The ultimate guide to selling your home

Selling your home is well-known for being one of the most stressful life experiences we can go through, but it doesn’t have to be this way! With technology continually advancing, reaching a wider audience of buyers and selling your home is becoming easier than ever before.

The key to success when it comes to selling your property is to:

  1. Understand how the selling process works.
  2. Get yourself organised and stay ahead of the game.

So, if you’ve decided that it’s time to sell your home, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve done the hard work for you and compiled the ultimate guide to selling your home to ensure you achieve a quick sale for the very best price.

In this guide, you will learn how to:

  • Get your finances in order
  • Prepare your home for the property market
  • Get your property valued
  • Choose the right estate agent for you
  • Set an asking price that suits you and the current market
  • Prepare some top-quality marketing materials
  • Organise the necessary paperwork
  • Hire a solicitor
  • Manage viewings
  • Decide if you want to rent or buy your next property
  • Receive, negotiate and accept offers
  • Set dates with your buyer and keep the sale moving
  • Exchange and complete on your property

Get your finances in order

The prospect of buying a new home is exciting, but if you are hoping to buy a property that is bigger, better and one that suits your requirements down to a tee, it’s well worth sitting down and doing your maths first before you get too excited.

It’s not just the cost of a new property and how much you can borrow that you will need to consider but also:

  • Early mortgage repayment terms and fees
  • Stamp duty
  • Estate agent fees
  • Solicitor fees
  • Removal fees

Your best bet is to speak to an independent financial advisor or mortgage broker before you go any further to ensure you will have enough savings to sell and move home.

Prepare your home for the property market

Once you’ve decided that you’re ready both mentally and financially to sell your home, you will want to ensure it’s in tip-top condition, ready to go on the market.

Initially, there may be a few elements of DIY that need completing before you get your property valued. This could include some minor repair work or possibly a coat of fresh paint to brighten things up.

De-cluttering your home is always a good idea when preparing to sell it. Remember, buyers are not looking to buy your home but a house they can make their home. The de-cluttering process will help you start to clear out your property, saving you some extra time when it comes to moving.

Finally, there’s nothing like a deep clean to get your home sparkling like new and ready for the property market.

For more advice, check out our ultimate guide to preparing your home for sale.

Get your property valued

When you’re ready to get your property valued, it’s recommended that you speak with a few estate agents. Choosing the right price for your property is not only crucial for your pocket, but it will also be the deciding factor for how much interest you get.

Invite estate agents to value your property who have a track record of great reviews from other sellers and are also familiar with selling properties like yours.

Seller top tip: Be in the know when it comes to having your property valued by doing your research. Understand how much your home is worth and compare it to other properties selling in the local market.

Choose the right estate agent for you

Having had your home valued, you will hopefully be ready to select the right estate agent for you.

When you instruct an estate agent to sell your property, you will sign a contract that will set the terms and conditions for selling your home. Be sure you read and understand your contract carefully, including your notice period and fees involved.

Set an asking price that suits you and the current market

When setting an asking price for your property, you need to hit the sweet spot. Not only does it need to suit you but also the current housing market too.

Go too high with your asking price, and you’re at risk of scaring off potential buyers. However, go too low, and you may find your property is snapped up quickly, which is excellent if you are after a speedy sale, but you may end up regretting your choice if you knew you could have got more money for your home.

Seller reminder: Buyers are free to offer you whatever price they feel is appropriate for your property, and that may be lower, but you should not be pressured and are free to negotiate on this.

Prepare some top-quality marketing materials

Your homes marketing materials will consist of a listing and photography. Both these essential elements need to be right to encourage plenty of interest from buyers.

Work with your estate agent when it comes to creating your home’s listing. You know it better than anyone and can ensure all its positives are included.

We always recommend using a professional photographer to photograph your home. They will be able to advise you on how to prepare your home for the shoot, but de-cluttering and staging are always a great idea to ensure some fabulous photos that will have buyers banging on your door. 

Organise the necessary paperwork

The very best way you can ensure the sale of your home is as swift and pain-free as possible is to ensure you have all your necessary paperwork ready in advance. There is always a lot of paperwork involved in selling a property but have these ready to hand to your solicitor once you’ve agreed on a sale price and when an offer have been accepted.

