Tips for selling

These days you can't turn on the television without there being another program on how to sell your property! A lot of them offer excellent advice as well!

These are our own tips on presenting your property to the market. They are tried and tested and they work!!

Presentation of Your Property

• Make sure the garden or patio is tidy and well maintained.
• Keep all paintwork in good order, especially the front door and keep windows clean.
• Fix dripping taps and leaking gutters.
• Décor should be as neutral as possible and keep rooms clutter free and clean and tidy.
• Avoid strong cooking odours. This will put off potential buyers in an instant.
• Although you love your pets, it doesn't mean a buyer will so try to keep them out of the way during viewings.

Viewings

As part of our professional services we will accompany most viewings, but in certain circumstances you may be required to do them. The following points should help you make the buyers viewing a pleasant experience. After all, its probably the biggest investment they will ever make.

• Give the buyer your full attention. Remove any unnecessary distractions like pets (and even children) and turn off the TV.
• Show them around the property and then allow them to look around on their own.
• Never say anything negative and unless specifically asked a question, let the buyer formulate their own opinion.
• Offer as many positives about the property as you can. I.e. Quiet area, close to schools and shops, nice neighbours, south facing garden etc.
• Don't be offended if viewers criticise your property. They won't mean it in a bad way. What is right for you may not be right for them. People envisage things differently - they may end up buying.
• Swift viewings are not necessarily unsuccessful as many buyers make a decision before they get through the door and decide to purchase quickly.
• If prompted, provide answers to and questions about service charges and utility costs and council tax bandings. However, a lot of information will be on our details.
• A 2nd viewing is a positive, but some viewers do them to discount a property, so don't get too excited.
• We recommend that you do not enter into any form of negotiations during a viewing, even if the asking price is offered and promises are made we will need to verify the position of the potential purchaser before advising you whether to accept or consider the offer that has been made - just so that you know, we only accept viewings by prior appointment through our office. We take security seriously and all potential buyers will be fully qualified by our staff. We obtain their full details and contact information and it also enables us to follow up on the viewings and give you feedback.

Sale Agreed

Even once a sale has been agreed there is still a lot of work to be done...

• We will produce a "Memorandum of Sale" and send it to both buyer and seller as well as their respective solicitors. It will contain all the information for the solicitors to proceed with the sale.
• Obviously your solicitor will update you during the sale and may ask you any relevant questions about the property you are selling. We will also keep a careful eye on the transaction and make sure it is proceeding as agreed.
• Remember no sale is legally binding until contracts have been exchanged. If you require a specific completion date, let your solicitor know as soon as possible so that all parties can be advised.
• Even after exchange, keys cannot be released until legal completion when all relevant monies have been received. This can be on the same day as exchange but is more often as at a later date. Your solicitor will probably have told you that the deal has completed before we do, but we always let you know anyway.
• On the day of completion, try to leave your property in a nice clean condition for the buyer. You will also need to get final utility readings and notify the council tax department that you are moving as well as the other jobs such as postal redirection etc.
• We are here to help through every step of the selling process. You are our client and we are here to help you every step of the way.