Putting my house on the market

We were told it had been the busiest Jan/February for 10 years.

Maybe not March though?

I agree 4allweknow I am trying to go back to absolute basics.
Knowing how easy it will be to buy good 2nd hand stuff if necessary.

However I'm still a long way off.
2 out of 5 pieces of furniture left in a van to the auction house today. 2 men were apologetic but there just wasn't room so they will come back for the rest.

Once they'd left I took yet another car load to the tip.
I have sold quite a lot on market place and gumtree. More to do

The window cleaner is coming on Monday morning. ☺️

You do need to sell before you buy. Once there is an agreement, in Scotland, there is very little wiggle room without it costing you money. Yes you can pull out but the seller can claim for expenses and loss of other interested parties. You will be aware usual sales are completed in 6 weeks unless agreed by all parties involved. With decluttering, I have just done a bit myself trying to sort out what I think family would be interested in, very little afraid. If yoh have a property in mind try making a plan of what can go where and then reduce all you have included, its usually too much. Moved 6 times and had to be ruthless the last time as was downsizing to new build, much smaller than older properties. It's hard but basically have to view the exercise as starting out to your first home when everything was probably sparse. Good luck.

This isn’t accurate, my daughter moved very recently, they put on an offer on the house they now own before their house had recd any offers, the situation was made clear to the owner Jan 26, he was happy to wait, their house had an offer three weeks later, despite being in a four house chain it shuffled along culminating in them completing and moving last weekend.

Fallingstar

In England you can’t offer on a property unless your property has an offer too and in some cases vendors can refuse a viewing unless house owners have an offer. Make sure your estate agent prices your property realistically, when my DD and SiL sold their’s last year it stuck for ages until they reduced it quite a bit because the agent had over priced it.
We are decluttering but not moving, just sick of stuff everywhere. For the small stuff, bric a brac etc., ring round local charity shops and try to get them to pick it up if is tricky for you to drop it off, otherwise just do the rounds to your fav charities.
Remind yourself that if something isn’t overwhelmingly sentimental and has been in a drawer or cupboard for many years and close family don’t want it, then it has to go.
Is hard.

In the UK you can definitely put an offer on a house when you don't yet have an offer on your own home although if there is a lot of interest in a house then they may decide to filter the prospective buyers and only have those with an offer etc to view.
If you don't already have an offer on your own property it's a question of the owner and estate agent deciding whether they have a better prospect on the table ie a cash offer etc. Could be there is an offer on a home but the chain falls through or a better monetary offer from a person who doesn't yet have an offer on their own home and sellers are prepared to wait in the hopes of the higher price.

I would say sell before you make an offer too. Some sellers are interested in an offer from people who are not in a postion to move ("proceedable") but most are not. I'd also say not to go house hunting yourself until you have a proceedable offer, it is so upsetting to lose a house you really wanted, and too easy to be tempted into getting a bridging loan which is often ridiculously expensive and open-ended. You can spend a fortune that way.

Grammaretto we have told our (prospective) agent that if person X buys the house we want the sale to be outside their contract.
They are happy to do this.
I'd ask for your prospective buyer to sit outside their fees.
Our agent just wanted their name and address and said they would simply add it to the contract.

We sold our house after 30years and it was quite an experience finding another and organising the move.
One thing we became aware of, is you will never find the ‘perfect’ house. There will always be something you’ll have to be prepared to compromise on.
Be aware of which direction the sun will be during the day. Most would prefer not to have a North facing rear garden.
Check the neighbouring properties for signs of things that may cause you an issue.

We really did a good declutter and had piles for selling (we sold on FB marketplace),
Charity shop, tip and Keeping.

When you pack up, label every box with thick black felt tip pen and write the room on the box. Easy to sort at the other end.

Pack a separate box for kettle, cups, tea,
Coffee, etc so you can lay your hands on it immediately and include a set of bed linen - add things you’ll need on arrival day.

