The Key to Success

Facebook

Google+

X

Linkedin

Posted on February 4, 2025 by Tom Grant
Categorised in: Uncategorised

Preparation is everything; “If you fail to plan you are planning to fail” is often credited as a quote by Benjamin Franklin, the American statesman. This assertion may be 300 years old but never has it been more apt when selling property.

Putting your house on the market and agreeing a sale is almost the easy part; getting that sale across the conveyancing line is proving to be an increasingly challenging task. Over the past two years a significant number of our agreed sales have failed first time around, due largely to legal and surveying complexities. In a fragile market, these aspects become more sensitised and the conveyancing process can feel a bit like Russian Roulette, particularly if either or both parties are not well prepared.

When planning to sell your property, our strong advice is to be well prepared – remember the Seven P’s!  Traditionally, preparation has been a case of getting the house in best presentational order but, increasingly, this now needs you to have the technical conveyancing elements in order too. In most cases this is not difficult, in fact it’s quite logical, but it does requires a degree of effort and some expenditure.

Would you drive your £50,000 car without insurance? Assuming not, then why try selling your £500,000 house without some form of insurance?

There are many factors that have to pass through the conveyance process so taking sound advice from your estate agent (Grant & Co come highly recommended!) ahead of a sale could save you a lot of heartache further down the line. Here are the main aspects for you to consider when planning to sell :-

• Do you have clear legal title/boundaries - are there any tricky covenants or restrictions to explain?
• Is your property physically sound – consider having a survey to ascertain condition? Your buyer will, so why not get ahead of them. It will give you time to address any issues or construct a suitable response.
• Have you got a proper conveyancing solicitor on board?  Why not prepare the vendor paperwork ahead of rather than after the acceptance of an offer? This will shave at least 2-3 weeks off the +3 month long conveyancing process.
• Do you have the relevant paperwork to demonstrate good stewardship during your tenure? Boiler service, HEATAS certificate, septic tank in order? Better to work through your checklist in your own time, rather than under pressure of a legal deadline.

If you are thinking of selling this year and want sound advice on how to reduce the risk of failure, please feel free to speak with me or one of my team. We are always happy to give independent advice on selling property.

Tom Grant
[email protected]
01531 637341