Deciding to sell your home and move up the property ladder can be a daunting time, especially if it is the first time you have sold a property. The good news is that there is plenty that you can do to help the process go smoothly. For more information on selling before you buy, why not read our article on selling a property before buying a second home?
Getting ready to sell your property
Look at your home through a buyer’s eyes. Declutter your possessions, tidy the garden, and fix scuffed paintwork to make your home look more attractive to buyers. Pay particular attention to making your bathroom and kitchen sparkling clean and welcoming. Decluttering will make it quicker and easier for you to pack when the time comes and it can even reduce removal costs.
Gather together any building regulations certificates for building and electrical work, GasSafe certificates for work on gas appliances and Fensa certificates for replacement windows. It will avoid delays if your conveyancer has these documents at the outset.
Getting ready to buy a property
Once you have decided to move, speak to a mortgage advisor to arrange a mortgage in principle so that you know how much you can budget for the move. Don’t forget to budget for stamp duty on the purchase of your new property. Having a Mortgage in Principle helps to avoid delays with your purchase as well.
Some homemovers decide to instruct a conveyancer to start preparing the legal pack for their sale, usually done ahead of finding a new property to buy so that the legal work on the sale is quicker once they have found a new property.
How can you speed up the buying and selling process?
When you instruct a conveyancer, they will need to check your identity. Make sure you provide the requested identity documents straight away, they will not be able to start work for you without them.
Your conveyancer will ask you to complete several forms. Answer the questions on the forms as fully as you can and return them promptly. When your conveyancer asks you to provide the balance of funds for your purchase, make sure you get the money to them within the timescale they have set. You will need to budget for stamp duty, land registry fees, and search costs, as well as conveyancing fees and the difference between the price of the two properties. Feel like you don’t really understand conveyancing? Our guide on conveyancing is a great place to start.
Avoid completion day delays
Many delays on completion day are due to conveyancers not having the funds they need to complete a purchase, or sellers not being ready to remove their possessions from the property.
Avoid delaying your sale. Make sure that you are ready to move out on completion day. Contracts for the sale and purchase of properties usually require completion no later than 1 or 2pm so there is only a limited amount of time on the day itself to finish any last-minute packing. You will need to have almost everything packed and ready to go the day before. Don’t forget to allow time to disconnect your washing machine and dishwasher if you are taking them with you.
Again, you can avoid delays on your purchase by making sure that you have paid your conveyancer all of the money they require to complete, in plenty of time. They will need it in their account in cleared funds ready for completion day.
How can OneDome help?
OneDome helps buyers and sellers complete property transactions quickly and simply. The conveyancing process is speeded up by our online conveyancing platform, which makes it possible for homemovers, estate agents, and conveyancers to track the progress of transactions in real time. OneDome also gives homemovers additional peace of mind, thanks to our offer of complimentary completion insurance when you instruct a conveyancer via OneDome. This form of buyers protection insurance (provided by OneDome) covers your costs by up to £2,250. This means that if the transaction fails for whatever reason, you can rest easy knowing your costs are covered.