Property Selling Advice

1

Property valuation

Getting an accurate property valuation will help you to confirm how much you can afford when you’re planning your next move. An in-person valuation will allow us to see the property’s condition and get a feel for the space and size of the rooms, as well as your immediate local area.

2

Mortgage

You will need to contact a mortgage advisor to discuss your requirements or contact your current lender to discuss your options.

3

Prepare your home

Ensure the front garden or entrance is welcoming and tidy for first impressions. Decluttering inside is hugely effective. Turn bedrooms back into bedrooms if they have been put to another use. Carry out minor repairs and be honest about larger problems – it is better for the buyer to know about them from the outset.

4

Launching to the market

Balfours offer professional photographs and detailed floor plans, boundary plans and location plans. A valid Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) is required to market your property although there are some exceptions. An EPC provides information about your property’s energy use. Your property will be advertised on our dedicated Balfours website, Rightmove, OnTheMarket and The London Office located at St. James's Place, The London Office represents and promotes our property portfolio to the London and International markets. UK Land and Farms is also used for those properties with land. We are also able to market with discretion if this is your preference. We offer an accompanied viewing service should you prefer us to handle the viewings for you. Feedback is provided after each viewing, positive or negative.

5

Set the right price

We use our knowledge of properties of this type and of the current market conditions to recommend a suitable guide price. This, we hope, will attract a good number of prospective buyers and ultimately achieve the most value from the sale. It is worth noting that an over optimistic guide price, whilst sometimes tempting, can prolong the sale process and often deters early viewings, resulting in a lower eventual selling price. In 2022, we achieved an average of 99.6% of the guide price for our clients.

6

Find a solicitor

It’s never too early in the process to instruct a solicitor. They can prepare the file and once you have accepted an offer, they will undertake the conveyancing. The successful sale of your property is reliant on an efficient and experienced solicitor, ask for recommendations.

7

Negotiating offers

You will be informed once an offer has been received both verbally and in writing. We are here to negotiate with your purchaser ensuring we get the best possible outcome on your behalf. On acceptance of an offer, a Memorandum of Sale is sent to all parties including both instructed solicitors. The vendor’s solicitor will send out a draft contract and respond to all additional enquiries from the purchaser’s solicitor. Be as flexible as you can about timing and as efficient as you can about producing any requested paperwork. Balfours help drive the sales process by liaising with solicitors and other professionals including surveyors. We are also legally obliged to inform the vendor of any further offers until exchange of contracts.

8

Exchanging contracts

Once a completion date has been agreed and a deposit received by your solicitor, searches returned, all enquiries responded to, and if necessary agreed mortgage details, contracts can be exchanged. ‘Exchange of Contracts’ is defined as both parties being legally bound to the sale in England and Wales. If you do not proceed to completion you will lose your deposit and incur legal charges. Between exchange and completion, you’ll be sent a statement showing the costs, the solicitor’s charges and the mortgage monies that are being repaid. If you are making an onward purchase at the same time, you may need to send a balancing payment.

9

Preparing to move out

The move will take a lot of preparation and one of the advantages of having time between exchange and completion is that you can finalise your moving arrangements when you have a confirmed date. This also gives you time to inform insurance and utilities.

10

Completion and moving day

On completion day, the money for the sale of your home will be transferred from the buyer’s solicitor to your solicitor. As soon as this happens, your home is sold. Your solicitor will call you when the money has cleared in their account and inform us to release keys. Remember to take meter readings as you exit. Congratulations!