Advertising The Property

The Weekly List and the ESPC
Within Edinburgh and the surrounding districts, it is important to ensure that the property is being advertised in the Edinburgh Solicitors' Property Centre (ESPC) at 85 George Street, on their website at www. espc.co.uk and in their Weekly List issued by the Property Centre each Thursday. Around 5000 potential house purchasers visit the Property Centre each week and it is fair to say that the vast majority of potential house purchasers will obtain a copy of the Weekly List to help them in their search for a property. Only a Solicitor can arrange for a property to be advertised in the Weekly List and in the Property Centre. The charge made by the Property Centre for advertising the property can be less than the cost usually charged for a single advertisement in a newspaper. In addition, the charge covers the first six months advertising in the Property Centre, the Weekly List and the web. An additional smaller charge is made if the property has to be advertised after the initial six month period.

Around 90 per cent of all properties sold in Edinburgh are advertised in the Weekly List and Property Centre, which confirms that the best way of selling your house or flat is through a Solicitor.

The Internet
In addition to the ESPC's comprehensive website, property for sale through Allingham & Co is placed on our own website at www.allingham.co.uk. This site features both internal and external photographs of properties and is appreciated by both sellers and buyers for its comprehensive coverage of our properties.

Preparing Property Schedules
It is important to prepare a proper Schedule containing details of the property. This can be handed to potential purchasers and to their Solicitors to assist them in preparing an offer. The Schedule also helps to remind potential purchasers of the features and details of the properties they have seen. Usually such a Schedule will consist of two pages of text with several photographs. In particular circumstances, it may be appropriate to prepare a larger, more detailed Schedule with more photographs.

Newspaper Advertisements
Within Edinburgh, lower priced flats will sometimes be advertised in The Evening News and other properties in The Scotsman. However, due to the efficiency of the Weekly List and the Property Centre, it is often not necessary to advertise in the local press at all as this can be an expensive business.

Viewing Arrangements
The basic estate agency fee charged by Allingham & Co does not include handling the viewing of the property and it is assumed that the sellers will deal with this themselves. An additional charge will be made where the seller requires our staff to provide a viewing service. It is strongly recommended that all advertisements should provide that viewing can take place at fixed times and we would recommend that there is at least one period of 'open' viewing per week (eg. Thursday 7-9pm or Sunday 2-4pm), although it may be preferable to include additional viewing as well. In particular cases, it may be sensible to provide that viewing should be by appointment only; however, this can deter interested parties from viewing the property and slow down the sale.

For Sale Notices
If there is a garden, it is strongly recommended that a "For Sale" notice board should be erected in the garden, as this, by itself, can attract considerable interest in the property. In flatted properties "For Sale" notices should be placed in the window of the property or above the door of the tenement stair.