Climbing the property ladder

Posted: 02 May 2006 09:54:42 GMT

First-time house sellers in the UK are spending an extra £400 million each month on mortgage repayments as they look to climb the property ladder.

According to latest research, making the move from the first rung to the second rung of the property ladder can in fact be more stressful than the original transaction.

The new figures from First Active and Datamonitor indicate that 58 per cent of first-time sellers found the process stressful, which compares to just 48 per cent of first-time buyers.

One of the key concerns for many first-time sellers seems to be the impact of being in a property chain. Around 15 per cent said that coordinating timings was the most stressful aspect, while only five per cent of first-time buyers were troubled by the same thing.

Inevitably, legal arrangements are also a source of extreme stress for many first-time sellers, which is a situation that can have been only worsened by recent revelations about malpractice at certain estate agents.

It is little wonder, given the stress that sellers are under, that increasing numbers are choosing to sell their house privately, by advertising online and appealing to the largest possible audience.

Avoiding the fees that are usually forked out in commission to estate agents, private sellers find they are able to exercise absolute control over the transaction, removing the stresses associated with complying with viewing times arranged by estate agents.


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