Our Selling Guide
SELLING A HOUSE? ASK LOVELLE...
Every property journey is different and it can be hard to know what to expect when you are selling your home. Even if you have sold a property before, the chances are things have changed since then.
Whether this is your first time selling a property or you are an experienced seller, we have created this guide to answer some of those burning questions that pop up from time to time.
How Do I Know The Agent Will Support Me Throughout The Selling Process?
One of the best things an estate agent can do for you is to set a realistic price on your property. Support comes in many forms; from making sure you have a great set of photographs and a well-produced floorplan, to providing honest feedback on viewings. Make sure the estate agent you choose has a dedicated point of contact who knows you, your property and the local market.
Which Estate Agent Do I Choose?
When deciding upon an estate agent to help sell your home, there are a number of factors to consider. One of the most important considerations will be local knowledge. It can be very hard to sell a property if you do not have that local property industry knowledge. It can be invaluable!
You should also check to see how the agent will market your property. Will it be placed onto the popular websites like Rightmove and Zoopla? What other methods will be employed? One of the benefits of placing your property with Lovelle is that all our offices are locally owned, but have the support of a much larger network. That means we have the support of like-minded people and regional knowledge, which allows us to expand the coverage we achieve when marketing your property.
How Will My Property be Marketed?
When you sell your property with Lovelle you will be appointed a dedicated point of contact who will know the local area well and will get to know you and your property. We will market your property with high quality photography and well produced floor plans. We have access to powerful marketing tools to help us to reach the right buyer for your property. We will post to online portals like Zoopla, Rightmove and our own popular lovelle.co.uk website and of course our Facebook and Instagram pages. We will also reach out to our extensive local connections, and by utilising the support that comes from being a part of an expanding network, you will be amazed at how many potential buyers we can reach.
How Do I Decide Which Offer To Accept?
Congratulations, you have received an offer for your home! If this question is popping up it means you have received more than one offer – even better. It can be difficult to decide which offer to accept. It can be tempting to go with the highest offer, but if the highest offer is from buyers that are in a large chain, the risk of the sale falling through because of something happening within the chain, is increased. Sometimes it can make more sense to take a slightly lower offer if the buyer has no chain. Remember, it is your choice which offer you accept. Your estate agent will show due diligence and qualify the potential purchasers positions to allow you to make the correct choice.
How Do I Prepare My Home For Sale?
First impressions count and a potential buyer will form an opinion as soon as they see your property. Taking a look at your neighbours’ homes and the best-kept homes in the nearby area will give you some ideas of what you can do to your property to add kerb appeal. Don’t forget we can always recommend tradesman to help with this.
When Does It All Become Legally Binding?
When you accept an offer, you do still have the ability to change your mind, however, please remember that this can be very upsetting for the buyer, especially if they have already paid for the survey and searches to be done on your property. Y
ou may also have accrued costs yourself. Upon exchange of contracts, you are at this point legally bound to the transaction. In the event of any party pulling out of the transaction, this will result in a loss of deposit. What Happens At Exchange? When you agree and exchange contracts, both you as the seller and the buyer of the property are now legally committed to the transaction. If the buyer pulls out they will forfeit their deposit.
If you decide to pull out of the transaction after exchanging contracts the buyer’s deposit will be returned to them and you might be sued. During the exchange of contracts you will agree with the buyer the completion date. You will need to vacate the property on this date. Completion usually happens 7-28 days after you have exchanged contracts, but if both parties agree, completion can happen at the same time as the exchange.
What Happens At Completion?
When the transaction completes the ownership of the property changes from you to the buyer. The money is transferred via solicitors/conveyancers. Your solicitor/ conveyancer will confirm when the funds have entered their bank account, register the transfer of ownership with the Land Registry and pay off the redemption figure provided from your mortgage company (if you have one).If you are buying a property at the same time, your conveyancer will pay the stamp duty on the new property and present the bill for their fees and disbursements for both transactions (if applicable) and they will advise the estate agent to release the keys to the new owners. You must have vacated the property by the handover of keys.
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