If you’re thinking of selling a house, you’re probably wondering where to begin. The reality is, selling a home involves numerous steps and procedures which you’ll need to take. Whilst selling your home might seem overwhelming, Open House Leicester are on hand to ensure that you’re in a good position to sell your house fast!
In this article, we’ve listed the lifecycle of selling a property, with steps of the entire selling process.
Valuation meeting
In order to start the process of selling your property, you’ll first need to arrange a valuation to determine how much the property is worth. Most estate agents offer an instant online valuation, which doesn’t offer an accurate valuation which can often be a long way off what your home is truly worth, so this is advised against.
Get in touch with a local estate agent for a free sales valuation on your home. At Open House Leicester, we can provide you with a personal agent who can give you an initial valuation over the phone, then will come out to visit your home for an accurate house valuation.
Agree on sale price
Once you’ve received a free sales valuation, you’ll need to agree on the sale price of your home, which will be the value you’re hoping to expect based on your home valuation. At this point, you should consult a local estate agent to take on the selling process on your behalf.
It’s worth having in mind a lower value which you’re willing to accept at an absolute minimum value, as your home buyers may like to put an offer down.
Take and approve photos/floorplans/descriptions
Before marketing your property, you’ll need to start taking photos of the interior and exterior of your home. A photo tells a thousand words, so it’s important to make sure your photos reflect the property in its best light. This will include tidying and cleaning the property as well as brightening the photos so the home appears more bright and open.
So that potential buyers can understand the sizing of the home, you’ll need to measure up around the home and create a floorplan, which can be added to your property sale listing. At this point, you should start drafting descriptions of each room around the house. These descriptions should explain every benefit and facility of your home, as it will become a selling point to encourage potential buyers to inquire about your property.
Market through online and offline channels
Now that you’ve prepared the property, it’s time to begin marketing it through online and offline channels. For online channels, you may want to consider using online portals which are used day-to-day by people searching for homes to buy. These portals include Rightmove, Zoopla, OnTheMarket or Primelocation.
Offline channels offer a more traditional way of marketing, which keeps the property open to those who are unlikely to be looking online for a property to buy. Methods of offline marketing can include posts, flyers and ‘for sale’ sign boards.
Receive and vet enquiries
When enquiries begin to come through, they will then need to be vetted. This ensures that all prospects match the property, whilst discussing affordability and property requirements. If all boxes tick, then a viewing is arranged with our team.
Arrange accompanied viewing
With potential buyers showing interest in the property, the next step is to arrange accompanied viewings, when you (and all parties involved) are available to visit the property. This will give potential buyers the opportunity to view the house, take measurements and ask any relevant questions regarding the property.
Sometimes one viewing is all it takes. If there is a lot of interest and multiple viewers, you might want to consider holding open viewings.
Take and negotiate offers
When offers begin to come through, it’s best to have a time window for when these offers are approved or rejected. This is so that the highest offer can be approved by all parties, which can take some time. This time window also allows for other offers to come through.
At this point, you’ll want to have a minimum offer which you’d like to accept. Most potential buyers will place an offer considerably lower than the asking price, so having a minimum limit to accept will make sure that you’re happy with the end offer.
Carry out relevant checks
After you’ve received an offer, you’ll need to carry out legal checks on all buyers of your home. This will include identity checks and anti-money laundering checks, which will require buyers to prove the source of their funds for their home.
Verify affordability based on offer
After the potential buyer has had their offer accepted and the checks have been completed, they’ll need to verify their affordability based on the offer. This will most likely involve them talking to mortgage lenders to calculate how much they are able to take out and what their monthly repayments will be like.
The property only comes off the market after all ID and financial checks have been verified. This also means that the steps including proof of cash deposit and the mortgage decision in principle (DIP) will be required before the house is Sold Subject to Contract (SSTC).
Manage the Conveyancing process
After solicitors are instructed that you are selling your home, you’ll need to manage the conveyancing process. Conveyancing is the legal transfer of a property from one homeowner to a new owner. A conveyancer helps with the settlement by ensuring that all needs have been met and that the contracts are ready to go ahead.
Conveyancing is one of the most important processes when selling your house as this is when the exchange of contracts takes place, as your conveyancer can offer you legal advice every step of the way.
Manage any chain involved
When selling a house, you’ll need to define if there’s an upward chain. This relates to whether the property is available to move into now or if the current homeowner will need to move out of the home first.
Homes with no upward chain are highly sought after, as it allows homeowners to move in as soon as all contracts are finalised and all steps are completed. With an upward chain, potential buyers will need to wait for the existing homeowner to buy a separate property with an agreed completion date.
Set a completion date
With all documents signed off and mortgages approved, it’s now time to set a completion date. In other words, this is the date when the new homeowners will move into their new property.
The completion date, put simply, is moving day. It’s the date on which the seller must vacate the property and the buyer will get the keys and can move in. Fundamentally, on completion, the buyer must, through their lawyer, hand over all the remaining money required to purchase the property.
Signing Contracts
At this point, the contracts will need to be signed for the exchange, which is done prior to the completion date, when the keys are handed over and the homeowners are now able to move into the property.
Assist with the move
After the completion date is finalised, we aim to assist all buyers with their move, in any way we can. This could include anything from recommended removal companies and discussing key collection.
Get in Touch With Open House Estate Agents in Leicester
Did you know that on average in the UK, if you advertise your home privately, it can take as long as two to three months to sell? Of course, that doesn’t always ring true. Many UK properties stubbornly remain on the market for a whole lot longer than this.
