9 Steps To Take When Selling Your Property
When selling your property there are several things you can do to help speed the process up:
- It is recommended that you have at least three estate agents value the property to get a good idea of how much your property is likely to sell for. Place the property on the market with your chosen agent ensuring that it is also marketed online.
- Have an Energy Performance Certificate drawn up if the current EPC is dated more than 10 years ago. It is a legal requirement to provide the buyer with a current EPC.
- Contact your mortgage lender for a redemption figure so you know approximately how much you need to repay your mortgage.
- If you bought your property with the aid of a Help to Buy equity loan, get in touch with Target (the firm the Homes and Communities Agency uses for all administrative duties regarding Help to Buy) and have the property valued by a surveyor to find out how much you need to repay.
- Gather all the relevant documentation such as planning permissions, compliance certificates, guarantees and anything else relevant to the property and/or work that has been carried out.
- Locate the title deeds, even if the property is registered at the Land Registry. It can be useful for your conveyancer to have the title deeds in case the buyer has questions about the history of the property. However, if the property is registered at the Land Registry the title deeds are not required to prove ownership so don’t worry if you can’t locate them.
- Contact local conveyancers for quotes so you know how much the legal process is likely to cost. Timms have a useful online tool on our website for obtaining a quick and easy quote.
- Make sure you have identification ready to provide to your conveyancer. If your name is different now to when you purchased the property, for example, if you have married, ensure you have your original marriage certificate or change of name deed to hand.
- If you are selling as executor or attorney, make sure you have the Grant of Probate or Power of Attorney ready to supply to your conveyancer. If either of these documents are not yet available, just make your conveyancer aware that they are to follow.
It has been reported that UK house sales are on the rise and the property market is set to bounce back in 2020 so now could be a good time to think about selling your property.
If you would like further advice on what you can do to help speed up the process of selling your house, please feel free to give me a call on 01283 214231 or at k.holmes@timms-law.com
Katie Holmes
January 2020