When it comes to selling your home in Ashbourne & Derbyshire, there’s a lot of overwhelming information and old wives tales out there, and it can sometimes be difficult separating the fact from the fiction. Advice often comes from well-meaning friends or family members who are just trying to be helpful, but in reality, they are not property experts! Our team at Bennet Samways are all experienced property professionals with many years of experience between us. So, to ensure you are in possession of the correct information, here are seven home selling myths you're likely to hear and why they're not to be believed.   Overpricing Your Home Will Lead to Better Offers Unfortunately, many sellers believe that by overpricing their house to start with, it leaves more room for negotiation and ultimately a better offer. That's why we often see sellers marketing their properties with the agent who has simply come in with the highest valuation! However, this is entirely false. When buyers are looking at properties, they'll search within their price range. If your property price has been inflated, then it's going to be competing against other properties that appear to be far better value for money, rather than sitting in the price bracket it should be in! This potentially means it will sit on the market for longer. Buyers whose budget doesn’t stretch to the higher price range will miss out on seeing your property altogether as they’re not even looking in that price bracket. You'll attract more offers and sell your property more quickly if it's been priced fairly. It gives it a chance to stand out among other properties in its price range, rather than being a poor relation in the higher price category. And you're more likely to see interested parties competing upwards rather than knocking you down.   Getting an Immediate Offer Means it’s Priced Too Low If you've resisted the urge to overprice your home and an offer comes in straight away, it's tempting to think that you've missed a trick by not marketing it at a higher price. After all, if you had done, then you'd be a few thousand pounds better off surely. Again, this is false. Most buyers scour the market for a couple of months, waiting for the perfect property to come up, and there's a good chance that they've jumped in immediately to avoid missing out. Remember too that if you’d overpriced it, there’s a chance they wouldn’t have found it in the first place.   A Better Offer Will Come Along if You Wait This is another all too familiar trap that sellers fall into. After all, if you’ve had an offer on the very same day your home has gone on sale, then surely there’s likely to be a whole queue of buyers lining up for it? No, not necessarily. You might just have been lucky enough to have the right buyer come along at the right time. If you receive a fair offer, then it's usually best to accept it whether your property has been on the market for hours, days , weeks or months.   The Estate Agent With the Lowest Commission is the Best Option While you’ll naturally want to earn as much money from your property sale as possible, it doesn’t mean you should sign a contract with the estate agent who offers the cheapest fees. Selling a property can be a very stressful process. A good estate agent will help make it run as smoothly as possible while communicating effectively and providing outstanding service, so it's crucial you weigh up what's included in their fee. Although it’s tempting to cut costs as much as possible in the short term, you might come to regret it over the longer term, especially if your property isn’t selling.   Major Renovations Will Offer the Biggest Return on Investment Many homeowners are under the impression that if they spend a few thousand pounds on a conservatory, a swimming pool or a landscaped garden, they'll just be able to add the cost of it to the house when they come to sell. Sadly, it's not quite as simple as this. Not all buyers will want to maintain a pool or require the space that a conservatory ultimately takes away from their garden, for example. Many buyers prefer to start with a blank canvas too, so they can add their own renovations. That’s not to say that a major renovation is a bad idea, but if you’re only doing it to see a return when you come to sell, then it might be worth considering the type of renovation or extension that will bring you the best returns.   It's Not Worth Fixing the House up at all If you've decided to sell your property, it's understandable that you won't be thinking about spending even more money on it. After all, it won't be you seeing the benefits long-term. This logic is flawed, though, and it could cost you when it comes to getting the full asking price. A property that's well maintained and looked after is far more appealing to buyers. Fixing broken fences and gates, tidying the garden, replacing broken windows or doors and giving any tired rooms a fresh lick of paint will go a long way towards selling your property for its true value.   Online Valuations are 100% Accurate Online valuations are a fantastic tool and we are most definitely in favour! However, a quick online valuation of your property should be used as a guide. Online tools don't always take into account the condition of a property or the extra value you may have added. They're simply using other similar sized and types of properties in your area as a guideline. The best way to get your property valued is always to contact an experienced, local estate agent who will come and value your property in person. Bennet Samways are your local property experts for the Ashbourne & Derbyshire area. Call us on 01335 818550 or email stuart@bennetsamways.co.uk to chat with a member of our friendly and experienced team.

Have You Heard Of The Right of Light Act? Homeowners in Ashbourne & Derbyshire are usually delighted when the sun shines – after all, we don’t see much of it for most of the year! However, if your neighbour’s trees are growing out of control and are blocking the sunlight from reaching your garden or windows, it’s likely that you’re not going to be very happy with the situation. The team here at Bennet Samways have a few tips to help you deal with this problem should it arise. Although you might want to force your neighbour to chop down their tree so you can enjoy more light, unfortunately, you can’t always do this. The only time you can get a tree chopped back is if it blocks the light from entering one of your property’s “defined apertures” such as the windows or glass doors. Even then, you may not always be able to legally do anything about the overgrown tree. Although there is a piece of legislation called the “Right of Light Act”, many legal claims are rejected since deciduous trees and trees that allow some sunlight through the branches and leaves won’t usually be covered.   How Many Trees? An important distinction when dealing with blocked sunlight to your property is whether the problem is caused by a single tree or multiple trees. If you’re bothered by just one tall tree, your only real option is to discuss the situation with your neighbour to try to persuade them to take action. However, if two trees (or more) stand at least 2m above the ground level, the 2005 High Hedges Regulations in the Anti-Social Behaviour Act may come into play. You can approach the local council and ask for a notice to be issued to your neighbour asking them to reduce their trees’ height.   Is The Tree Potentially Dangerous? If a tree is overhanging your garden and could potentially be dangerous to your property, your family, or yourself, it’s possible that it may be deemed a nuisance by the local council who can then take action for you. Alternatively, you could make a county court private nuisance claim, but this could be expensive as you’d need to use the services of a solicitor, as well as being potentially risky since you may lose your case.   Can I Cut Down The Tree? Cutting your neighbour’s tree yourself may seem like the ideal solution, but it could cause you legal problems. For example, it could be subject to a tree preservation order, or be located in a conservation area. Although you have some common law rights to prune a tree if the branches encroach on your own property, it’s wise to be cautious. If you damage the tree, you could find yourself facing a liability claim. Therefore, employing the services of an arborist is best. You must also either return the pruned branches to your neighbour or reach an agreement beforehand about the disposal of them.   If you’re considering looking for a new home with a lighter aspect, don’t hesitate to give us a call on 01335 818550 today, or pop over to our website at [personalise with="website"] and see some of the properties in Ashbourne & Derbyshire we have listed for sale. We can help you find the perfect property.