Surely if a house isn’t on the market it’s not for sale right? Not necessarily, grab a cuppa and get comfortable as we open up a whole new way of finding your perfect home…

On the market

Now, we’re not going to teach you to suck eggs, we know you’re an intelligent lot. But in order to explain this mysterious ‘off-market’ route, we thought it best to lay out exactly what the traditional ‘on the market’ route to buying and selling a home looks like. 

You want to sell your home

  1. The house you’re currently in doesn’t quite work for your lifestyle anymore. First step, you to decide to move.
  2. How do you get your house seen by potential buyers? Second step, appoint an estate agent, either online (with an upfront fee) or traditional agent (with 1% plus commision of sale price). Estate agents list your home on online portals such as Rightmove and Zoopla.
  3. Buyer sees your home, arranges a viewing and puts offer in – often before they have received an offer or even before they have listed their home. Third step complete, you’ve got a buyer and on the way to finding your dream home!
  4. But hold up! The pressure creeps in, you start feeling the panic to find your dream home. You don’t want to lose the buyer so frantically arrange viewings of whatever houses are on the market. Fourth step is in full swing.
  5. You find a house that ticks some of the boxes, but not all. You put an offer in to save the chain falling through. But is it your dream home? Step five, complete – or is it?

 

 

You’re looking for a new home

  1. Your life circumstances mean you’re able to buy a home as a first time buyer or your current house isn’t quite right and you’re looking for something new. Step one, the decision to buy.
  2. With excitement brewing you start browsing online portals and visit your local estate agents. You spot your dream home and arrange a viewing. Step two complete, you’ve found the dream home!
  3. You’re super keen to view the house. Yours isn’t on the market yet, but finding the perfect home is the priority so that can be dealt with after.
  4. You view the house, love it, put an offer in and rush to put yours on the market to save losing the dream home. Step four, the cogs are in motion.
  5. Your house is now on the market, it may not sell as quickly as you’d like and the sellers of your dream home find another buyer or your buyer falls through. Step 5, things are starting to become complex.
  6. Your house eventually sells, however the dream home that you originally listed to win has now been sold. You find whatever is available at the time for your needs. 

A tried and tested route to buying and selling your home, the ‘on market’ route has served your parents and their parents well. But with the potential risks and the possibility of disappointment in buying the wrong property at the wrong time we think it’s time for a new approach!

Off the market – not possible until now!

As we’ve seen, plenty of people start thinking about moving, but aren’t quite ready to sell up just yet but their only option is the current ‘on market’ system. Enter Houso – the only app offering an alternative route to buying and selling homes ‘off the market’.

Imagine you have a magic mirror that shows you all the homeowners in your area who are thinking about moving but haven’t yet listed their house on the market. With Houso you can browse ‘secret’ homes not yet on the market, being the first to hear about them, diminishing that FOMO (fear of missing out)! If you’re thinking of selling and curious about the potential interest in your own home YOU can get the ball rolling. Create a profile and communicate directly with possible new owners – all the while you would ordinarily be sat on the sofa dreaming of your dream home. 

You’re in control. By having the ability to communicate directly, buyers and sellers can ensure they are moving at a time that suits everyone and lead to a smoother sales process.  

Houso also lists properties currently on the market, just like the mainstream housing apps, but with the added bonus of viewing homes that don’t follow the traditional ‘For Sale’ model. All in one place. Download today from PlayStore and AppStore