Rightmove's guide to selling

Step 1 – Preparing to sell

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People have different reasons for selling, from disposing of an investment property to simply moving home.

Once you have decided to sell up, think about what you want to include in the sale. Normally, fixtures and fittings such as fitted storage heaters are included in the price but other moveable things can be up for negotiation.

If you are getting rid of items you no longer need, do it before you start marketing your property as the less clutter you have the faster your house will sell. Many councils take large items away, sometimes for free.

Home Information Packs

By law, sellers must now put together a Home Information Pack (HIP) before they can go ahead and market a property. Ask your estate agent to arrange this for you.

Apart from the requirements in a HIP, give your agent other useful documents and facts about your property, which they can mention to potential buyers, such as:

• Gas and electrical certificate checks
• Building regulations certificates
• Council tax, utility, buildings and contents insurance bills - so potential buyers can estimate running costs
• Service charges and ground rent bills (for flats)

In addition, you could ask your agent if it’s worth going one better and giving potential buyers other information (which could also speed up the conveyancing process) such as:

1. Environmental Searches. These provide useful information such as the flood risk, radon levels or if there are local mines in the area
2. A Home Condition Report - provides more information about the condition of your property, although your buyer will probably still need to get their own survey done.