If you’re thinking of selling your home, or if you’ve already made the decision to put it on the market, then you may be wondering about how to achieve the best price and/or a quick sale. For most people, selling a home takes them into unfamiliar territory – on average we only move every 15 to 20 years and in that time a lot can change.

We regularly get asked for advice on how to sell a home, so here is our latest blog covering a few key areas you should think about.

You can find other advice elsewhere on our blog, including – 

• The Sales Process – What happens once an offer is accepted
• How is a Property Sold? Part 1
• How is a Property Sold? Part 2
• How is a Property Sold? Part 3
• Booking Removers? A word of caution!

If you have any questions about any of the information you read in our blogs, please feel free to give us a call and chat through your queries.

Your Finances

Probably the most important element of selling a property is understanding your financial situation and the commitments you will have. Firstly, you will need to pay off the remainder of your mortgage, if you have one. You may also have to pay a penalty for early repayment, so speak to your mortgage provider to find out what is due.

There is also a range of other costs that you may need to pay as part of the selling process. These include things like an Energy Performance Certificate, legal fees, land registry fees and removal costs.

You’ll also need to pay Capital Gains Tax, if it’s not your primary residence or if your property includes a lot of land, as well as estate agent fees and cover any essential home repairs required.

Contact a reputable estate agent to get an up to date valuation of your property, then compare it to the overall costs of moving. We’d recommend doing this as early as possible so you can understand how much money you can potentially release from your property sale, meaning you can budget for your next move.

You can read more here – Money Advice Service.

Paperwork to get your property ‘sale ready’?

Before you put your property on the market, take time to get all of the required paperwork in order – this will help avoid future delays in the sales process. Through the sales process you will be asked for a wide range of information, some of which you will have from your original purchase of the property. 

Paperwork you will need includes – 

• Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) – you can find out more about them on the government’s website. They are valid for 10 years, so you may be able to reuse it if you bought your property recently. If your home is listed or in a conservation area then you may not need one, although this may change as the UK Government works towards net zero
• HM Land Registry title documents
• Gas checks completed by a Gas Safe registered engineer (or Corgi-registered engineer prior to 2009)
• Electrical checks – an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) or a NAPIT or NICEIC certificate/report from a registered electrical competent person
• FENSA or CERTAS certificates for windows
• HETAS certificates for any solid fuel burning stoves
• Planning permission for any major work carried out
• Building regulation completion certificates and builder’s guarantee certificates for alterations or additions
• Subsidence guarantees/warranties
• Damp guarantees/warranties

Other documents that you may need include party wall agreements, Japanese knotweed management and asbestos surveys, and if you’re selling a commercial property a fire risk assessment – it all depends on your property.

You will also need to complete a Property Information Form – called the TA6 form, as well as a TA7 form if you are selling a leasehold property. You can find out more about this on the Law Society’s website, so you can start thinking about the information you need.

It’s also worth considering instructing your legal representative to check your property title as soon as you decide to sell. This will help save time as it means any issues can be resolved ahead of the actual sale.

Finally, think about the deposit you need to have for your next property purchase. If you are selling and buying at the same time then you may need to check with the seller of the property you plan to buy whether they are happy to accept a reduced deposit.

Identity Checks

It is a legal requirement for estate agents, mortgage lenders and legal representatives to check your identity. To enable them to do this you will need to provide –

• Proof of identity document, for example a passport or driving licence with your photograph on. You can find out more about the official identification documents that will be accepted on the government’s website.
• Proof of address. This can be a bank statement or utility bill (less than three months old) or other document – find out more here.

Preparing Your Home for Sale

Take some time to get your home in tip top condition before you contact an estate agent and get it on the market. Outside your property, think about the initial impression it creates – does the outside need painting or the front garden need tidying? Inside, try to tidy and declutter it, fix any snags and ensure it’s had a good clean. You can also review your Energy Performance Certificate and get your boiler serviced – all things to help make your property as appealing as possible to potential buyers. 

You should also be ready to tell your estate agent about any material facts – these are things that have a major impact on a buyer’s purchasing decision. Estate agents are legally required to share this with potential buyers, so you should not mislead or cover up any defects. For example, if there are areas of damp or if the property floods regularly are material facts that should be shared – they’re also likely to be discovered by a buyer’s survey, so it’s much better to be upfront about them and avoid price negotiations later in the sales process.

