Pre-Sale Check List | Everything You Need To Consider Before Selling Your House

1. Your Documents| 6 Months + Before

Before you begin the process of selling a property, you will need to make sure that you have two up to date, valid forms of ID. This could be a passport, birth certificate or driver’s license for example.If you need to get a new ID or passport, this can significantly slow down the conveyancing process. Your team cannot proceed any further with your matter without confirming your identity. Due to the pandemic, there is a significant backlog at the passport service so it’s likely that receiving an updated valid ID will take longer than usual at this time.

Your property documentation

The most important step of all is gathering all the relevant paperwork. Make sure you have access to all necessary documentation as missing certificates can cause delays at the enquiries stage of your sale.This should include any of the following that is included in your property.

• The deed to the property
• Certificate of boiler servicing
• Certificate of any work you have had on the property
• Extension planning permission
• Conservatory planning permission
• Swimming pool planning permission
• Double or triple glazing on windows
• Renovation works
• Any other applicable scenarios

2. Selling a Shared Ownership Property | 6 Months + Before

If the property has shared ownership, you must ensure all owners complete the previous step of updating ID. This is essential as all owners are required to complete each stage of the sale by reading, filling out and signing all documents; otherwise, this can cause large delays as the sale cannot proceed without all owner’s involvement.

3. What to consider when selling property| 3 months + Before

This may sound obvious but ensure you have finished any projects you’ve had on the go for a while, completed a home inspector – bring in a professional unless you are properly equipped.

What to Check for

Although this step is not essential, this check list could affect the sale price of your house and it is often cheaper to sort these things out before selling and to give your property more appeal.You should check for things like:

• Lighting – do all the lights work?
• Fencing – do any of the fence panels need fixing or replacing?
• Roofing – are any of the roof tiles lose or missing?
• Electricals – is everything in working order?
• Damages – are there any cracks or holes in the walls, floor or ceiling?
• In date servicing – for example is the boiler service up to date?

4. Planning to buy property?

That’s everything you need to know before selling your property! Click here to get your estimate and a breakdown of all the costs.Next, we will look at the Welcome Pack. This is the most intense and work heavy stage for you as a client, but don’t worry, we've broken it down for you in the next blog.