The selling process can seem complicated, at Benjamin Stevens we'll use all our experience to make sure it runs smoothly. Our staff are all knowledgeable and experienced and this allows us to give you the best advice -we understand how stressful moving homes can be for many people, so every sale is handled with care, discretion, service and professionalism at all times.
Here's a quick guide to the main steps
1: Appoint an estate agent
2: Spruce up your home
3: Agree the sale
4: Exchange of contracts
5: Complete the sale
The first step in selling your property is to appoint an estate agent, at Benjamin Stevens we will value your home, take full details and photographs and then begin to market it and show it to potential buyers.
There are two ways you can appoint an estate agent.
Sole agency is where you give the job of selling your property to a single estate agent for a fixed period of time. The commission rate for a sole agency sale will be lower than that for a multiple agency sale
Multiple agency is where you instruct several estate agents at the same time. The commission rate for a multiple agency sale will be higher than for sole agency.
2: Spring clean your home
A few hours spent making your property look its best or even spending a bit of money to clear up some niggling problems could add to the price you get.
Try to think like a buyer; don't overlook things just because you have grown used to them, reduce clutter, buyers need to imagine it as their own home. If you have outside space, don't overlook that.
3: Agree the sale
As your agent, Benjamin Stevens will start to generate offers from interested buyers. We present every offer to you and negotiate on your behalf to get the best result. Ultimately the decision is yours; but our experienced and knowledgeable staff are on hand every step of the way to provide all the help and advice you need to make the right decision for you.
Once an offer has been accepted, your buyer will provide us with their solicitor's details, at which point we will confirm everything in writing to you and your solicitor, so they can get on with drawing up the contracts.
4: Exchange of contracts
The buyer and their mortgage lender will then proceed to carry out any valuations and surveys on the building and check that everything is as it should be with the paperwork. It's quite normal for a few queries to be raised, so this stage can take a little while.
Once all the paperwork is complete, you're ready to exchange contracts and set a completion date, when the money gets transferred, and the property legally changes hands, the conveyancing process will be complete.
After you have formally exchanged contracts, you are legally obliged to sell the property to your chosen buyer and they are obliged to buy it from you.
5: Complete the sale
Completion is normally four weeks later, but can be earlier. It might even be possible to exchange and complete on the same day if you need to.
Completing the sale is usually as simple as getting a phone call from your solicitor telling you that everything has gone smoothly.
This means both parties' mortgages have been paid off and new arrangements put in place, the conveyancers have successfully arranged the legal transfer, and the property officially belongs to your buyer.