Helpful Tips for Sellers

Manns & Manns, Estate Agents in Bursledon, Southampton

Manns & Manns, Estate Agents in Bursledon, Southampton

When do you Sell your home?

There are dozens of reasons people sell their homes – a new arrival means you need more space, a new job means you have to move to a new location, children leaving the nest means you can move to smaller home. Not everyone moves to cash in on a hot property market. But everyone hopes that they will get the most from their asset when they do move.

The housing market goes in cycles. Every day, headlines shout at us that “housing prices are skyrocketing” or “housing prices are plunging.” If your only reason to move is to generate large amounts of cash from your home sale, you might wait years to ride that allusive market peak. But those with more practical concerns should seek the advice of their local Estate Agents about the busy seasons in their area.

Generally, January to March is a busy viewing time, and March to July seems to be the busiest time for closing sales in the property market. But, if you live in a seaside resort area, or the bustling city centre, that rule may not apply. The best advice is to put your home on the market at least 3 to 4 months before you know you’ll need to move.

Costs

Unfortunately, you may have to spend something to make something. Below is a list of the costs that you may incur during the selling process:

Preparation Phase

Selling Fees

Legal Work

Presentation of your property!

Manns & Manns - Helpful Tips for Sellers

First impressions are absolutely crucial in the housing market. From the moment the estate agent comes in the door to value to your property, to the moment when the last viewing is over, you have to think about how your property appears to others.

External views – first impression starts on the street. Think about sprucing up the garden, sweeping around the front gate, painting the window frames and doors, or cleaning up any junk mail collecting in front of your mansion block’s front door.

Keep it clean and fresh – the place has to be tidy and clean. Remove all unnecessary possessions, clean floors and table tops until they shine, bring fresh air in and take yesterday’s rubbish out.

Décor counts – most people rate a room based on the furniture, curtains, rugs and other pieces in it, even though they aren’t getting these pieces with the house. So, if you have old, tatty or garish furniture, you might consider renting furniture while you are selling the house, to make it more appealing to viewers.

Make sure it works – fix the leaky faucets, the humming heaters, and vibrating refrigerator before your viewers and surveyors come into the house.

Honesty is the Best Policy

You can take a gamble that the buyer won’t commission a survey, and won’t find out about the defects until you’ve exchanged. But, it is a risk. It’s usually better to be honest from the start, and let the us know about any outstanding defects that could impact the value of the home. That way, the offer price will reflect the real value of the property, and expectations are managed fairly on all sides.

What to Expect

We will give you a valuation of your property at no cost when you request one via email or a phone call direct on 02380 404055.

If your property is quite unique, we are the local agent who specialises in unique homes and will give you a valuation as accurate as possible

Variables

Whilst there are different techniques used to value properties, all rely on the same basic indicators:

Manns & Manns market knowledge can help assess a fair value for your property in your local area.

Call us now so we can give you a report on your home.

As the longest established agents in Southampton, we have a wide net of prospective buyers and knowledge and know how to promote your home to these eager home hunters.

After weeks of keeping your home polished and spotless, and days filled with showing off your place to complete strangers, you have an offer. Now the sale begins.

Setting your priorities

People sell their homes for all sorts of reasons. Once you understand your primary reason for selling, then you can use this to drive the negotiations. Below are some possible reasons for moving.

In short, is your move driven by need or desire? If driven by need, you are more likely to entertain lower offers for your home than you are if your move is driven by desire.

Understanding each position

Seller’s position

Your negotiating power will be affected by the following factors:

  1. Level of interest in your property – if offers are flooding through, you can play hard to get.
  2. Current Market Conditions – if it’s a “hot” market, where demand exceeds supply, then sellers can expect to command a favourable price for their properties. If it’s a slow market, where supply exceeds demand, sellers will not have the same negotiating power.
  3. Length of Time on the Market – the longer a property stays on the market, the weaker your negotiating position as a seller.
  4. Condition of the Property – the more repair work that needs to be done on your property, the weaker your position in negotiations.
  5. Time Pressure – the more time pressure you have, the weaker your position in negotiations.

