Selling your home (England and Wales)

Once the decision to relocate has been made, you’ll probably be keen to go full steam ahead. However, before you put your present home up for sale, there are some essential preliminaries.

Step 1 – Putting your house in order

To achieve a swift sale at a good price, making your property as attractive as possible to potential purchasers is vital. Start by doing all those repair jobs you’ve been putting off. Colourful containers in the front garden can add that all-important kerb appeal. Inside, pale, neutral décor will make rooms appear larger.

Step 2 – Deciding how to sell

You can sell through an estate agent or privately. Estate agents charge commission, which will vary according to the type of agreement you have with them. Between 1 and 3 per cent of the sale price is usual.

Whichever method you select, you will need a Home Information Pack (HIP) if your home has three or more bedrooms. If you are selling independently, you can either assemble a HIP yourself or commission a specialist pack provider to produce one. If you are selling through an estate agent, the firm is responsible for putting the pack together. See www.homeinformationpacks.gov.uk and www.hipassociation.co.uk (the website of the Association of Home Information Pack Providers).

If your employer is retaining the services of a relocation management company, they may well provide help with marketing your property, as well as offering significant savings on estate agency and associated costs.

Some employers even offer a Guaranteed Sale Price Scheme (GSP), whereby they purchase your property from you, or their relocation company does.

Step 3 – Choosing a legal adviser

With most types of property, you can, in theory, do your own legal work, but this is time-consuming, and the majority of sellers decide against it.

Selecting a legal adviser (a solicitor specialising in conveyancing, or a licensed conveyancer) at the beginning of the selling process will mean that you are able to proceed as soon as you receive an acceptable offer. Personal recommendation is often the best way of finding a suitable person. Ask for written details of charges.

Your employer, or the relocation company, if one is retained, may have a panel of recommended solicitors you can choose from. Their fees will be competitive, so do investigate this possibility.

Make it legal

How long it will be before you receive an acceptable offer depends on, among other things, the area in which you live, the condition of your property, and whether you have (or your agent has) pitched the asking price realistically.

Once a satisfactory offer is made, both you and your purchaser instruct your legal representatives. If the offer is ‘subject to contract’, as is usually the case, neither side is obliged to proceed with the transaction until contracts are exchanged.

The average house sale takes around 10 weeks, from offer to completion. Variables which will influence the rate at which the transaction proceeds include the length of any chain, the performance of all the parties’ legal advisers and/or mortgage lenders, and so on. The government hopes HIPs will speed up property deals, but it is too early as yet to say whether this will be the case.

Among the key tasks your legal adviser will perform are:

• Obtaining your property’s title deeds, from your mortgage lender, if applicable, or from you
• Asking you to complete a fixtures and fittings form (containing details of items included in the sale price, those that are available as extras, etc) and a property information form (covering such matters as who has responsibility for boundary fences)
• Preparing a draft contract and sending it to your purchaser’s legal adviser
• Dealing with any queries your purchaser’s legal adviser may have arising from the draft contract
• Establishing that all parties are ready to exchange contracts if there is a chain
• Agreeing a completion date

Once all parties are ready to proceed, exchange of contracts takes place, at which point your purchaser pays a deposit (usually 5–10 per cent of the agreed price). It is difficult to withdraw subsequently without incurring financial penalties.

At exchange, a completion date is agreed. On this day, you must give the buyer vacant possession of the property (unless it is being sold subject to a tenancy), in return for the balance of the purchase monies, from which your legal adviser will repay any outstanding loans.

© 2007 of Re:locate magazine, published by Profile Locations, Spray Hill, Hastings Road, Lamberhurst, Kent TN3 8JB. All rights reserved. This publication (or any part thereof) may not be reproduced in any form without the prior written permission of Profile Locations. Profile Locations accepts no liability for the accuracy of the contents or any opinions expressed herein.