Selling A Property

Marketing

Equally important is to understand how marketing, advertising and property presentation can affect your ability to attract viewers and influence the price they may pay. Your marketing will be carefully considered to ensure the quality and effectiveness of the advertising to attract the right type of buyers to your home. Quality photographs taken on a sunny day, informative descriptions, maximum exposure on the best websites, office locations and newspapers will make sure your house is marketed to its best advantage.

The housing market

The media reports daily on opinions and statistics produced by various organisations that often provide so much conflicting information that is it impossible to know what to believe. However, the most important housing market to consider is your local one and Hackney & Leigh are able to advise you on local market conditions and keep you informed of any changes.

The small print

On the valuation appointment we will discuss with you our terms and fees, cost of the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) and then leave you with our valuation pack for your consideration.

Preparing To Market Your Property

Once you have made the decision to sell your property then please call Hackney & Leigh to arrange a convenient time for the valuer to visit the property again in order to take measurements for the floor plan, make notes for the content of the brochure and to take photographs. It is best to prepare your house for the photographs, just as you would prepare it before a viewing. You want the photographs that will be used to market your home to show it off in the best possible light.

Hackney & Leigh will then prepare you a draft of the details for your consideration. Once you are happy with the draft, have signed off the relevant forms, and we have an Energy Performance Certificate in place then your house is ready to be advertised.

Viewings

The first decision is to decide whether or not you want Hackney & Leigh to accompany potential buyers around your home or if you wish to do it yourself. There is no right or wrong answer and there are advantages to both. Owners are often able to provide detailed information and instantly answer any questions the prospective purchaser may have but on the flip side of the coin some viewers simply prefer to be shown around by a viewing representative and will often provide more honest feedback than they would dream of giving to a homeowner. In practice, for many houses, sometimes the owners do viewings, for example if convenient, and other times they make full use of our viewing staff. They are experienced in showing homes and this service is free.

Hackney & Leigh will call the viewer within 48 hours to ask for their first impressions of your house, whether or not they like the property and if they would like to book a second viewing or make an offer. We will then pass this feedback onto you. Our Tips To Selling Your Home guide offers some helpful advice on buyers viewing your home.

Offers

When an offer is received Hackney & Leigh will clarify the prospective purchaser’s ability to buy, obtain proof of funds where appropriate, investigate and assess their property chain with other agents involved etc. Our skilled negotiators will guide you through the tricky negotiation process, advising you every step of the way, keeping you well informed and allowing you to make the best decisions whilst obtaining the best possible price on your behalf.

The acceptance & conveyance

Once an offer has been accepted you will need to let us know which solicitor will be working on your behalf. Hackney & Leigh will ensure the process starts off on the right foot by confirming the sale in writing to all parties and from there monitor and assist the progression of the sale to ensure that there are no unnecessary delays.

The conveyance, the legal process of transferring property, has now begun. There is no set timescale for a sale to complete by and can vary considerably however most people move within an 8 – 12 week period. There will be times when it feels as though nothing is happening but behind the scenes the solicitors will be working hard and Hackney & Leigh will keep you informed along the way as sometimes it is the ‘not knowing’ that can be most frustrating.

Once the paperwork is almost ready the solicitors will go through the title documentation with you. If everything is in order, you will be asked to agree a moving date and contracts can be signed. Exchange of contracts marks the point at which the sale becomes legally binding and a deposit is paid. Often there is a week or two in-between to allow for moving preparations to be made.