The Sales Process Explained

Though many of you will have bought and sold on numerous occasions before, this is a simple guide to help demystify the process for those that are new to investing in bricks and mortar and about to embark on that first rung of the property ladder.

An accurate market appraisal

How much is your home worth? It’s vital to get an accurate valuation so the best possible price is achieved, however don’t be influenced by over inflated appraisals to win your business, this will simply take you longer to sell the property, and you will no doubt need to reduce the price to get the sale.

EPC

Once you have your market appraisals and are happy with placing your home on the market, you then need to instruct for a Domestic Energy Assessor to carry out the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). Providing no structural work has taken place on the property an EPC can be valid for up to 10 years, so providing the previous criteria were met we could use the EPC from the previous sale, but if you have any doubts, do check.

Marketing your home

At Morris and Bott we use all available means to make sure your home reaches the largest possible number of potential buyers – from local property publications, through the leading property sale sites and social media. Once we’ve started marketing the property we’ll carefully register and check all applicants, to ensure that they are serious potential buyers.

Getting your finances in place

We recommend that all our clients meet with one of the many reputable financial advisors that work around the area, in order to understand the affordability of your next move. We recommend that you use a whole of market financial advisor as this allows you to get the best possible product for you rather than be restricted in your choice. The sooner this is done the better as it helps you become a more attractive and serious buyer with possible agreements in principle in place, and the support of your financial advisor.

Arranging Viewings

We will not try and send everyone on our database to view your home, in order to keep you happy, just those that we feel are genuinely suitable, remembering that it only takes that one well matched buyer to sell your property.

Agreeing the sale

When we receive an offer for your home, we’ll liaise between you and the buyer until a price is agreed. At this point, we’ll also be looking to agree a projected time-frame for exchange of contracts and completion of the sale. If you’re moving on to another purchase, our team will contact the other estate agent concerned to find out the details of any ongoing chain.

Instructing solicitors

As soon as the sale is agreed we will need your solicitor’s details, to allow the sale to progress. If you are unsure who to use we can recommend a number of well-respected local firms that will help you throughout the sale, just ask a member of the team and they will be delighted to help.

The valuation or survey

As the sale progresses your buyer will now need to arrange a valuation of your home for their mortgage lender, we can liaise with the surveyors and arrange for the collection of keys and escort them to the property if required, to take the burden off your hands.

Keeping it all on track

Your solicitor will at this stage require you to pay for all legal searches, and provide an indication of your preferred time frame for the transaction. Once the solicitors on both sides receive the draft contract documentation, they may want to make some further enquiries. We will keep in regular contact with both you and solicitors in order to ensure the sale progresses smoothly.

Exchange

Once both solicitors are satisfied with the answers to all their enquiries, and mortgage offers have been received, it will be time to sign your contract. At this point, you’ll need the money for the deposit on your new place (usually 10% of the purchase price) to be available, so that you’ll be in a position to go ahead and exchange contracts. You will also need to agree a completion date.

Now sit back and enjoy your new home

On the day your sale completes, we won’t release the keys of your home to your buyer until we’ve been notified by your solicitor that the full payment has been safely received, with the same applying on the new home you’re buying.