Selling your house: Potential problems

In the penultimate section of her complete guide to selling a house, Lea Beven of Limecastle talks you through some potential pitfalls that can be avoided when showing somebody round.

Part six: Potential problems

There are a few important things to be aware of, although most of these are for the investor that is living in the property – but still helpful if it applies to you.

If you have pets in the property, you may encounter buyers that are not animal lovers.

There is no good getting emotional about it – you should think about the money.

You want to sell, so if it means giving the dog to a neighbour for a few hours while people come to view, then do it.

You may think your dog is friendly, but the lovely lady with her tights on who is scared of dogs may be viewing today – if your dog jumps up and ladders her tights to say hi, then it could damage your relationship.

If you have children, then it might be worth thinking about asking a friend to babysit - children can do all sorts of little things to try not to move and may make your buyer feel guilty or sad about buying your house.

Lastly – smokers. It is incredibly hard to sell a smokers house to a non-smoker and as more and more people find this socially unacceptable.

If you are a smoker, try not to smoke inside. If you do smoke outside, do not leave your unsightly cigarette ends all over the garden, it is really off-putting to a buyer.

My tip: Prior planning with a neighbour to look after pets or children is a great idea.

If you get really stuck, then maybe encourage your kids to play in the garden and put the pets outside if it is a nice day.

Tomorrow: The final part: success

• See part one: How people search for a property

• See part two: How to market effectively and an objective look at your property

• See part three: Fixing and tidying up and refurbish or not?