Top 10 Tips to make selling your house less stressful
The MKM Property Guide to Stress free house moves :
Murray Kelly Moore Property Solicitors 10 tips that will make your house move less stressful.
(i) Contact a Property Solicitor once you have decided to sell the property.
By instructing your solicitor once the property goes on the market, they can prepare for the proposed sale. Quite often clients don’t advise their solicitors that they are selling their property until an agreement has been reached, therefore precious time is lost in preparing the Contract, obtaining the Title Deeds and dealing with other minor problems that may need to be resolved prior to the property being sold.
(ii) Obtain quotations.
Prior to putting a property on the market it makes sense that quotations are obtained from not only the solicitor but also the Estate Agent. It is also important that accurate statements are obtained, at the outset from any Lender, to ascertain the amount of the borrowing that may be in place. By doing this you will have a clear picture as to how much money you will receive when your property sells, and therefore how much money will be required to enable you to buy another.
(iii) Select a good Estate Agent.
It is very important that a good Estate Agent is appointed to facilitate the sale. You need to make sure that you are using an agent with a good reputation and one that has willingness to sell your property. We are happy to make recommendations to any of our clients, who we believe are the best agents in your area.
(iv) Prepare the property for sale
Not only is it important to get all the documentation in place before the property is put on the market but it is also important that the property is prepared for sale. Agents will always advise that the property should be kept neat and tidy and de-cluttered prior to going on the market. Sometimes this may mean that the property might have to be freshened up with a coat of paint or the garden tidied up. All of these actions will assist in the sale.
(v) Obtain an Energy Performance Certificate
It is a statutory requirement that an Energy Performance Certificate is provided to any potential Purchaser. These Certificates can now be obtained relatively cheaply and quite often your Estate Agent will arrange for the Energy Performance Certificate to be prepared and available to any potential Purchaser.
(vi) Consider resting the property
In the current economic downturn properties are taking longer to sell. Therefore as a tactic sometimes you may have to consider taking the property off the market, particularly if it has been on for a considerable time. This relatively new concept is called “resting the property”. As a tactic, particularly in the winter months, it may be best for the property to come off the market and then for it to be re-launched in the New Year.
(vii) Arranging your finance for your purchase
When considering putting your property on the market, again because of the current economic difficulties, it is important not only do you prepare for your sale, but you also need to investigate the availability of borrowing money for your potential purchase. Too often this matter is overlooked and it is important that the Lender is approached at an early stage, so that you are aware as to whether or not there will be any difficulties in borrowing the sum required.
(viii) Don’t pack your boxes until you are told to
It is also important that at the start of any transaction to find out from your solicitor how the conveyancing system works. In Northern Ireland a Contract does not become binding until it has been signed by the Purchaser and by the Vendor. Sometimes Vendors think that a Contract is in place when it is not, and it is therefore important to keep in close contact with your solicitor, so that he can advise on its’ progress.
(ix) Don’t agree a quick completion date
The conveyancing process normally takes between 4 and 8 weeks. Quite often Vendors try and agree a quick completion date once the premises have been agreed for sale. The solicitor normally needs at least 6 weeks to complete the transaction and agreeing a completion date of less than 6 weeks can cause difficulties if delays arise.
(x) Prepare for your move and be ready to clear the property by midday on the completion date
It seems very difficult, but our current system normally requires the property to be cleared of all the Seller’s belongings by midday on the completion date. You therefore need to book your removals well in advance once the completion date has been agreed. Companies can be extremely busy at certain times of the year and if you leave your booking too close to the completion date you may struggle to find an available carrier. Some removal firms will accept provisional booking dates which can then be confirmed when your completion date has been finalised.
Contact your service providers once the completion date has been agreed.
It is important once the completion date has been agreed that you make contact with the various service providers for the property to inform them of your house move and to provide them with details of your forwarding address. Often you need to pay the service provider for the supply of electricity, water, gas, etc., up to the completion date. You need to make sure that the service provider is notified that you are moving house and are no longer responsible for the account.