Activity in the UK’s housing market has been on the rise in recent months, with more homes coming on to the market plus a growing number of completed transactions.
Here, we summarise the various steps you’ll need to go through as you plot your next move.
- Get a valuation
First things first – ask for an estimated value of your property. You can get an immediate online valuation for a rough guide. You’ll want to check this value against any previous assessments, and perhaps see what similar properties near yours have sold for.
But once you feel ready to put your house or flat on the market, you can get a local estate agent like Oakfield to give you a free, zero-obligation, expert valuation. This should be done in person, to give the agent the best feel for the scale of the place, its current condition and immediate surroundings.
What’s more, a valuation also gives you an idea of how much you can spend on your next home.
- Check mortgage documents
Work out what you can borrow for a mortgage. Tell your existing lender your plans, and discuss options for your current mortgage term. There may be fees for leaving deals early, so allow for that in your budget. However, you may have a transferrable loan, which you can carry over to your next home.
- Pick your estate agent
When it comes to stressful life events, moving house is famously often right up there with the most intense of them. But having the right agent with you throughout goes a long way to destressing the process. Methods and approach are as important as the fees charged – as with anything else, what you should be looking for is value. And if your agent has recently successfully completed sales of homes like yours, they’ll be ideally placed to find good purchasers.
- Prepare your home
This can have a huge impact on a sale. Create a blank canvas so potential purchasers can picture themselves in your property with their things in it – and make your place look as spacious as you can. Don’t forget to ensure your home also has what we call ‘kerb appeal’ – i.e. it looks nice when viewed from the outside.
All the usual tips apply – ensure the garden’s nice and tidy, have a good old sort-out and declutter, freshen up paintwork where necessary and so on.
- Make sure the price is right
Setting your asking price is clearly a key decision. Research what similar properties near yours have gone for. And be guided by your agent’s advice. But there’s no precise formula; it’s a matter of personal judgement. However, there’s clearly a balance to strike between doing right by yourself and not setting your price so high you deter viewers.
- Sort out the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)
Within seven days of putting your property on the market, you’ll need to give your agent a valid Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). If you don’t have this already, you’ll need to purchase one. This gives interested parties information about energy use at your property.
Check here whether your certificate is valid. (They last for 10 years.)
- Get yourself a solicitor
As when you’re hiring any professional, it’s worth asking for personal recommendations from friends and family. Equally, your agent may be able to suggest someone. Obviously, the solicitor will be a key player in your sale, so it’s important that you pick the person that’s right for your circumstances.
- Accepting an offer
Receiving an offer you’re happy to accept is a milestone in any sale. But the process isn’t over just yet. Be flexible, prompt with supplying any documents you’re asked for, and keep in touch regularly with your estate agent and solicitor.
To keep things on track, it may be worth having an update every week for everyone involved, to eliminate misunderstandings and to ensure you’re communicating well with all concerned.
- Exchange contracts
This is the final step in the legal process, and you can’t change your mind once everyone has agreed to exchange contracts, at least not without losing your deposit and legal costs.
After you’ve exchanged contracts, but before completion, you’ll receive a statement of expenses, solicitors’ fees and mortgage repayments for your old home loan.
Finally, you’ll need to sign the transfer of deed, to transfer ownership of the flat or house following completion.
- Get ready to move out
Use the time between exchange and completion to sort out all the finer details like utility bills and home insurance, and to book your removal van. (Again, ask for recommendations and compare quotes.) Clear out anything you’re not taking with you, then start packing.
- Moving and completion day
When it’s completion day, the money from your property sale moves from the purchaser’s solicitor to yours. After that, the sale is complete, your buyers can move in and you have to move out.
Oakfield says
At Oakfield Estate Agents, we’ve been established in our neck of the woods, East Sussex, since the mid-1990s. We’ve steered countless homeowners through their house sales successfully, so are ideally placed to help you with your property transaction. We have excellent local contacts to ensure everything goes as smoothly as possible. What’s more, we have a strong track record of good communication and will keep you informed of how things are going, every step of the way.
We operate across Bexhill, Hastings, Eastbourne, Uckfield, Lewes and Heathfield. Take the first step towards a successful house sale today – give our friendly, professional sales team a call. Check out our contact info here.