.

We suggest that you check your email regularly (at least every few hours) so that interested buyers don't have to wait too long to hear from you. It's good to get them on side from the beginning.

Arranging viewings

Viewings can be arranged by email or phone. A record of viewing requests that have been sent to you through the website can be found by going to "My House Hop" and clicking "My Viewings".

We have prepared a printable Viewing Record Sheet for you to help you keep track of how each viewing went as well as what stage of negotiations you are at with each buyer.

"open house" viewings
The viewing planner is also a great way to arrange an "open house" viewing. These should be arranged on a weekend and last for around two to four hours. The best time to start is around midday.

how to conduct viewings
For more detailed information on how to prepare your home for viewings, how to conduct viewings and advice on security, please see our seperate "Guide to Home Staging".