PROCESS OF SELLING YOUR HOME
1. Market Valuation
To begin with, it is essential to find a local agent who has expertise in the area to know the true value of your home. If you're here, we hope you are considering having Estates East take a look.
During a valuation of your property, you should expect to receive information on the local market conditions, comparable evidence of similar properties sold, and a price. You should always inquire about marketing fees and contracts before instructing any agent.
2. Photos, Video and Marketing Materials
Preparing your house for sale can be both exciting and stressful. It's exciting because you get to see how your house looks when it's at its best, but it's also stressful because you have to hide everything you don't want others to see.
To prepare your house for photography, you can check out our blog here. At Estates East, we understand that having the best marketing material is crucial when it comes to selling your property. That's why we offer professional photography, video tours, agent tours, floor plans, and many other services.
Contact us to find out more.
3. Going Online and Booking Viewings
After approving all your marketing materials, you can move on to the exciting part of the process, which is going online and booking potential buyers for viewings. You can then prepare for an open house, which is another opportunity to present your house at its best and give it the best chance to sell. At Estates East, we will accompany and take care of all the viewings for you, so you can relax and go out for the day while we work towards a successful sale.
4. Feedback, Offers and Offer Substantiation
At Estates East, we understand that you would like to know what the viewers thought about your property after the viewings have taken place. That's why we make it our priority to provide you with feedback as soon as possible, either straight after the viewing or the next day.
Moreover, we want you to feel at ease when considering offers for your property. We ensure that all offers presented to our owners have been qualified and have undergone financial checks. We also have a financial advisor who qualifies all our offers to give you peace of mind.
Once we have received all the offers, we present you with the client's positions. It is then your choice on who you would like to go with.
5. Accepting the Offer
This is the exciting part! Once you've accepted an offer, you can give the go-ahead to your agent to confirm the offer and mark your property as SOLD.
6. Solicitors and Conveyancing
Once you have sold your property, the next step is to instruct your solicitor. At Estates East, we highly recommend using a local firm for several reasons. It's great to choose a local firm as it reflects our business philosophy, and local firms have in-depth knowledge about the local area, properties, and authorities. Choosing a good solicitor is also crucial for the transaction process, so make sure to pick a reliable one!
7. Sales Progression
After you have hired a solicitor, the next step is sales progression. Sales progression involves everything that needs to be done to prepare you for moving out of your current home and into your new one. The process can be filled with technical terms, so we've listed a few bullet points to make it easier for you to understand what to expect:
- Solicitors ID Checks
- Fixtures and fittings forms (what you're leaving at your property)
- Draft contracts (your solicitor's documentation they send you so that this can be sent to the purchaser's solicitors)
- Buyer mortgage valuation survey (this is where a surveyor from the bank comes around for an inspection to value the property)
- Buyer structural survey (another survey more in-depth, surveyors could typically be at the property between 1-3 hours)
- Solicitors enquires (the buyers' solicitors will ask you questions about your property based on the contract you sent them, your solicitor will be able to advise of replies too)
- Searches (for a buyer to purchase your property they will need to get property searches which consist of a water and drainage search, environmental search, and local authority searches)
- Enquires from searches (the buyer's solicitors will normally raise enquiries off the back of the searches, but don't worry your solicitor will be able to help with replies)
- Signing the contract for exchange (once all your enquires are done and everything looks like it is coming to get end it is time to sign your contract)
8. Exchange
Once you have signed your contract, your solicitor will contact the buyer's solicitor to arrange the transfer of the exchange deposit and discuss completion dates with you. Once you have confirmed your agreement to proceed, the buyer's solicitors will send over the deposit and your solicitor will confirm that you have exchanged.
9. Completion
Now that you have completed the exchange process, it's time to plan your move out and pack up everything. You need to book your removals and get everyone to help you box up your home so that you can move on to the next chapter of your life. We will handle the key handover to the new owners of your previous home, so all you have to do is make sure that you don't leave anything behind.
There is a lot that goes into the sales process, so hopefully the above has summarised it briefly. If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to talk to us.