Hire a solicitor

When a property is transferred from one person to another, it is known as conveyancing. You must hire a solicitor to handle this legal process, and costs can vary from £500 – £1500.

We recommend you get hiring a solicitor before you accept an offer to keep the sale of your property moving.

Manage viewings

Welcoming prospective buyers into your home can be a bit nerve-wracking for some sellers, but it doesn’t need to be.

At Express Estate Agency, we believe owners are the best people to conduct viewings. This way, you have more flexibility to organise house viewings around your schedule and have the opportunity to get to know potential buyers.

Seller top tip: Practice in advance how you will show buyers around your home, think of questions they may have and invite friends round for a trial run.

Decide if you want to rent or buy your next property

Because you are already on the property ladder, you are most likely planning to buy your next property. However, you may feel that buying a new home whilst selling your current one might be too much to handle in one go.

Choosing to rent a property for an interim period whilst you look for your new forever home will help take the pressure off when it comes to timings and selecting the right home for you. Still, it’s also important to remember that renting may increase your overall costs of moving.

Receive, negotiate and accept offers

It’s a great feeling when you receive an offer on your home. If you find yourself in the lucky position of receiving multiple offers, remember to take a step back and consider your options. Ask yourself who is the safest buyer and the least likely to pull out. Are they a cash buyer? First-time buyers? Homeowners who have already sold their property? Or homeowners who have not yet sold their property?

Before accepting an offer on your property, you may also want to ask yourself if it’s worth trying to negotiate with the buyer. The negotiation process is likely to be based on price and how quickly you would like to sell your home. Although it’s essential to hold your nerve through this process, you also need to remember to be realistic and listen to the advice of your estate agent.

Set dates with your buyer and keep the sale moving

Once you’ve accepted an offer on your property, you can start to select dates for your anticipated exchange and completion. In the run-up to these dates, you must stay in regular communication with both your estate agent and solicitor to keep the sale moving and ensure your buyers don’t lose interest and pull out of the sale.

Exchange and complete on your property

When you exchange on your property, your buyer pays their deposit, and that’s when the process becomes legally binding. After this point, a buyer will be extremely unlikely to pull out of the sale as it may result in them losing their deposit.

Your completion day is when you have officially sold your home to its new buyers. This is your final day for moving out of your property and when you will need to drop your keys off.

Congratulations, you’ve completed!

Once you have completed the sale of your home, it’s time to move out. Physically moving house can be just as stressful as the selling process, so it pays to be organised.

You can arrange to move out any day until and including your completion day, but you will need to ensure that your property is in the condition as agreed in your contract.

When preparing for your move date, we recommend getting quotes from several removals firms to ensure the best price and service. A moving checklist will also help ensure everything happens in the correct order too, and there are no last-minute surprises.

After your completion date, your solicitor and the estate agent will send you details of the costs owed on your account. If you are buying a new house at the same time, these costs will also be included and any stamp duty owed.

It’s also important to put aside documents for your solicitor to provide for the new buyer of your home. These will include boiler servicing records, appliance guarantees, electrical and building control certificates.

All that’s left is crack open a bottle of bubbly and celebrate the sale of your home!

What if my home doesn’t sell?

On average, it takes 2-3 months to sell a property, and our team at Express Estate Agency aim to sell all properties within one month. If, however, your property has been on the market for a few months and you’ve not received the interest you had hoped for, it might be time to reassess the situation.

The first thing to do in this instance is to speak with your selling agent. They will be able to shed some light on why your home hasn’t yet sold. Lowering the price is an option but not always necessary. New or more images might help to rustle up interest, or some simple home improvements might result in offers flying through the door.

Seller top tip: Always get feedback after any viewing you conduct at your property. It could help you save time and sell your home quicker.

With this ultimate guide to selling your home, you should already feel more in control and ready to get your house on the market!

Are you thinking of putting your home on the market? 

We specialise in helping you get more for your property.  Quicker, easier and with less stress.

You can call us any time on 0333 016 5458 where we can provide help, guidance and support.

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