A house for sale. - File

When Carolyn valued her newly purchased car late last year, she saw an estimate of the current value, as well as a figure for 'forced sale'. The term was new to her, but she did not have to guess too hard at what it meant.

And she was right, that it was the figure she should not accept less than if she just had to sell the vehicle.

While there is no 'forced sale' value put on the smaller items that people sell on a regular basis, the sellers naturally have an idea of a price that they will not go below. And they try to avoid having to be in such a hurry that they have to accept what is offered to them.

"When you are selling, you must never look desperate. Is like when a session over and the people outside cut the rate on the food that cook already, like pan chicken. If somebody come and say 'I have this', what are they going to do?" This how car audio system installer and sometimes motor vehicle salesman Howard puts it. "If people see that you have to sell they are going to push your price down to nothing. When I am selling a car I make sure that I have something else driving and that the people who are coming to look can see that I have something else and I am not desperate."

One of the key things that persons must avoid is having to sell in a hurry. "An emergency can reach anybody, but if you can see a situation coming up, like migration, start selling things from early. If you are having a garage sale of household stuff, give yourself time to make some good money off the larger items, so even if you have to cut prices and run in the end you still get something," said teacher Paulette. And she should know, having recently sold many of her household items as she relocated from a rented townhouse to an apartment which she actually owns.

If one has to sell then one has to sell, but being forced to do so is never in the best interests of the vendor. Student accountant Marlene says "we may not consider our personal items an asset, but they are. That is what we will have to liquidate, to turn into cash if the worst comes to the worst. But try to anticipate your needs and, most importantly, keep a steady stream of income coming in. No matter how wealthy an organisation or an individual is, if there is no income then they will be forced into a situation where they have to liquidate assets. And that is where items are sold well below market value".