text: It's a good idea to start preparing your property for sale before you involve an estate agent. This will give you time to take care of any jobs that need doing, such as de-cluttering, DIY and repairs, gardening and giving selected rooms a fresh coat of paint. Although such tasks might seem insignificant, the overall finish and appearance of a property can affect its achievable selling price, so it's a good idea to do them before an agent is invited to suggest a market valuation.
  energy performance certificate
  Then the next step to selling your home is to supply an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) for your property. These are valid for ten years, so if you had one commissioned in the past you will need to double check that it is still valid.
  valuation
  After the EPC has been confirmed, you should then arrange to get an up to date property valuation. alexandra park provide free, no obligation market appraisals and, as one of the leading estate agents in Harrow, we value and sell multiple properties each month which means we have a wealth of knowledge and data to draw on when valuing your property. We believe that each sale, each seller and each prospective buyer is unique, and that's why it's about publicising your property to the right prospective buyers at the right time in the best possible way.
  viewings
  Before we place your property to the market we will discuss what works best for you with regards to viewings. Then it’s time to consider which solicitor to use, most estate agents are able to make a recommendation of which solicitor to use, but it’s also worth asking friends and family about their experiences and who they would recommend.
  In the current market it is very common for alexandra park to recommend an open day. These are extremely popular as they enable you to have all your viewings on one day and you are not constantly cleaning up in anticipation of a viewing at any given moment. One of our representatives will accompany all the viewings and you can vacate the property and enjoy your day out, safe in the knowledge that we are doing what we do best.
  Once your property is on the market, you’ll need to keep on top of cleanliness and clutter every day in case of any unexpected viewings if you don’t decide to have open days and if you decide you want to be present at the viewings, you should try to offer an insight about what makes your property special:
  Is it great for entertaining?
  Is it easy to keep warm in the winter?
  Are the neighbours friendly?
  If you are selling your property through an estate agent then any interested parties must make an offer through them. If there is more than one interested party, your agent will keep you up to date with competing offers. You don’t have to choose the highest bidder, in fact you should consider your aims and how this relates to the buyer’s situation. If you want to move quickly, a chain free first time buyer or someone who has already sold their property may be the best option.
  final offer
  Once the final offer has been accepted, your estate agent will contact your solicitor who will then set the wheels in motion for the sale to take place. The buyer will also instruct their lender to value the property so they can finalise their mortgage offer. They may also commission a survey or homebuyer report at this point too.
  The exchanging of contracts is carried out on your behalf by your solicitor or conveyancer. It is when the sale of your home becomes legally binding and once the contracts have exchanged you can be fairly certain that the sale of your house will go through. You will also receive a preliminary deposit from the buyer at this point which you would be able to keep if they pulled out of the purchase however, you would also be liable for penalties or legal action if you pulled out of the sale.
  completion
  The completion date will be stated in the contracts and this is when the property will be transferred to the new owners. You must leave the property on this date and need to arrange for all of your belongings to be removed from the property, ready for the new occupants to arrive on the same day, once the final monies have been received.
  Keep in mind that completion days are almost always on a weekday to allow the banks and solicitors to arrange transfer of monies and complete other necessary legal or financial actions that would be impossible to do on a weekend.
  Completion day can be stressful for all concerned, especially if you’re part of a chain, but as the final step in selling your property it means that the worst is over and you can take some time to celebrate.
  The above is only meant as a guide, and no two sales are the same. If you have any specific questions about selling your home, or to arrange a property valuation, get in touch.
  We firmly believe that the best chance of selling your home at the highest price and in the most realistic timeframe is by using alexandra park.