Also think about fixtures and fittings, or items of furniture, that you want to include – or exclude – in the sale, so that this can be clearly communicated from the start.

Valuations

When you decide to put your property on the market you’ve probably already done some research of your own into how much it might be worth. The HM Land Registry, will also show you the agreed selling price of other similar properties in your area. A professional estate agent will then be able to give you their valuation, based on their local experience and expertise. You can get more than one estate agent to value your property, but the final decision on the marketing price is up to you. The final selling price could be higher or lower than the initial marketing price – it all depends on the buyer, the market and how quickly you want to move.

Creating your Team

Choose an estate agent that you trust and feel comfortable working with to sell your home. Make sure they are transparent about their fees and clearly explain to you their terms of working. These days you can check reviews from other home owners on websites such as Trustpilot. 

They may also be able to recommend a surveyor, energy assessor, legal representative and so on, to help you through the sales process, but check how they work with these providers and be sure you’re happy with your final choices.

Instruct a Legal Representative

Choose your legal representative before you put your home on the market if you can to help reduce delays. This representative will carry out the conveyancing work, which involves all the legalities of transferring ownership of the property. They could be a solicitor, a licensed conveyancer or a chartered legal executive/CILEx practitioner. They are all fully qualified to undertake this work for you and regulated by the appropriate body. Make sure to get a quote from two or three legal representatives, and then consider the price, quality and service they offer. It’s also worth speaking to friends and family to check if they have any recommendations.

Finding a Buyer

You can decide whether you or your estate agent shows your home, but it’s important to ensure it’s clean, tidy and well presented to attract a buyer. Your estate agent should get feedback from potential buyers for you, to help you understand the strengths and weaknesses of your property and what you can do to resolve them.

When choosing a buyer you may get various offers. It’s important to consider each offer on its individual merits – not just the amount of the offer, but also if the buyers are cash buyers, in a chain and, if so, the length of the chain. Your estate agent will be able to offer advice to help guide you.

Negotiations

Once you’ve agreed to a sale there are still negotiations that will take place over the specifics of the agreement. Until you’ve exchanged contracts with your buyer neither party is legally obliged to go through with the sale.

Things that may be included in the negotiations are the completion date when you have to vacate the property; which fixtures and fittings you will include, sell or take with you – this has to be made clear in the contract; and the findings of the buyer’s survey may uncover issues that need to be fixed or involve a renegotiation of the offer – they could even withdraw their offer if the findings are significant.

Accepting an offer

Once you accept an offer the buyer will instruct their legal representative to start the process of searches and reviewing the title of the property. Until you exchange contracts (when the property is legally sold) your property is said to be ‘sold subject to contract’.

A few days after accepting the offer, check with your legal representative that the buyer is also taking action and appointing their own legal representative. If they haven’t, ask your estate agent or legal representative to find out why there is a delay.

While you’re not legally committed at this time, bear in mind that pulling out may incur costs and even jeopardise your future property purchase, so think carefully about your plans.

If you don’t get any offers, speak to your estate agent about why this may be – we’re happy to help offer guidance on pricing and presentation for your home.

Problems in the chain?

We’ve all heard about – or experienced – problems in a housing chain. Unfortunately these things do happen, but try not to panic. We offer an in-house sales progression service to help keep the chain moving and keep you up to date with what’s happening elsewhere in the chain. To help, make sure that you have all of your documents in order, sign and return paperwork promptly and reply to any questions quickly – put simply, avoid becoming the weakest link in the chain.

Exchange

This is when you and your buyer exchange signed contracts – you’re now legally committed to the sale and neither of you can withdraw without consequences – usually financial. It’s at this point – when everything is going ahead – that the buyer may wish to visit again to take measurements and make plans for their new home, and you can get excited about doing the same in your new home.

Completion

The most exciting day of the sales process! Completion day is when you complete on the sale, hand over the keys to the new owner and move out of your property so the new owner can move in. Often you’ll move into your new home on the same day if the timings of the chain have worked well, making completion day a key milestone in your life.

This Government website has further information to help you understand and progress through the sales process, or you can contact us to discuss any questions you may have, as well as reading our other blogs for advice and information.