The process of selling a house can seem daunting – particularly if you need the process to move quickly. However, once you’ve laid the groundwork and undertaken thorough planning, you may find that your sale goes smoothly and speedily.
In this article, Property Solvers explain how to prepare to sell your house – and provide a checklist to help you along.
I Want to Sell My House: Where Do I Start?
There are a number of things to do to prepare to sell your house. Follow the below steps to make sure everything is covered.
1. Choose Your Method of Sale
There are a number of ways to sell a house, with the most popular being:
- Estate agencies
- Auction (live or online)
- Quick home buying companies
Estate Agency
Selling via an estate agent requires you to open your house for viewings and await offers from potential buyers. You may get an excellent price for your home this way – particularly if your estate agents promote the property effectively. However, it may take six months or more to exchange contracts via this route, and the buyer may drop out right up until this point.
You will also need to pay relevant estate agency and solicitor’s fees.
Live Auction
If you sell via a live auction, there will be a set date upon which potential buyers may bid on your property. You will usually need to host viewings of the house before that time. Once a winning bid has been placed, you and the buyer will enter into a legally binding contract, which means there is no risk of the other party dropping out.
There is, of course, a chance that the reserve price on your property will not be met, and that your house will not sell. However, this is relatively rare. Again, you will need to pay solicitor’s fees and auctioneer admin charges.
Online Auction
Online auctions are slightly different, in that potential buyers may bid upon the lots displayed on an auctioneer’s website for up to 28 days – and, in some cases, more. This provides ample opportunity for your property to sell at a great price, as lengthier bidding wars may push offers up further than at a short live auction.
Property Solvers provides a straightforward online auction platform (Google “Property Solvers Auctions” for more information).
Quick Homebuying Companies
Property Solvers also offers a Quick Homebuying Service, via which we can purchase your property from you directly, providing a no-obligation up front cash offer worth up to 75% of your home’s fair market value.
No estate agency or solicitors’ fees will be charged, and your sale can be completed in as little as 7 days.
2. Calculate Your Costs
It’s vital that you look into all possible expenses relating to your sale in order to budget carefully. These will vary depending on your chosen method, but may include solicitor’s fees and sale commission.
3. Instruct a Solicitor
Look online for well-reviewed and experienced conveyancing solicitors to handle your sale. Ideally, your chosen specialists will have handled numerous similar cases locally, via your chosen method.
4. Resolve All Legal and Financial Disputes
If you have ongoing legal issues relating to your property, such as access disputes, it’s worth pushing for a conclusion before putting your property up for sale. Failure to do so may impact the offers you receive.
Should you be able to pay off the remainder of your mortgage before selling, it may be best to do so. However, this is by no means vital to your ability to make a profit when selling your property.
If your property has been pledged as collateral for a loan, however, you will not be able to sell without the consent of the lender and paid any charges connected with its release.
5. Prep Your Property
Want to know how to prepare your house to sell as quickly and profitably as possible? The key is great presentation.
Give your home a deep clean, fix broken fittings and give each space a lick of paint. You could even arrange for property “staging” in order to present your home as attractively as possible to prepare for viewings.
Don’t forget kerb appeal. Your home’s façade should be made to look its best.
6. Make Contact With Your Chosen Estate Agent, Auction House or Home Buying Company
When your property is ready to sell, it’s time to take the first practical steps. Select the organisation through which you wish to sell, by comparing their track records, online reviews and fees.
7. Complete All Required Registration Tasks and Paperwork
Do you need to undergo certain checks or provide particular information in order to get started? Be sure to do this quickly and efficiently according to the requirements of your chosen organisation.
You’ll usually be asked to provide the following:
- Title deed
- Proof of identity
- Leasehold or freehold information
- Energy Performance Certificate
- Certificates relating to boilers, windows and wiring
- Information about any alterations
- A TA6 property information form
- A TA10 property fittings and contents form
Auction houses and estate agents will undertake surveys to check your property’s value. They will also want to take high quality pictures in order to promote the sale.
8. Welcome Viewers
If you are selling via an estate agent or auction house, potential buyers will want to come and see your property “in the flesh”. This will usually be organised through the other party, but you need to cooperate as thoroughly as possible for best results.
Try to be as flexible as you can with times. The more viewers you can get through the door, the more likely it is that you’ll receive a great offer.
9. Respond Swiftly and Thoroughly to Questions and Requests
If your estate agent, auctioneer or solicitor asks you a question, make sure you respond to it as soon as possible. The same goes for questions posed to you by potential buyers.
The more you are able to remove hold-ups at your end, the faster and more effective the process will be.
10. Remove the Chain
If you can move out of the property you are selling in good time, this may do away with substantial delays. This is because there will be no “chain” at your end, and you won’t be waiting for your own purchase to go through before you can vacate.
We hope you find the above guide on how to prepare a house to sell very useful when getting started.
If you’d like any further guidance on what to do to prepare to sell your house, or if you’d like to receive a no obligation up front cash offer for your property, get in touch with Property Solvers today. We will be very happy to assist you.