Selling Your Own Home Checklist

From choosing estate agents to making offers, all the way through to moving out of your home. This blog is a handy helpful list of all the things you need to achieve when selling your home. The blog aims to provide you with all the tips and tricks to execute a successful sell of your home.

Valuing Your Property

If you have made the decision to sell, you need to have an understanding the area in which your property is situated. To start, research into what current/similar properties are valued as and how much they have been selling for.

From doing your own research and observations, you need to contact a few estate agents to gain their expertise on how much your property will sell for. Try to gain at least four quotes, to ensure you are receiving similar estimates. Gathering these quotes will allow you to set the correct price and stop you from pricing your property higher or slower than it’s worth.

Review Your Finances

Now that you have valued your home, you will need to contact your house repayments lender about selling your home, and discuss your next steps. If you are going to re-buy, you will need to know the size of your house repayments on your next home. If you are going to rent, you need to calculate how much is left on your house repayments and whether there are any early redemption penalties or repayments that you can settle.

Before you put your house on the market, make sure you have an Energy Performance Certificate completed. This will detail the information about the typical energy costs and recommendations on how to improve this. However, you must have an EPC to sell your home.

Choosing The Method To Sell Property

Previously, most sellers went with the traditional option of selling through an estate agent. However, there are other ways to sell your property.

• Auction – Using an auction is great if you are having problems with selling your home. When a property is listed for auction, they usually sell for under market value. However, if there is a bidding war then it could potentially work in your favour.

• Raffles – This method is seen as the most unpredictable way to sell your home. To enter, you need to put your property in the main draw of a raffle. Although, there is no knowing of how much your property will sell for.

• Part-Exchange – Certain property developers will buy your property in return for you buying a new-build. The property developer will value your home and, in most circumstances, they will give you 65-70% of the property’s value. On the other hand, they will sell your house for you.

• Quick Cash Sale Companies – Many companies these days are able to buy your property outright as they have the cash facilities. Generally, these companies will give you a fair price, however, this will be under the market value. Although, it is key to research these companies as some have added costs in their processes.

Staging Your Home

The exterior and interior of your property is always important. You need to make your property look and feel appealing to any potential buyers when they view your home. Making your property well presented can make your house sell faster than others.

Before you have photos taken to sell your home or before buyers come and view the property, make sure you give it a thorough clean inside and out. Tidying the inside and outside areas of your home will convey how well kept and looked after the owner keeps the property.

To make your property attractive, you don’t need to spend a lot. Make sure inside you dust, hoover and wipe down any surfaces. Put things back to where their original home is. Outside, be at one with nature by mowing the lawn, cleaning gutters and cleaning windows.

Choosing A Solicitor

Whilst you have chosen your method of selling, you need to start the search for a solicitor. Lots of solicitors are expensive, however they play a crucial part within the selling process. The solicitor you choose will deal with the paper work side of the selling. They will help you transfer ownership of your property once offers have been made.

If you haven’t already, make some research on solicitors in your area. Consider asking friends and family members for their recommendations of solicitors that they have also used. Try to decide on the solicitor you want before you agree to sell your house. However, you need to instruct your solicitor after an offer has been accepted.

Evaluating Offers

When a buyer is interested in purchasing your property, then you will receive a ‘Offer to Purchase’. This will take time to evaluate, and any terms you aren’t happy with make sure you negotiate them. However, if you are happy with the offer, you can accept it, and take your property off the market. Until any contracts have been signed, you have no legal obligation to sell the property.

Negotiating Contracts

Now that you have accepted an offer, you will need to sit down with your solicitor and work out the finer details. The main points you will need to discuss are:

• Which fixtures and fittings are included within the sale?

• The length between exchanging the property and completion

• How to deal with any issues that may have been highlighted from your home within the survey

• What fixtures/fittings will not be included in the sale?

Completing The Sale

To end the sale, both the buyer and seller need to exchange contracts. Basically, this makes the whole process legally binding and conveys both parties have committed to the sale. This is when the end is in sight!

In the negotiating part of the sale, you will have agreed a completion date. The last bit to do is pack up your possessions and move into your new home. You must make sure that the property you leave is in the condition you agreed in the contract.