Most properties receive double the level of interest in the first two weeks. Ashby-based Estate and Letting Agents Ewemove share their top tips and advice on how to maximise the first 14 days your property is on the market.

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When you've chosen your estate agent and the property goes live, there's a flurry of activity and emotion. Both excitement about taking the first step on your new journey and fear as to what lies ahead. Will other people fall in love with your home just as you have done? Almost instantly you're likely to get interest from potential buyers.  

This means that there's no time to get your house ready for viewings, carry out repairs, do the tidying up of the garden and all of those other little jobs that you've put off for another day.  

You want to make sure that your home is in perfect condition to do itself justice. Evidence from the property portals such as Rightmove and Zoopla point to properties receiving double the level of interest in the first 14 days. That's because your would-be buyers will be scouring the market for new opportunities and have alerts set up to bring the latest listings to their attention. 

Against this backdrop of enhanced exposure, you need to do everything you can to ride the wave. That's why we always recommend boosting the level of interest during this honeymoon period by opting for a Premium Listing, which we offer as part of our standard fee rather than as an additional expense to you. 

If a number of people submit offers at the same time, a good estate agent will be able to negotiate between them in order to secure you the best possible price, rather than just passing on an offer and acting as a go between.  

A word of caution. During this initial flurry of activity, with hopefully offers coming in, you need to keep a sense of perspective. You can get lulled into a false sense of security believing that your house will easily sell and that the interest that you've enjoyed on day one is 'normal' and will simply continue. You need to stay objective and remember that this initial period is your property's peak selling time. Here you need to take advice from your estate agent as to whether or not they believe the offer is realistic in the context of the prevailing market and any recent comparable sales nearby. 

There have been countless examples of sellers confidently dismissing offers during the first 14 days in the firm belief that in the next few weeks a higher offer is bound to materialise. 

Once they come to the dawning realisation that interest in the property slows over time, they may look back and regret their decision. They might try to desperately reignite previous interest, only to find that the buyer has moved on.  

Obviously, there's a fine balance between waiting to get the best offer and being unrealistic which may ultimately result in you missing the boat.  

That's why you need to get good advice from an agent who has been through this process many times before. They can guide you as to the suitability of any offer. Because the first 14 days are going to be your best time to sell, it's also when you must do your utmost to present your property in its best light.

So, you should go the extra mile by getting new colour coordinated toiletries, bathroom accessories, fresh flowers, fresh fruit and lovely scented candles and tea lights etc. And if you've followed all of these steps successfully, hopefully you'll get a fantastic offer for your property. Then you can start planning your next move into your new dream home. 

Top tip! One thing to be mindful of is that some agents encourage their vendors not to accept an offer in order to keep the property on the market for longer, in order to leverage the property for further business!

We at EweMove have one aim, which is to sell your property for the best possible price for you, not for our gain. 

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