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What’s
this all about?
Why should I use coolcaves.com?
Why should I deal with buyers myself?
What about negotiating
the price – don’t I need a professional?
Why should I use coolcaves.com when an estate
agent works on a "no sale no fee" basis?
Do I need a For Sale Board?
Do
I need an estate agent?
Can I use an estate agent, as well as coolcaves.com?
Should I tell my estate agent about coolcaves?
How does coolcaves feel
about my using an estate agent?
How does it work?
How long does it take?
Why do I have to register?
Why do I have to pay upfront?
Can I preview my advert before paying?
Can I save my progress in the middle?
What if I don't want to make my personal contact
details public?
What about my address?
I want to display more photos
Problems using the site – forgotten password,
log in problems etc
Can I change my advert later on?
Describe
the property sale process in simple terms
How do I value my property?
What happens once it’s on the market?
How do I weed out timewasters?
How do I vet viewers?
How do I negotiate effectively?
What is conveyancing?
How much does conveyancing cost?
Can I speed up the conveyancing process?
What’s
this all about?
Ultimately,
it’s about choice. According to the Office of Fair Trading,
1 in 4 of us are unhappy with estate agents. So, we’re
providing a choice. We believe that many people will benefit
from taking control of their own house sale. And not just
financially either – we believe that it’s easier,
takes less of your time and is less stressful.
Why
should I use coolcaves.com?
Two reasons. Firstly, our website is
specifically designed to be straightforward and easy to use.
We know you’re busy and we don’t want to bamboozle
you with loads of needless info. We tell it like it is –
you can save cash, time and hassle. Simple as.
Secondly,
we’re a socially responsible company, which is why we
have an agreement with Centrepoint. We have a contract that
legally states that we will donate £20 from every £95
fee that we receive. We believe that our success should benefit
others as well. How many companies donate over 20% of their
turnover to charity? We do.
Why
should I deal with buyers myself?
It’s easier and less stressful.
No wasted time playing telephone tennis with an agent trying
to set up a viewing. No chasing them up for feedback on viewings.
No having to relay everything through other people and hoping
the exact message gets across. The control you gain from dealing
with your buyer will ensure your move goes as smoothly as
possible.
What
about negotiating the price – don’t I need a professional?
No. Dealing direct encourages honesty and integrity. Both
parties want a good deal, that’s human nature. But human
nature also dictates that people tend to be more open when
dealing directly with someone else. There’s less stress
too – you actually hear what the other person is saying
and how they say it and that can make a big difference.
Why
should I use coolcaves.com when an estate agent works on a
"no sale no fee" basis?
Okay, no sale no fee sounds great. But most agents now charge
an initial, non-refundable deposit of between £100 and
£300, which is more than we charge full stop! Some agents
also charge up front for newspaper advertising. And once you’ve
entered into a contract with an agent, it can be hard to break
out of it. That’s not us saying that, it’s the
Office of Fair Trading. They say that of those people who
tried to terminate their contract with an agent, only 18%
managed to do so successfully.
There
is no such thing as a free lunch. We don't offer a free lunch
either, but we do offer a tastier experience for a much smaller
fee!
Do
I need a For Sale Board?
It depends on your location. If you have a reasonable amount
of people passing your house, whether on foot or by car, a
board can be really useful in raising awareness locally. The
more people who know it's for sale, the better. Is £25
a lot of money to help sell your property? No.
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Do
I need an estate agent?
No.
Estate agents would like you to believe that you do, but legally,
you don't need one. For many years, people have believed that
the only effective way to sell a property is to go through
an estate agent. The Internet has changed all that, so now
you have a choice. It's comparable to booking flights online
rather than through a travel agent, it's more convenient,
saves you time and money and you have complete control over
the process.
Can
I use an estate agent, as well as coolcaves.com?
Yes. Our role is to market the property for you. You decide
what information to provide, you conduct the viewings and
you negotiate the price. Most estate agent contracts will
allow you to do this. If they don’t, ask them to change
the contract. The key wording to look out for is “sole
selling agents”. This means that they are the only agent
that you can use, but that you can still sell it yourself.
Watch out for the term “sole selling rights” -
this means you’ll still have to pay them if you find
a buyer yourself.
Before
signing anything, check their terms and conditions thoroughly.
If in doubt, ask them about it, but be prepared for them trying
to talk you out of using any other avenue to sell your home.
Should
I tell my estate agent about coolcaves?
Yes. Honesty is the best policy. If your estate agent has
a problem with it, we would ask why? If anything, it should
encourage them to sell it first, so that they get the commission.
Competition keeps everyone on their toes.
How
does coolcaves feel about my using an estate agent?
No problem. We recognise that some people will use both routes
– at the end of the day your goal is to find a buyer.
Adding coolcaves into the mix is a low cost risk to you and
it can also help focus your estate agent’s efforts.
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How
does it work?
First you register. Next, you log in and click on Advertise
Property For Sale. Then you simply fill in the details about
your house (price, room descriptions etc) and provide us with
some photos. Finally, you process your payment (through WorldPay)
and your advert goes live, usually within one working day.
