Easier to sell if flat empty?

I have noticed that a lot of the property agents take clients to empty flats, rather than occupied ones (for rental or purchase).


My flat has been in the market for a few months now, and I am wondering if it would make the sale easier if we move out.

Might I suggest you post here http://hongkong.asiaxpat.com/property/direct-owner-apartments-for-sale/

We just recently purchased a flat - we ended up buying a flat that the vendor was still living in. The thing is though that when we did go see the apartment, nothing was in the way except for a few kiddie toys.


It helps to see an empty apartment, because as a purchaser you can see exactly where you might put your things.


It also makes you less worried that your offer may be subject to the vendor staying in the apartment for another month or so. So if you are still living there makes sure the agent and/or potential buyer are aware that you're able to move out right away if that's possible.


When we purchased ours we also had one minor concern that as the vendor was still living there minor damage may be done during their last few months - this was particularly the case with our flat as it came with custom built furniture that would be hard to replace. It was only a minor concern but we also had the issue that we were under a tight deadline in terms of moving out of the rented place and moving into the new one.

Ed,

Thanks for your suggestion. I will think about it.


Ken A,


Good to hear about your experience. We have decided to move out of our flat we want to sell. Hopefully, this will help sell quicker.


However, I am also a little worried that when the agents bring their clients over for viewing, they may not be careful with our flooring. We have kept our place very well with few scratches on the wooden flooring (we do not wear shoes at home). And since we will move quite far from this flat, we will not be able to be present for each viewing. I guess there is nothing much we can do about that...

If you have a reasonable estate agent you can ask them to have buyers remove shoes when they come to view.


We went to a couple of places where we had to remove shoes even when the flat was empty.