Selling your home can seem a daunting and complicated task. Here are some tips to make the process a little more straightforward:
Hiring estate agents
Hiring an estate agent takes the hassle out of advertising your own house. They will do this for you, listing a property for sale, advertising on your behalf and arranging any viewings. You’ll also want to hire a conveyancer. For Conveyancing Gloucester, visit a site like Dee & Griffin, a leading Conveyancing Gloucester firm.
Get a valuation and agree on a price
Agents will come and see you and offer a property valuation. A valuation is used to decide on a price to put it on the market for. Another helpful resource is the site of the Land Registry which will give an indication of what recent home sales were in your area.
Energy Performance Certificate
An EPC is a legal requirement and you should have one in place before putting your home on the market. A registered energy assessor would need to resolve this for you.
Get your home out there
If the interest is slow or you want to expand the scope of potential interest, you might want to put your home on the internet. You can advertise through estate agents and use sites such as Zoopla or Rightmove. They usually charge a small fee, but your property will potentially be seen by more people.
Preparing Your Home
Some adjustments may need to be done to get your home ready for viewings. This is the point at which you should start to see your property as a commodity that will soon belong to someone else and try to detach yourself emotionally.
Understanding fixed conveyancing fees
Legal costs are one of the bigger expenses of a move, especially when you are buying and selling at the same time. A fixed conveyancing fee charges a set amount for the conveyancer’s time, which should include VAT, and some firms include certain searches as well. The main advantage is that you know the cost up front and can budget for it.
The alternative is paying by the hour, where you will not know the total until the work is finished. That can lead to an unwelcome surprise if the move runs into legal complications. Depending on how much work is involved, a fixed fee can also work out cheaper.
A fixed fee will not cover everything. Extra legal work, such as for a listed or leasehold property, is usually charged on top, though your conveyancer should estimate it at the outset. Estate agent fees and removal costs are separate too. Prices vary with the property, the region and whether you are handling one transaction or two, so shop around and check what each quote includes.
Costs and steps from valuation to completion
Before you list your home, make sure the sums add up. Find out what the house is worth by looking at similar properties for sale in your area, and check whether your lender charges fees for paying off the mortgage early. Research what estate agents typically charge and what the legal work and disbursements will cost.
Get the property looking its best inside and out, with windows and roof in good repair and the garden tidy. You will need an Energy Performance Certificate, or to have applied for one, before you can sell. Ask at least three agents with a record of selling similar homes for a valuation, and weigh up traditional agents against cheaper online ones.
Gather several conveyancing quotes too. Your conveyancer handles the paperwork, searches, contract and money. Once an offer is accepted, contracts are exchanged and a completion date set. The whole process usually takes seven to ten weeks.
