Selling Guide

If you are thinking about selling your home, this guide is just for you! Your home may be your largest financial asset, so it’s not surprising that the thought of the whole selling process can be an extremely daunting one. So whether you are a first time seller or just want to remind yourself how it all works, this guide will take you through the necessary steps to successfully selling your home.

There are a few things you should consider before you begin the process, including
making sure you get your timing right!

If you don’t need to sell immediately, you can give your property the best chance by choosing to sell when demand is high. This is usually in spring, early summer and autumn; avoid mid-summer and the winter festive period if you can.

You will want to make your home as attractive as you can, so look at what improvements you can make to help you get the best price you can for your home.

Get all those niggling jobs done! Clean out your guttering, re-grout tiles, replace light bulbs, fix dripping taps, polish floors, oil creaky hinges etc.

De-Clutter
Think about how much cleaner, tidier and bigger your home would look if it wasn’t there! When you are finished it should be obvious what each room is for. For example, the junk room will now be a tidy office!

Clean and tidy
Give your house a really good clean. Pay particular attention to the kitchen and bathroom, make them sparkle. Make sure everything is spotless – even the oven!

De-personalize
You want viewers to immediately picture themselves living in your home, so ‘you’ need to move out, by removing personal items. Viewers prefer a blank canvas that  they can stamp their own personality on, so, if possible go neutral with a fresh coat of cream or white paint and keep bold or patterned paints, wallpaper or fabrics to a minimum.

Have everything in place
Find long-term warranties covering your property and file ongoing service agreements for boiler repairs, central heating etc. Instruct your solicitor to apply for your title deeds. You may have a managing agent, if so make a request for relevant service charge/ insurance details regarding the property you will be selling. When selling a UK leasehold property, it is essential that you obtain written confirmation of when the lease for the property was granted and how long it is. Locate all your documents confirming annual ground rent.  Also collect service charge documents including details of annual amount, percentage share you pay and any accounts from recent years and make copies of freehold certificates.

Doing these things before you attempt to sell your home can also increase how much your home is worth and how much you put it on the market for. Please speak to a staff member for any further information on selling.