Home Buying and Selling Tips
Our residential property expert, Diana Warr has provided you with some hints and tips to help you get ahead of the curve when selling your property and hopefully minimise the stress involved.
First and foremost, remember that preparation is key to achieving a successful sale and onward purchase
If you are just starting your property journey, then we would advise getting a small selection of local Propertymark agents to give you a valuation, so you can discuss your property and your current position with them. Don’t be afraid to pick the agent’s brains! At the end of the day they are at the forefront to provide you with good advice as to what needs to be done to maximise your selling opportunity!
If you don’t feel you are quite ready to take the plunge yet, but you want to start planning, many agents have an instant valuation tool built into their websites which can give you a good guide to what your property is worth. Of course, this is only a starting point and cannot substitute the advice of a good local property agent.
From this point, you should then have a good understanding of what you are likely to achieve from the sale of your property and can begin looking to understand what level you can purchase your new property going forward.
Once armed with this information, it’s a good idea to register with agents covering the area you are interested in, they will then be able to give you a feel of what’s available, and perhaps a jump start on properties about to come to market.
You then need to think about getting your property prepared to go to market and getting your chosen agent to produce;
- Sales particulars
- Photographs
- Energy Performance Certificate (perhaps better known as EPC)
- Floorplan
This is also a good time to be taking some mortgage advice and seeking an agreement in principle from a chosen lender as this will stand you in good stead to move forward once you have found a property.
Many people get very confused and stressed at this point as they really are unclear as to how the process works – but don’t worry! We’re here to explain…
If you make an offer on a property and you still have a property to sell, you have to face the fact that the seller is unlikely to accept your offer (other than in principle) until you have a complete chain i.e. you have a ready and willing buyer for your property.
If you find a property which you are interested in purchasing, you need to be ready to act very quickly in order to get your property on the market so that you don’t lose out to any competing buyers. This is where people often say to me ‘‘Diana, I am only moving if I can get that house, otherwise I will take mine off the market’’. Whilst I fully understand this train of thought it can often lead to houses going on and off the market several times as people find houses but don’t move quickly enough with selling their own and also lead to a lot of heartache and disappointment– something you will want to avoid!
Alternative Solution? Another option which many people are now considering is to sell their own property and then move into rented accommodation for a short time. The advantage of this is that you become chain free and are ready to move quickly!
This makes a lot of sense and can actually make you a more attractive proposition to a seller, so something to bear in mind!
The other point which often lets people down, is that they don’t involve a solicitor until they have a sale agreed. I would always recommend doing your homework prior to this point and engaging a solicitor as soon as you decide to sell your property. They can be getting on with the background work so that they are ready to send out a contract as soon as you notify them of a sale. This can save you vital time and cut down on your stress.
When looking for a solicitor, I would not recommend working purely on the price they charge. You need to engage a local lawyer who you can sit down and talk to, this is especially important on a purchase transaction. Also, it’s worth remembering that a local lawyer is likely to have a wealth of historic local knowledge which can be invaluable.
We hope you find some of these tips useful and if you require any further information on the buying or selling process, or wish to discuss our services, feel free to get in touch!
