Tips for sellers

Vendors instruct us for our ability to sell properties at the highest possible figure for them.

Early preparation makes a difference! Reducing delay on your part means your sale can progress swiftly. Non performing buyers can be identified and discarded early on too. Before marketing your property get all your documentation together. If leasehold, this includes checking at least the length of lease (i.e. expiry date), annual service charges and ground rent.

If you have a mortgage, make sure you know how much it will cost to redeem. You do not want to be taken by surprise after you have contracted to sell by finding you must pay several thousand pounds more than you thought for early redemption penalties or the like.

Get your solicitor ready early.

Your solicitor will tell you what he wants. We recommend Healeys - http://www.healys-solicitors.co.uk/ContactUs.aspx - who have extensive experience of the London property market, but you can, of course, instruct who you want. Whoever it is, he must do several things before he can send out any sale documentation. Those can lose at least a fortnight or even three weeks, so the sooner you instruct him the sooner he can get those out of the way and start the process. Don't leave it until you have a buyer. The following should help you know what to expect and do.

First, your solicitor:

• must send you a 'client care' letter setting out the terms of your contract with him. Under Law Society Rules he cannot charge for work done before he has a signed copy back from you. He is unlikely to risk working for nothing, so the sooner he's instructed the sooner he can get that letter out to you.



• he must check the originals of your personal and address identification. He won't want to be prosecuted under the Money Laundering Regulations for not doing so before he started! He will probably want to see your passport (so he can take his own copy) and, for your address, a utility bill, council tax demand, or similar, not more than 3 months old, showing your name and the property address.



• most of what he needs for the sale documentation will be with the title deeds. If you have a mortgage, those will be with the mortgage lender. Give your solicitor the name of your mortgage lender and account number and he will apply for the deeds. Often that takes about a week but sometimes it is longer. If you hold them, send them to him.



• most solicitors require your last Water Rate demand.



• he will want to send searches and enquiries for which he must pay fees. Local authority fees depend on the particular authority – e.g. London Boroughs usually charge from about £150 upwards, sometimes to £250 or more. Drainage searches cost between £35 and £50 or more. Land Registry fees are usually only a few pounds. For leasehold properties, managing agents often charge anything from £150 to much more for answering enquiries or providing copies of documents. Your solicitor will want money on account - usually anything up to £500 - to cover those fees before he incurs them. Because, under Law Society Rules, he cannot draw on uncleared cheques (which can take at least 5 and theoretically 12 days to clear), the sooner he has your cheque for clearance (if that is how you are paying) the better. If you use internet banking, tell your solicitor when you pay him: solicitors' accounts are complex and many entries are made each day, so his accounts department might be unaware of the credit, who it is from, or what it is for.



• your solicitor will send you questionnaires about the property; a Property Information Form giving information about the property generally; (if leasehold) a Leasehold Information Form; and a Fixtures Fittings & Contents List. They are part of a Law Society system and, because they have important legal consequences, must be signed and dated by you personally. They will be included with the papers he sends to the purchaser, so the sooner he gets them out to you and you get them back to him, the sooner he will be ready.



• some documents might be with you. The Leasehold Information Form will ask for copies of the last 3 years' service charge accounts and, if there is a management company of which you are a member, the last 3 years' company accounts. If you have them, or any guarantees, service contracts or similar, give them to your solicitor. If you have had any work done to windows since 2002 the purchaser will probably insist on a FENSA certificate. If you have made a Planning Consent or Building Regulation applications the results should be sent to your solicitor.



• try to remember that your solicitor's job is reading and drafting a great many complex documents for many other clients as well as you, all of which require careful undistracted attention. Telephone calls, however brief, will usually only distract and disrupt him, so the fewer you make the better he can do his job. If it's urgent or important, your message will probably be better handled if you do it by e-mail or fax.

N.B for properties with four or more bedrooms from Aug 1, 2007 you must have a Home Information Pack. Click here for more information on HIPs.

De-clutter to emphasise size and light.
It's amazing how many people don't. With some properties in Kensington, Holland Park and other prime areas selling at close to £2000 per square foot, every little helps! If limited storage space is a consideration, renting a storage unit nearby can be a pragmatic and cost effective solution.

Make your home available for viewings
To fit in with buyers' crowded schedules we show properties from early mornings until late into the evening. Give your property maximum exposure by allowing it to be shown to as many pre-qualified applicants as possible.

Resist the temptation to follow buyers around
We've all done it. "This is the kitchen...", but buyers can find this unsettling. Leave your buyer and agent to view at their own pace, or even better, leave them to it completely.

Leave doors from hallways propped open. It adds to the feeling of space in a property.

Keys
Give your agent keys to facilitate viewings.

Sort out obvious defects
Water stains on the ceiling and damp or musty smells usually have a straightforward cause - and remedy. Repairing obvious defects before you market the property will make it a much better proposition for buyers. Chard Home Services can help

The price is right
Valuations should be based on fact, and backed up with comparables and intimate knowledge of local supply – and demand. Beware of agents deliberately over valuing your home to impress you (and secure their sole agency), then allowing it to stagnate on the market whilst they pester you to drop the price. Although lucrative for some agents, it's seldom in the interest of the seller.

Allow a For Sale board - it raises your property profile
Everyone hates them, (even us, honest!) but a board outside your home generates more enquiries than no board. Chard follows local authority and DTI recommendations on the erecting and siting of agents' boards.