STEP 1 – PUTTING YOUR HOUSE IN ORDER

To achieve a swift sale at a good price, making your property as attractive as possible to potential purchasers is vital. Start by doing all those repair jobs you’ve been putting off. First impressions are very important so ensure that the front of the property is looking its best, mow the lawn, trim shrubs and trees, weed the garden, clear paths and drives of leaves and other rubbish. Repair gutters and touch up exterior paint and as a final touch place flower pots or hanging baskets at the front of the house near the door.Inside, pale, neutral décor will make rooms appear larger, keep the property clean and tidy, use plug in air fresheners or fresh flowers to make your house smell fresh and clean.  .

STEP 2 – CHOOSING YOUR ESTATE AGENT

What does an estate agent do?

Estate Agents work on behalf of the seller to:  

• Value a property and advise on marketing 
• Market it to potential buyers
• Arrange and conduct viewings
• Arrange or provide ancillary services (EPC's,Mortgages, conveyancing, surveys)
• Manage offers
• Liaise with other professionals involved in the process  – mortgage providers, solicitors, surveyors (chains)
• Hand over the keys on completion day
   

HOW TO FIND A GOOD ESTATE AGENT 

Word of mouth: Sellers should check that the agent has a good reputation. Ask around and neighbours will always have a point of view: word of mouth is very valuable.

• Sale boards: Estate agents with a lot of For Sale boards in your area may be dynamic and successful, but don't make a decision based on that alone. They may also have attracted a lot of sellers due to over-optimistic valuations.
• Use property web sites to check which estate agents are most active in your neighbourhood.
  • Which estate agents are selling properties similar to yours?
  • How well do they present their properties?
  • Do the property ads come with pictures and plenty of descriptive detail?
• Check the local press: Do they advertise in the local press and in local magazines?
• Pretend to be a buyer: Pop into their office pretending to be a buyer. The seller should be looking to see if the branch is busy, if they receive a good service from a buyers’ point of view and the types of properties that are suggested to them. The question really is: do I trust these people to sell my house and do a great job of it?

12 QUESTIONS A SELLER SHOULD ASK AN ESTATE AGENT  

Once you've checked them out, choose three or four who look promising and start asking some tough questions. Here are the main issues that every good estate agent should be able to explain to a prospective client:   

1. Well established? How long have they been in business? Experience and local knowledge can be very valuable.
2. Experience with similar properties?  Do they have experience of selling properties like yours? If not, you may want to look elsewhere. What similar properties have they sold recently? How long did it take to sell and what price was achieved?
3. Buyers on books: Do they have many buyers on their books looking for properties like yours? Any estate agent worth their salt should have a selection of potential viewers they can contact.
4. Advertising: How will they advertise your property? Which publications, which property portals?  Do they have examples of property details - online and in print. How well are the properties presented? If you were a potential buyer would you be impressed?
5. Personal contact: Who in their company will handle your sale – one person, or several? How experienced are they?
   
   
6. Viewings: How will they handle viewings? Will they accompany people to view the property? Do they work in the evening and at weekends?
7. Property Chains: How do they manage the process? Once a sale has been agreed, managing and communicating with the chain is very important. The agent needs to keep all parties happy and the deal on track. Ask for examples of recent deals, and the kind of problems you might encounter in the current market.
8. Professional Affiliations & Redress:  How do they handle complaints? Since 1 October 2008 all estate agents have been required to register with an Estate Agents Redress Scheme that has been approved by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT). The two main redress schemes are The Property Ombudsman (TPO) and The Surveyors Ombudsman Scheme (SOS). Many agents are members of professional bodies like the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA), the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), and the Guild of Professional Estate Agents (GPEA). This means they have to abide by a code of practice and can be subject to sanctions from their governing bodies. If your agent is a member of these organisations you can pursue a complaint through their internal processes. However, they must also be members of the OFT approved schemes and you can also seek independent redress via the TPO or SOS.
9. Property Valuations: How have they arrived at their valuation? Ask to see similar properties that they have recently sold. Ask them about the current market and what can be done to secure a sale.  Sellers should be immediately wary by an agent who over-values their property. Don't trust an agent who always tells you what you want to hear.
10.  Estate Agency Fee's:  The key issues are: how much do they charge, how do they charge, and are they willing to negotiate on the fee? Are there any additional charges on top of the fees, and what are they for?
11. Contracts: Ask to see their terms and conditions. How binding is the agreement, and how easy will it be to leave them if they're not delivering results?
12. Gut Instinct: Do you like them and feel comfortable giving them your home to sell? If not, find someone else.

STEP 3 – CHOOSING A LEGAL ADVISER

Selecting a legal adviser (a solicitor specialising in conveyancing, or a licensed conveyancer) at the beginning of the selling process will mean that you are able to proceed as soon as you receive an acceptable offer. Personal recommendation is often the best way of finding a suitable person. Ask for written details of charges.

MAKE IT LEGAL

How long it will be before you receive an acceptable offer depends on, among other things, the area in which you live, the condition of your property, and whether you have (or your agent has) pitched the asking price realistically.

Once a satisfactory offer is made, both you and your purchaser instruct your legal representatives. If the offer is ‘subject to contract’, as is usually the case, neither side is obliged to proceed with the transaction until contracts are exchanged.

The average house sale takes around 10 weeks, from offer to completion. Variables which will influence the rate at which the transaction proceeds include the length of any chain, the performance of all the parties’ legal advisers and/or mortgage lenders, and so on. 

Among the key tasks your legal adviser will perform are:

• Obtaining your property’s title deeds, from your mortgage lender, if applicable, or from you
• Asking you to complete a fixtures and fittings form (containing details of items included in the sale price, those that are available as extras, etc) and a property information form (covering such matters as who has responsibility for boundary fences)
• Preparing a draft contract and sending it to your purchaser’s legal adviser
• Dealing with any queries your purchaser’s legal adviser may have arising from the draft contract
• Establishing that all parties are ready to exchange contracts if there is a chain

AGREEING A COMPLETION DATE

Once all parties are ready to proceed, exchange of contracts takes place, at which point your purchaser pays a deposit (usually 5–10 per cent of the agreed price). It is difficult to withdraw subsequently without incurring financial penalties.

At exchange, a completion date is agreed. On this day, you must give the buyer vacant possession of the property (unless it is being sold subject to a tenancy), in return for the balance of the purchase monies, from which your legal adviser will repay any outstanding loans