123estateAgent guide to selling your home in Bromley
Selling your home can be daunting – all the more so if you are looking for another property to buy at the same time. The decisions you make along the way could save you – or cost you – many thousands of pounds. Here’s everything you need to know about the process of selling a house
How to sell a house
1. Figure out your finances
Before you sell your house in Bromley, you’ll want to get a rough idea of how much it is worth, so you can then calculate how much money you will be left with after you have paid off the mortgage. Try our instant free valuation tool.
Dig out your mortgage paperwork or speak to your lender to check if you will have to pay any early repayment charges for switching your mortgage to another lender or whether it is possible to take it with you to a new property – a process known as porting
If you’re planning to move to a more expensive property in Bromley or your mortgage deal is coming to an end, this is a great opportunity to remortgage onto a better deal. Speak to our mortgage partners to see how much you can borrow and which lender will offer you the best deal
At the early stages, the figures will be approximate only – you don’t know how much you will sell your house for and you will only get a precise redemption (amount outstanding) figure for your mortgage once you have an agreed completion date when you have exchange contracts (see below)
Plan every step to avoid being held up.
2. Decide if you should rent a house next, rather than buy
Selling your home in Bromley and renting for a while can add to the overall expense, but it will reduce the critical time pressures in buying a new home
You also won’t have to compromise on your sale price, and potentially sell your home for less, as you won’t be under pressure to complete on your onward purchase
You won’t be rushed into buying a less-than-perfect new home because you have found a buyer for your current home
Selling your property and then renting before buying will break you out of the housing chain which means you will be a more attractive buyer
3. Choose an estate agent to sell your house
Use a local Bromley estate agent or an online estate agent with local knowledge.
If you use a local estate agent, you will need to do some research into which one to choose.
Compare local Bromley estate agents based on their reviews and how quickly they sell, how close they come to achieving asking price and how successful they are. See our reviews
When it comes time to appointing a Bromley estate agent, read your contract carefully— see estate agent contracts what to watch for
If you have time and are organised, patient and willing to work hard, then choose to carry our the viewings your self and save money on your fee. At 123estateAgent Bromley we offer this service at 0.5% subject to a minimum fee.
4. Get an Energy Performance Certificate
An energy performance certificate (EPC) is a standardised document which ranks properties in terms of energy efficiency, and which homeowners need to provide to potential buyers when they sell their home
You have to have at least applied for an Energy Performance Certificate before you put your home on the market – find out why, how much an EPC should cost and get a quote form an EPC Bromley surveyor today
5. Decide how much to sell your home for
One of the most agonising decisions when selling your home is what price to put it on for
Do your research and get to know the local market inside out
Get a number of estate agents in Bromley to do valuations, but don’t necessarily go for the highest. Normally estate agents will provide you with a full report giving you comparable sales in your road
6. Prepare your home for sale
If you “stage” your home well, you are not only more likely to sell your home faster, but you might make it more valuable too
Tidy up, and get rid of excess clutter; give it a fresh lick of light coloured paint; fix those little snagging things; keep it clean
Light a fire; bake bread; put up a mirror; get rid of bad odours
Check out our guide on How to make your home more valuable and sell faster
Don’t forget how important your home’s kerb appeal is. According to our 2019 annual HomeOwner Survey, more than 68% of homeowners say kerb appeal was important in their choice of home. The most important factors were windows being in good condition, a well maintained roof and a tidy front garden and driveway/path. See how we show your home
7. Hire a good conveyancing solicitor
You need to choose a conveyancing solicitor in Bromley to handle the legal work involved in selling a property. Compare quotes to find the cheapest, nearest and best rated conveyancing solicitors from our panel
To ensure the sale progresses, you should decide which firm you want to use before you agree to the sale of your house – but you can obviously only instruct them after you have agreed an offer
Get an overview of how much conveyancing costs in our guide and see our list of questions to ask your conveyancer
By all means get a quote from the conveyancing firm recommended by your estate agent. Judge and Priestly
8. Fill out the relevant questionnaires
You will have a variety of forms and questionnaires to fill out, to give the buyer all the information about the property, and about the sale.
9. Viewings and feedback
Always ask your estate agent to give you feedback so you can decided if their is anything that you or the agents can do to push an offer.
10. Accept an offer
You’ve received an offer – hooray! The estate agent is legally required to pass all offers on to you
If you are not happy with the offer, you can either reject it outright, wait to see if a better offer comes along or tell the estate agent to try to negotiate it upwards
Once you are happy with an offer, you need to formally accept it.
Remember that accepting an offer is not legally binding, and you can legally change your mind or accept a higher offer later (gazumping) – but remember, this can be pretty distressing to the buyer.
11. Negotiate the draft contract
You and the buyer will have to decide:
The length of time between exchange and completion (usually 7-28 days after the exchange of contracts)
What fixtures and fittings will be included – and how much will they pay for them
Any discounts due to problems flagged up by the survey.
11. Exchange contracts
When you exchange contracts with the buyer you become legally committed to selling the property – and they are legally committed to buying it from you
If you pull out after this without due reason, the buyer’s deposit will be returned to them and you may be sued.
If you sell a house you are responsible for looking after it until the sale is completed so you should make sure you have buildings and contents insurance cover until then.
12. Move out
You can move out whenever you like, including on the day of completion (although clearly, you need somewhere to move to)
It is less stressful to move out beforehand, if that is possible
At the time of completion, the property has to be in the condition agreed in the contract – including all the fixtures and fittings
The buyer and estate agent may come round between your moving out and completion to ensure that everything is in place
Find the right removals company for your move and get removals quotes. James Removals
13. Complete the sale
Completion is when the property changes ownership, you accept payment, and hand over the keys
A little like a duel, it takes place on a previously agreed date and usually at midday
On the day of completion, the money is transferred and any deeds for the property are transferred between each side’s solicitor or conveyancer
Your solicitor/conveyancer will register the transfer of ownership with the Land Registry
14. Pay off the mortgage
The mortgage company will have given you and your conveyancing solicitor a precise redemption figure (outstanding amount) for your mortgage for the day of completion
Now the buyer has transferred the money to your conveyancing solicitor, they will pay off the mortgage for you.
15. Settle up with the conveyancing solicitor and estate agent
After completion, your conveyancing solicitor will send you an account, covering all their costs and disbursements, as well as the sale price of the house and redemption of the mortgage
If you are buying and selling at the same time, the conveyancing solicitor can settle up for both transactions at the same time, including paying stamp duty for the house you are buying
Your conveyancing solicitor will ensure that the change of ownership is registered with the Land Registry.
See our website for more information