Measure up If you are selling your house yourself and fail to produce accurate measurements for your particulars, you could, potentially, be sued for misrepresentation under the Property Misdescriptions Act (1991). Use a sonic tape measure. Measurements of odd-shaped rooms should be qualified – for instance, say if the measurement is “into the bay”, or “at widest point”. If you are not confident, contact the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), and employ a surveyor to do a floor-plan – price will depend on where you live and the size of your property. In some areas, especially London and the South-East, and for apartments in city centres such as Manchester, price per square footage is a crucial indicator of value, and it will help you to set your asking price. Ask local agents what the current “price per square foot” is.

Keep it real Photos date quicker than you think. It’s Spring. But the trees in your garden are bare. Potential buyers will soon work out that your property has been on the market for several months. Use a digital camera and keep your promotional photographs up to the minute. Aim for at least six photographs: the front of the house, the garden, the kitchen, the living room, the bathroom and one special feature, a large deck, a pond, a conservatory, a lovely view, that makes your home stand out. And make sure you take full advantage of the latest technological innovations, such as virtual tours.

Board games Property experts say that between one third and 50% of house sales are generated by buyers seeing a “For Sale” board. Most private sale websites include a board as part of the package, or offer one for an extra fee. If you decide to make your own, include: “For Sale”, “private sale”, telephone number (mobile is safest), email, website, and “viewing by appointment only”, to deter nosey passers-by from knocking on your door. In certain Conservation Areas in the London boroughs of Camden, Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster, and Bath, you may require planning permission to erect a board.

In general, the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations (1992) states that: there should only be one board; on residential property the board must not exceed 0.5 square metres, or 0.6 square metres if two boards are joined together; no board is allowed to project more than one metre from a building; all boards must be removed 14 days after completion of the sale.

Related Internet Links

• Property guides

A guide to househunting on the web

Househunting goes high-tech: technology is transforming the way we search for our next home. Our buyers test-drive top property websites

• A step-by-step guide to selling your home

• Gumtree founder, Simon Crookall, puts his £1.5m home for sale online

BACKGROUND

• Why can’t we sell our home?

• ‘I didn’t want a profit; I just wanted out’

• How to sell your home in a hurry

BACKGROUND

• Overseas property: where, how and what to buy

• How to get onto the property ladder

• Guide to buying above a shop

BACKGROUND

• How to sell your home

• Buying a property at auction

• Home improvement

• Eco homes

• Step-by-step guide to buying your first property

Related Links

• How to sell your home

• A step-by-step guide to selling your property yourself

HIPs operation If you are selling a residential property in England and Wales, you must make a Home Information Pack available, free of charge, to potential vendors. You could ask your solicitor to compile a HIP for you, contract a pack provider, or compile it yourself. It includes an energy performance certificate (EPC), evidence of title deed, local authority searches, information on leasehold, freehold etc, details of the provision of drainage and water services, and sale particulars. For more information about HIPs see www.homeinformationpacks.gov.uk.

Useful websites

Comprehensive directory of international online property selling services – www.themovechannel.com

Three of the most popular private sale websites - www.thelittlehousecompany.co.uk; www.houseweb.co.uk; www.mypropertyforsale.co.uk

Postcodes are vital to establish local selling prices, look them up through the Royal Mail’s postcode finder – postcode.royalmail.com

Jargon-buster

Property portal - This is a website or internet directory specialising in property, which in turn connects to lots of other property-related sites. Portals may contain properties being sold by estate agents as well as private sale properties.

Partner site - A website which works in official conjunction with a private sale website – it may specialise in property, or have a wider remit, such as a newspaper or general lifestyle content.

Email alert service - If you sign up with a private sale website, an email will be sent to you when an inquiry is made about your property. You log into the site to access the potential viewer’s contact details, then it’s up to you whether to make arrangements for a viewing.