Our brief step-by-step guide through the process will help you to sell your house and achieve the best possible price for it.

Overview

Selling any house and relocating to a new home can be much more complicated than buying your first property. As well as marketing the property, you’ll need to work out your finances, not to mention a timetable for when you want to move and where. It can be a lot to sort out, to say the least, but help is at hand – and it is right here. This basic guide to selling a property explains what you’ll need to do and the most logical way to do it.

Your moving budget

Working out your finances to see if you can afford to move is the most important part of relocating. If you still have a current mortgage product you should find out whether you’ll be liable for any EPC’s (early repayment charges) for leaving your mortgage product term early. Ask your lender if you are able to move your current mortgage with you to a new property – a process known as porting.

If you’re up-sizing to move to a more expensive property, you should find out how much you can borrow and which lender will offer you the best deal. It is prudent to contact a couple of mortgage brokers who can give you a scope of available mortgage products, ideally to save you money. A fixed rate mortgage or low fixed rate interest, or both, is achievable, so it pays dividends to do the calculations beforehand. It’s well worth getting expert advice from 2 or 3 independent mortgage brokers so you can investigate exactly how much you can borrow for your next home. Buying a second property will incur stamp duty and this is on top of all the other costs of selling a house.

Preparing your home to sell for viewings

Make your home look its best! As soon as you decide to sell your property, thoroughly clean it from top to bottom. Remember rarely cleaned areas such as fascias, soffits, window sills and ceilings. Mow the lawn, de-weed the front drive way and repair any broken gates or fences.  A sparkly clean home will help a selling agent appraising your house to see it in a better light and they may value it more highly, as well as having ‘buyer appeal’.

Because of familiarity, you’re likely to overlook some points of cleaning that scrutinizing incoming buyers won’t. If you want to make the best possible impression, don’t underestimate the power of a spotless home. Clear up and de-clutter while you clean. Make your home appear more spacious by getting rid of any unnecessary ‘save it for a rainy day’ junk and use an external storage hire facility if you need to.

Pay attention to your full cupboards, porch, the garage and attic.  You’ll see a huge difference when you do this long over-due chore.

If your home is looking tired you may want to consider some basic home improvements, it’s worth getting an estate agent’s opinion on any added out lay and effort. Kitchen and bathroom renovations can be very expensive projects, whereas a fresh coat of paint can be just as effective and much cheaper.

If you think your property may have any major issues that could put buyers off, get it sorted! Consider getting a survey done so that you have independent confirmation of any problems, you can then get a  quote for the repair costs – this will give you a clearer idea if you need to be flexible on your selling asking price.