Buyer’s position

The buyer’s negotiating power will be affected by the following factors:

  1. Chain or No Chain – buyers who are not tangled in chains (someone has to buy their property before they can buy yours), are in a superior negotiating position to those who are in chains. Look for buyers who are:
    1. First Time Buyers
    2. Between Homes (might be renting now)
    3. Buying with Cash
    4. Investing (this won’t be their residence).
  2. Pre-approved or Not – buyers whose mortgages have been pre-approved will be a better position than those who have to wait for the paper-work to be processed. You know buyers with approved mortgages have the money to pay for your home.
  3. Time Pressure – as with the seller, the more time pressure a buyer has, the weaker his position in negotiations.

Our position: we work for you!

Not selling?

Talk to us…

 Parting advice

Congratulations. You have accepted an offer on your home. Now, you can start the legal work of passing home ownership on to your buyer.

 Accept offer

England & Wales

Once you accept an offer…

Next steps checklist

These are the steps you’ll need to go through before moving day.

  1. Offer accepted
  2. Review your budget.How much will you net from the sale after all expenses are paid?
  3. Agree to take property off the market
  4. Agree costs of solicitors in writing
  5. Go through conveyancing process
  6. Set exchange date
  7. Set a completion date
  8. Notify all contacts about your new address.
  9. Exchange contracts
  10. Arrange to drop off keys

Conveyancing is the transfer of ownership of property or land from one person to another. It is necessary to ensure that the new owner has proper legal title to the property.

 Who does the legal work?

Legally, conveyancing can be undertaken by anyone. However, the process can be time consuming and complicated and most people prefer to employ a professional. In addition, most lenders will insist on a solicitor or licensed conveyancer acting for them if the transaction involves a mortgage.

Whilst “family solicitors” can do the work involved, many people opt to use specialised conveyancers, who are qualified in property matters. In England and Wales, both solicitors and licensed conveyancers can deal with property conveyancing. The important thing to remember when choosing a conveyancer is to check that the person that you choose to deal with your conveyancing matters is regulated by a governing body such as the law society or the council for local conveyancers.

Conveyancing process

As the seller, your conveyancer should undertake the following…

Initial correspondence

They will send you a letter with the buyer’s agreed price and contact details for buyer’s conveyancer. They should ask you to confirm your conveyancer’s details as well.

Serve authority to obtain title deeds to the property

This should be one of the first tasks your conveyancer undertakes, because it can take time to get the deeds from the past lender.

Property Information Form and Contents List

This form summarises the items that will go into the draft contract, such as fixtures, fittings, boundaries, etc. You should check that it meets your expectations, and send back to buyer’s conveyancer once complete.

Receive title deeds

When your conveyancer obtains the title deeds, they should be checked meticulously to insure that all is in order.

Compile draft contract

This contract is a legal document that sets out the terms of the sale. It is initially drafted by the seller’s conveyancer. It will contain details about the property, items that are to be included in the sale, the buyer’s and seller’s particulars, how much the property will be sold for, and the transaction date. It has two parts – The Particulars of Sale and The Condition of Sale. The Particulars describe the property and details of the lease or freehold. The Conditions have information about the proposed completion date and any deposit required when contracts are exchanged.

Fields enquiries from buyer’s conveyancer

Usually, the buyer’s conveyancer will send a list of questions to your conveyancer, such as:

Draft contract sent

Your conveyancer cannot send the draft contract until they receive the title deeds from the lender, because some of that information has to go into the contract.

Agree completion date

In an ideal world, you would simultaneously exchange contracts and complete contracts on the same day and pick up the keys, but that doesn’t always work. You may exchange contracts several days or weeks before formally completing the sale and taking possession of the keys. This needs to be agreed at this stage in the process.

Both conveyancers accept draft contract

Once both of the conveyancers are satisfied with the contract, they send letters of acknowledgment.

You approve draft contract

After the conveyancers have approved the contract, then you review it and approve it if you are satisfied. Once all parties are satisfied (and you’ve seen the formal mortgage offer from the buyer), a final printed copy of the contract will be sent to you for signature. You sign it, and send it back to your conveyancer.

Arrange for exchange

Once contracts are signed, you are ready to exchange and prepare for completion of the sale by handing over the keys to your home’s new owner.

Legal stages in England and Wales

First stage: Sale agreed

Seller’s conveyancer

Buyer’s conveyancer

Second stage: Exchange of contracts

Seller’s conveyancer

Buyer’s conveyancer

Third stage: Completion

Seller’s conveyancer

Buyer’s conveyancer

Countdown checklist

There are so many things to think about, that it is helpful to have a quick checklist handy to know you’ve done it all.

One month before move

One week before move

Last day before move

For any help or advice please contact us.

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