Time is of the essence when selling a residential property. To liquidate your assets without any delays or issues, you need to be prepared to invest in the process. Set aside the time and funds to meet the requirements of your buyer – and third parties involved in the transaction – and you’ll have the best possible chance of achieving a fast residential property transaction.
Here, we share our 5 top tips for anyone embarking on the sales process:
Be prepared to sell!
Collect all the necessary paperwork and give this to your Solicitor as soon as the offer has been accepted. This should include any guarantees, warranties and certificates for works – both minor (windows, boilers etc) and major (ie extensions). Consider what you would ask a seller to provide you – these are the types of documents that a buyer might find useful.
In Leasehold property transactions, delays most often occur waiting to get information from the Landlord or Management Company. The transition will be much quicker if you can identify who collects the service charge and ground rent, and provide information from the managing agents at the time of instructing a Solicitor.
You usually have to pay for information to be prepared by your Management Company to send to your Solicitor, so start this process as early as possible.
Don’t always accept the highest offer – consider your options
Price shouldn’t be the only factor influencing your decision-making when selling a property. If weighing up multiple options, consider: what do you need to do in order to complete? A first-time buyer, for example, may offer a lower price, but should be able to complete faster than someone involved in a lengthy chain.
Remember that time is money
When it comes to choosing a conveyancing solicitor, cheaper is never better. Buying or selling property is one of the most important decisions you will ever make – why would you cut back on the legal process? A conveyancer that is low-cost will likely spend less time on your sale or purchase, which will lead to all sorts of problems and delays. You get what you pay for, after all!
Prioritise your own time
The sale of a property should take approximately 4 to 8 weeks; with a motivated buyer and seller, it can often be done much quicker. Yet delays occur when people are away on holiday, not readily available to deal with enquiries or sign paperwork and return it promptly. To avoid slow-downs in the process, accept that normal life may need to take a back seat until you have completed.
Speculate to accumulate
During the sale process an issue may come to light. This may relate to some defect in the property or a lack of paperwork surrounding the construction, extension, installation of appliances and so on.
Often, insurance is available to address this type of issue; the cost is small in comparison. Arguing over an outlay for indemnity insurance will delay the sale and could potentially result in additional legal costs, should the issue need investigating further in order to be resolved.
The objective for any seller is to secure the net sale proceeds as soon as possible. Having to pay a few hundred pounds to do so is a drop in the ocean and could greatly speed up the process, so think twice before challenging or refusing to pay any fees that will assist the sale.
For further advice on buying or selling your property, contact our Conveyancer Richard Harris who would be delighted to give you a quote or answer any questions you may have. Just call 0161 9290121 or email info@blackstonesolicitorsltd.co.uk. Alternatively, allow us to contact you by completing our online enquiry form. We would be happy to answer any questions you may have.
“Thanks so much Sinead and Richard. Just completed the sale and purchase for my house move, despite several challenging issues (not least my calls) they were exceptional in dealing with everything for me. I would recommend this law firm for any legal requirements”. Peter Cain
“We are sat in our new home and I can categorically state that if it wasn’t for the determination and professionalism of your colleague, Richard Harris, we would not be here now. It has been a complex operation involving an exclusivity agreement that, at one stage, we thought had failed. However, Richard drove it through without a hiccup. This is the second time we have used Richard, the first being as difficult as this as I had to change a court order prior to our purchase. We are now in the process of selling a third property with you, which thankfully for Richard’s sake, should be straightforward. Please convey our gratitude.” Graham Vickers
For more information on our services visit www.blackstonesolicitorsltd.co.uk
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.