Selling/viewing: really declutter hard. Remove all the bits and bobs and personal items. Add some fresh flowers, puff the cushions, make sure everything is clean and gleaming and if its a cold day, make sure ita warm. If its gloomy, put some lamps on for a cosy feel.
If you are showing the house, talk it up, what you’ve loved about living there.
Good luck.

My friend is in the same position. She's alone and wants to sell her large house. The estate agent recommended getting a person who declutters in to help. He had a number of these people on his books. Yes you pay them but they are so helpful.

Everything Sago said is right. Also, for the purposes of the estate agent’s photos, display a lovely vase of flowers. Put all photos away. Put towels away. Don’t hang tea towels on the oven. Lawns need to be cut short. Display your home as if it were a new build. And, when the agent takes photos, make sure wall lights or lamps are on.

We moved within Scotland last year. We didn't want to sell our house fast and then feel pressured to move before we were ready.
We had all the marketing done before we started viewing houses, complete with photos/home report, solicitor instructed etc.
When we found somewhere we liked our offer was accepted because we were ready to put our house on the market the next day.
A good responsive solicitor was a real bonus. Although the barrage of emails needing action was overwhelming at the time, it all worked out in the end. I wish you the very best.

I wouldn't worry too much about sorting furniture at this point. The hard part of decluttering before a move (in my experience) is the bits viewers won't see ( or take much note of) ; the contents of every drawer cupboard and wardrobe, the loft garage shed etc. Those are the places to do some ruthless sorting and dumping of ancient papers, clothes you haven't word for years, kitchen gadgets you never use or have duplicates of, books you'll never read again.

fancythat

Also, the market[at least in England] has slowed down a lot.
Cost of living. And war in Iran.
But also, people think about the cost they bought a house for, how much they have spent doing it up.
And some then decide not to move because they are not getting the prices they want.

She's in Scotland, where the market has not slowed.

www.northwooduk.com/guides/news/why-scotland-is-set-to-lead-uk-house-price-growth-in-2026/

"The UK housing market is entering 2026 with clear regional differences, and Scotland is forecast to be at the forefront of growth. According to the latest Zoopla housing market analysis, Scottish towns and cities dominate the list of areas expected to see the strongest house price rises this year.

While parts of Southern England and London are facing slower growth and, in some cases, small price declines, Scotland’s combination of competitive pricing, active demand and disciplined stock levels places it in a strong position for sustained growth.

For sellers, buyers and landlords across Scotland, this signals a market that remains resilient, active and well supported.
<......>
Nine of the top 10 highest-ranked markets for 2026 are in Scotland, including Motherwell, Glasgow, Paisley, Falkirk, Kirkcaldy, Edinburgh, Kilmarnock, Perth and Inverness. "

Fallingstar

In England you can’t offer on a property unless your property has an offer too and in some cases vendors can refuse a viewing unless house owners have an offer. Make sure your estate agent prices your property realistically, when my DD and SiL sold their’s last year it stuck for ages until they reduced it quite a bit because the agent had over priced it.
We are decluttering but not moving, just sick of stuff everywhere. For the small stuff, bric a brac etc., ring round local charity shops and try to get them to pick it up if is tricky for you to drop it off, otherwise just do the rounds to your fav charities.
Remind yourself that if something isn’t overwhelmingly sentimental and has been in a drawer or cupboard for many years and close family don’t want it, then it has to go.
Is hard.

Unless things have changed from 20 years ago that isn’t true.
You can make an offer on a house if you haven’t got an offer yet on your own.
We sold a house to a couple who had theirs on the market but they didn’t have an offer on theirs at that point, they offered the full asking price so we accepted it and a month or six weeks later they got an offer so we could all proceed .
Obviously you can’t proceed with the actual sale until that happens.

Thanks again. I have a good solicitor and have had a home report which will need refreshing.

I am trying to rid myself of things I won't take with me.
Trips to the tip and charity shops feature in my daily life.

But ofcourse I will need furniture in whatever house I buy and I don't know how much yet.

The auctioneers will take some things but they are picky. Mahogany furniture is not selling at present.

Thousands of books will go to a charity which takes books.

