How to speed up the sale of your next home.

It is a continuing frustration of most property professionals, buyers, sellers and no doubt conveyancers that the whole process from agreeing a sale to completion is time-consuming and unnecessarily protracted. Here are some simple guides that may make the whole process slightly easier.

As soon as you have decided to sell the obvious part of the process is to get valuations carried out by a few chosen agents. I won’t go into the reasons for instructing your chosen agent apart from the fact that once you have got a buyer the really hard, stressful works starts. It’s always worth finding out what processes your chosen agent has in place for sales progression, do they have a dedicated sales progressor, does the lister you first met take the sale from point A to Z? There are pros and cons for both processes but my personal favourite is the listing agent chasing the sale. There are several reasons for this, firstly they will have a better knowledge of your home and may be able to help you fill in any required forms and answer any questions that get raised by your buyer's solicitors. You should also have a variety of ways of getting hold of them i.e. text, email etc but probably most importantly, and this may be the biggest reason of all, we work in a commission-based industry and invariably don’t get our commission until the sale completes, therefore our motive is partially driven by our own greed.

As a seller I would also get my “Ducks in a row “ as soon as I have my house on the market, do some research into a few conveyancers, and look at their reviews to see how quickly they respond to emails, calls etc, as with most business transactions decide which route is best for you, being able to “pop” in and see your conveyancer or a total email transaction is your favoured route. Whatever scenario suits you best don’t purely instruct on price alone! It may cost you more in the long run if you receive poor service. It’s also useful to instruct a conveyancer prior to getting a buyer, you can fill in the mountain of paperwork at your leisure rather than having to rush it. Also, pre-empt some of the standard questions and certificates that you potentially need. These include Energy Performance certificates, FENSA certificates, Gas safe Certificate, Electrical safety certificates, Copies of planning permission, and Building regs. Getting these sorted prior could save you time, energy and most importantly stress at a later stage. The same scenario goes for your mortgage make sure you have the ability to raise finance once you have a buyer and if you can get an agreement in principle before you sell.

Once you get a buyer there are always “Hiccups”. Don’t be afraid to pick up the phone and talk to your agent or conveyancer it is after all what you pay them for.

We hope this helps you even slightly. If you need some advice about your current or future sale please just call us on 03309 125285. We are here to help you with your Kent homes and property queries!