Top tips for selling your home
The property market has been fairly depressed in recent years, but over the last 12 months we have seen a steady increase in the local housing market. Banks are once again starting to lend, meaning that more buyers are becoming available.
There are many programmes on the television advising you on how to spruce up your home with a view to selling it. But what can you do to aid the legal process, and to speed it up? Well, just as any estate agent will tell you that the way to attract interest in your home is to make sure it is looking fresh, and tidy, you can also help yourself and any potential buyer by making sure that the paperwork for your house is tidy as soon as you make the decision to sell.
Most properties will now be registered at the Land Registry and so you may well not have any old deeds. However, it is worth checking, and any old deeds you do have should be given to your conveyancer for them to check over. Even with registered land, there is often invaluable historical information contained in old deeds which may well be required during the sale transaction. Your conveyancer will be able to check these for you, and identify any potential problems which can then be rectified before the sale process begins.
Similarly, it is essential that you make sure you find all the relevant documentation relating to works done to the property over the years. Examples include planning permissions and building regulation certificates for any extensions and alterations to the property, guarantees, FENSA certificates for windows and CORGI or Gas Safe certificates for boilers, central heating etc. And please remember that your conveyancer will require the originals, as these will need to be handed over to your buyer’s solicitor on completion. If you do not have the relevant documents, again your conveyancer will be able to advise you of the best way to resolve any issues arising from missing paperwork before the issue is raised by a buyer.
We can’t guarantee that your house sale will be entirely stress free, but with a little preparation you can help to ensure that it proceeds as smoothly and quickly as possible.
For further advice on selling your property, please contact our Head of Property, Deborah Myerson on 033 3344 9600 or complete our contact us form.