We’ve just gone under offer in Scotland, waiting for the Missives to be concluded.
I’m assuming that you know that you’ve got to have your survey, Home Report done before marketing. Have answers to questions that might arise from the report already prepared.
Strangely enough the Scottish market seems to be more buoyant than in England. After 9 days we had 3 cash offers.
As others have said declutter and make the rooms as spacious as possible. Remove any personal items from the bathrooms and bedrooms before viewings. I personally removed all tea towels, bathroom towels and mats. Make sure the beds are made neat and tidy, even spare ones. This goes for the photos as well.
Don’t be afraid to say if you think the photos are not good enough. It took several goes to get the photo of our house front right. In the end DH took it by standing on a step ladder on the other side of the road.
We always sell before buying, it saves a lot of anxiety. Once your Missives are concluded you can put in an offer on another property even if there’s a gap, furniture can go in storage and you can AirB&B.
Good luck.

Find a good lawyer ; ask sensible trusted fiends for a recom mendation.

Or if you are near Glasgow pm me for details of one who has done three conveyances for me and never put a foot wrong.

We have moved 13 times most recently 12 months ago.

Declutter and clean, you don’t want to be taking anything with you and clearing out now will make the move easier.
Make sure the garden is tidy.

Make a list/spreadsheet of all the organisations you will need to notify once you have moved, try and go paperless where you can.

When you appoint an estate agent negotiate, we only pay full price if they sell our home within 10% of the asking price in 6 months, the fee then goes down on a sliding scale.

Do your research on Rightmove on sold prices as well as asking prices.

Don’t allow any viewings unless they are in a proceed-able position.

Good packers/removers are worth every penny.

The system in Scotland is so much better than England but I would still sell before buying.

*violets! Boilers!

Honestly? I wouldn’t bother doing or spending very much.

Most people can see through a bit of “selling decluttering, dressing and decor”

Make the very most of the “highlights” of your home, ensure it’s very clean and smells good.

Ensure you have any guarantees for violets, new roof, etc to hand and get at least two quotes to ensure you are not overpricing your property.

Yes, do look at Rightmove or whatever else you have online to see what kinds of properties are for sale near you.

Get a good reliable solicitor and estate agent and preferably one’s who’ll give you a “fixed” price.

Good luck

After many moves, I would say sell before you buy is rule number 1.

Nobody wants a stream of people coming into their home who aren't in a position to buy it. Nor do you want to set your heart on something only to find you lose out because yours hasn't sold.

Declutter as much as you possibly can. As said upthread, de-personalise - no photos, few trinkets and knick knacks. Your taste won't be everyone's and some people don't have the vision to see beyond what is in front of them at that moment.

On my last move - hopefully my last as it gets more difficult as you get older - I paid for the removal firm to do the packing. I think it was an 4 or 5 hundered but worth every single penny. I did hardly anything and they came the day before the move and packed everything - left me enough for that night and did the rest the next morning.

Good luck!

Holiday cottages as well.

The last person[again in England] that I know of who had a big property to sell[talking lots of outside barns etc], it took two years to sell.
It was running as a business. I dont know if that made any difference at all. A B&B.

Staging your house - as they apparently call it these days - usually just means shoving clutter you haven’t yet got rid of into cupboards etc., if you have pets burn a scented candle or two, put any throws in the wash or toast some bread and waft it about just before the viewing and no matter how friendly your dog or cat is make sure you take your dog with you and put the cat out if you can. I viewed some houses with my DD because my SiL often works away, and was surprised at the fact some owners leave their dog in the house. A house cat I can understand but was a bit off putting to have a large shaggy dog being a bit too friendly when we visited. We barely looked at the house were just glad to get out.
Have every faith you will do this but it isn’t going to be easy, just brace yourself and try to take it in your stride.
All the best.

Thank you everyone.
I have a solicitor/agent and I actually have a prospective buyer but he isn't in a position to buy yet and I am getting desperate hence going to have photographers round etc.

I had a home report done for him but that's out of date now.

It's a very big property so a limited market.
I haven't the time, expertise or the money to make the improvements it needs so it will be a doer-upper for anyone.

Did you need to sell before you bought?