Selling Guide
Valuation
Pitching the price of your property correctly is a skill. Too high and you won’t receive any interest. Too low and the property sells for much less than it is worth. An accurate valuation pulls together information from several resources: The cosmetic, general structural condition and future potential of the property, the prices achieved for similar properties in the area. This information is reviewed and an appropriate asking price is offered to you.
Selecting an estate agent
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- Selling your property, especially when the Market isn’t enjoying one of it’s periodic booms, has to be done in a professional way. There are a number of factors that have to be understood and co-ordinated to help you get your property sold as quickly as possible and for the best price possible. Some of these factors are solely our responsibility and some we need to work on in partnership with you. The selling section of our website is designed to help you understand the process and the role you can play in it.
Selling Potential
With so many magazines, web sites and TV programs dedicated to giving you advice on how to decorate and present your home to its best effect it can get very confusing, can’t it. So just what do you need to do to make sure your home is as sell-able as possible?
We can help you cut through the confusion in 2 ways. As professional agents we are constantly asking potential buyers who view property, for their feedback. Because of this we have built up a very accurate picture of ‘the difference that makes the difference’ when it comes to getting your property sold and it’s actually quite simple
Properties that are...- Clean
- Tidy
- Uncluttered
- Neutrally decorated
There’s absolutely no doubt that a little time, money, and effort invested in preparing your home for sale will give you a faster sale and a higher sale price. - Some of us just don’t have the time and inclination to do this for ourselves. We simply want someone to tell us what to do … or even better, get it done for us. If this is you, we are delighted to be able to introduce you to Katherine Armstrong. Katherine was personally trained by Anne Maurice the original ‘House Doctor’ and her appearance in the ‘Interior Rivalry’ TV series in 2006 lead to the launch of Style-Guide, which provides property styling solutions to people who live in the Lincolnshire area. As you’ll see Katherine is an expert on preparing houses for sale and she would be very happy to help you. You can find out more, by clicking on this link:
KAS Interior Design - How To Sell Your Home
Customer Care
A recent report from the Office of Fair Trading concluded that many people don’t trust estate agents and that as a group we’re considered a necessary evil! At Beam we see this as a challenge. We want to turn this perception on its head. We want our clients to trust us absolutely and feel that we have been an essential part of the moving process for them.
That’s why we give you Our ‘Promise’ to:- Listen to you.
- Treat you with courtesy and respect.
- Keep you informed.
- Keep your costs as low as possible.
Just in case you feel that we haven’t kept our promise, or feel we have let you down we have joined the voluntary scheme run by the Ombudsman for Estate Agents. This scheme provides an independent adjudicator for resolving disputes between Member Agencies and any client or prospective client of the agency, whether they are a buyer or seller of residential property in the UK. The Ombudsman is totally independent of the member agencies and undertakes to provide a Free Fair and Swift review of any complaint that it receives.
This is a voluntary scheme, but we are happy to give every client our commitment to provide you with the details for contacting the Ombudsman and to abide by the resolution they suggest.
If you would like more information about this scheme you’ll find it by clicking on this link www.tpos.co.uk
Obtain an EPC
Energy Performance Certificates
You may have heard about these - they are better known as an EPC. Since 2007 these have been a mandatory part of marketing your property. Since each one is valid for 10 Years, you may be lucky enough to already have one. You can click on the image below to check. We are happy to provide you with one for £75 (inc vat) or you may qualify for a free one - feel free to drop us a message to check.
Instructing a solicitor (conveyancer)
You will need to decide who will do your conveyancing. Conveyancing is the term used to describe the legal process you must go through when buying or selling a home. Conveyancing can be done by a solicitor or a licensed conveyancer. Find out what their fees are, what other legal costs are involved and when these are payable. We can recommend a solicitor if you do not have one.
Selling Fees
No one likes paying out but everyone likes good value! One of our core values here is transparency so with that in mind we don't hide our fees in the hope that you won't notice, we don't charge you any hidden extras, we don't charge you anything to either put your property onto the market nor to take it off, we don't pretend VAT doesn't exist by not mentioning it in our quotes - it's pretty good really - nice and easy :)
Quite simply if we sell your house, you pay us for doing it - if we don't then you don't pay us :) Please click here for a complete break down of our selling fees and shows exactly what you get included in each package - take a look.......... THEN GIVE US A CALL 01754 629305
Marketing your property
To find the right buyer your property needs maximum exposure across a wide range of media. We offer a range of important marketing benefits which will aid in getting you the best possible price. To raise the profile of your property we always recommend these following methods:
- Erecting a For Sale board – This is one of the most effective ways to advertise and attract buyers to your property. They really do work and they advertise your property 24 hours every day.
- E-mail – The world of technology now enables us to send your property all around the world with a simple click of a button.
- Direct marketing – We will contact any prospective purchasers who are registered with us and inform them of your property within minutes of receiving your instructions. Any details will be sent via any methods of communication including emails and SMS alerts. Targeting a direct market of registers applicants ensures we don’t get time wasters.
- Website and property portals – Our website is updated instantly and full details of your home will be placed as soon as details have been approved. In addition to advertising on our website, we also advertise in local press and through national property portals.
Accompanied viewings
Beam Estate Agents believe that flexible opening times are essential to maximize viewing opportunities for your home. We know that our customers need to work around their usual daily commitments, resulting in a large number of our clients viewing after work or at weekends. Accompanied viewings allow us to share our expert knowledge on your property to achieve competitive offers. The safety of our clients is paramount therefore we never allow prospective buyers to visit un-accompanied.
Receiving an offer
All offers will be reported both verbally and in writing and we will check all offers for their validity and ask for proof of funds. We will also conduct checks under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and Money Laundering Regulations 2003 and ensure that any mortgage offer is verified. In the case of multiple offers, we will advise you on the best course of action.
We will always try to achieve the best possible price for your home and act in your best interests throughout the transaction.
Offer agreed
Before an offer is agreed we will check the buyer’s ability to purchase a property. We can also contact the buyer’s personal mortgage adviser to confirm their financial commitment. This minimises the risk of a purchase falling through. At the point of a sale being agreed, we will liaise with both your solicitor and the buyer’s solicitor and prepare the memorandum of sale and we will write to all parties confirming the agreed details of the sale.
Your solicitor will request the title deeds from the lender (if appropriate). The solicitor will prepare the draft contract, which details the terms of the sale, and send it to the buyers’ solicitor together with all relevant documents. The buyer’s solicitor will then start the preliminary checks. The Title Deeds and Lease (if applicable) will be checked and local searches carried out.
Remember that in England an offer is not legally binding, so until contracts have exchanged your buyer could change their minds without financial loss.
Exchange contracts
At this stage both parties become legally committed to the sale, and if it falls through from this point onwards then the deposit is forfeited. Contracts are signed by both parties and the solicitor requests the buyer’s deposit. A completion date is set and agreed upon by both you and the purchaser. Unless agreed otherwise (e.g. a simultaneous exchange and completion) the completion date can be anything up to 28 days from the date of exchange.
Organise your move
Normally both parties will want a short period of time between exchange of contracts and completion to organise their move. If you haven’t done so already you should have arranged all packing and removal duties, informed everyone of your change of address and booked any disconnections/re-connections of services for your new home. Remember on the date of completion the property is legally owned by the new buyers so allow plenty of time to move out. Don’t forget the cat!
Completion
Completion occurs when all outstanding legalities have been completed and the balance of funds are transferred to your solicitor. The solicitor will let you know when this has happened and will inform us so that we can release the keys.