When
you log in, you also gain access to our free Advice Centre.
This helps throughout the process, with things like pricing
your property, helping you to provide the best information
for your online brochure and giving you tips on how to prepare
for and conduct viewings.
The
Advice Centre also walks you through the process of negotiating
offers, when to instruct solicitors and how to progress the
sale to completion.
How
long does it take?
Writing your property description
and taking photos should only take between 30 minutes to an
hour. Once you've got these details together, you can process
them on the website in about 5-10 minutes. Your property will
be live on the web within 1 working day.
Why
do I have to register?
In order to place your advert onto our
database, we need certain details, but also by having your
own account with us you can edit your advert at any time and
access the Advice Centre. We don't pass your details onto
anyone else, so you won't receive any unwanted information.
Why
do I have to pay upfront?
Firstly, we have to pay to advertise your property on other
websites and we pay in advance. Secondly, it helps to keep
our costs down, as we don’t have to spend our time chasing
payment from people. It’s just like placing an advert
in the paper and paying before it appears.
Can
I preview my advert before paying?
Yes. You can save your advert before you pay and ask us to
send you a preview.
Can
I save my progress in the middle?
Yes. You can save your work and then come back and complete
it when you are ready.
What
if I don't want to make my personal contact details public?
You can choose what information a potential buyer sees –
if you don’t want them to see anything, just put our
email address (info@coolcaves.com) and we’ll pass enquiries
onto you.
What
about my address?
You don’t need to place your full address on your advert
– but of course you will need some info like area, or
postcode, so that buyers know where your house is!
I
want to display more photos
For most properties, six photos will give just enough information
to whet the appetite. However, we recognise that some properties
will benefit from showing more pictures. In this case, we
can set this up for you, but we do charge a £10 per
photo fee, to cover our administration time. Just contact
us to arrange this.
Problems
using the site – forgotten password, log in problems
etc
Simply call or email us if you have any problems at all.
Can
I change my advert later on?
Yes. You can log in and edit your property details. If you
want to change your photos, all you need to do is email them
to us. If you do make changes, be sure to let us know so that
we can update our partner sites.
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Describe
the property sale process in simple terms
It’s easy really. First, you value your house, so you
know how much to sell it for. Next, you need to market it,
to let people know it’s for sale. Now you have a choice
on this bit, use an estate agent, use coolcaves, or you can
use both. Then, you arrange viewings for interested parties
and hopefully one of these viewers will make an offer on the
house. Once you have an acceptable offer, the buyer should
provide details of their mortgage provider and you exchange
solicitor details. The solicitors deal with all the legal
stuff and eventually you exchange contracts and arrange a
completion date to complete the move. Lots of people like
to make out that there is more to it, but there isn’t.
How
do I value my property?
Our Advice Centre provides a number of ideas and tools to
help you decide on the right price for your house. You just
need to register to access it.
What
happens once it’s on the market?
Potential buyers will enquire about the house. Some may want
more details before arranging a viewing, whereas others will
want to see it straight away. In our experience, the people
who ask questions first, before viewing, tend to be more serious.
How
do I weed out timewasters?
Direct contact is great for both buyer and seller. The serious
buyer gets to ask questions, before deciding to view. The
seller is able to assess how serious the buyer is. For example,
you can ask if the buyer has sold their house, or if it isn’t
on the market – if not, why not? Are they just trying
to get a feel for what’s out there?
How
do I vet viewers?
When you receive an enquiry from us, we provide full contact
details. We recommend you ask for these details from anyone
who enquires direct. As a security measure, it's good practice
to ask for a landline number and address. If you have any
doubts, you can then call them back to make sure they are
genuine. It also makes sense to have two people around when
viewers come round.
How
do I negotiate effectively?
Again, our advice centre offers some detail on this area.
In general, if you know what price you are willing to accept
and are prepared to work with the buyer a little, the likelihood
is that you’ll be able to agree on a mutually acceptable
deal.
What
is conveyancing?
Conveyancing is the legal work involved in buying and selling
a house and is generally carried out by a solicitor, although
today there are an increasing number of firms dedicated to
conveyancing alone (licenced conveyancers).
Conveyancing includes local authority searches and land registry
checks, to ensure that there are no plans in place that will
detrimentally affect the property. It also includes drawing
up the contract of sale, completion of the sale and transfer
of money between buyer and seller.
How
much does conveyancing cost?
Costs can vary, but the average charge seems to be around
£500. We recommend you get three quotes before choosing
and agree a fixed fee.
Can
I speed up the conveyancing process?
Certain elements of the process can take time, such as local
searches. However, it pays to keep in regular contact with
your solicitor. We recommend you call them weekly for a progress
check (you are paying them after all) and then daily as you
get near to completion.
Before employing a conveyancing firm, ask for a named contact
that you will be able to speak to every time you call.
Don’t
let a solicitor write a letter when an email or phone call
will do! Solicitors need certain things in letterform, but
lots of other things can be solved quickly with quick phone
calls, faxes or email.
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