Selling Process

Here at Abacus, we offer free Market Appraisals to help put those pre-sale nerves at ease. We find that pitching the price of your property correctly is a skill. Too high and you won’t receive any interest. Too low and the property sells for much less than it is worth - and nobody wants this. An accurate valuation pulls together information from several resources: The cosmetic, general structural condition, future potential of the property and the prices achieved for similar properties in the area. This information is reviewed, and an appropriate asking price is offered to you. In the multiple years we have been doing this, we like to think we are pretty good.

Selecting the perfect estate agent to represent your interest is most important. Sound local knowledge, well trained highly motivated staff; clear, fair terms of business, a competitive fee structure and a proven history of sealing deals should be high on your list of priorities. The agent that gives you the highest valuation is not always the best for you. Our staff are trained to an exceptionally high standard so you can ‘Count on us’.

An Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rates the energy efficiency of a property and its carbon emissions. As of the 6th April 2012, the EPC details should be displayed on all property particulars, and it is now a legal requirement to provide an EPC for most properties in England and Wales. So as a requirement before entering the market, you will need to obtain one of these for your property, if you don’t have one already.

You will need to decide who will do your conveyancing. Conveyancing is the term used to describe the legal process you must go through when buying or selling a home. Conveyancing can be done by a solicitor or a licensed conveyancer. Find out what their fees are, what other legal costs are involved and when these are payable. We can recommend a solicitor if you do not have one. We have worked with Radius Law for many years. For your convenience we have linked their website here – www.radiuslaw.co.uk and ask for Martin Beach.

Prospective buyers will come to view your property, by appointment through us. Do not worry, we will always ask you before any appointment is confirmed for a time most convenient for you. Ensure your home is tidy and clean. De-clutter and take down any personal effects for viewings – it makes the property less personal to you and more of a blank canvas for those looking around. Put yourself in the buyers’ shoes; think, what would you not like to see on a viewing? What would put you off or cloud your judgement? These things can be very helpful when preparing your property for the market.

To find the right buyer, your property needs maximum exposure across a wide range of media. We offer a variety of important in-house marketing benefits which will aid in getting you the best possible price.

Here at Abacus Estates, we believe that a property can sell itself if it has the correct marketing strategies applied. To raise the profile of your property we always recommend these following methods:

Erecting a ‘For Sale’ board – This is one of the most effective ways to advertise and attract buyers to your property. They really do work, and they advertise your property 24 hours every day.

E-mail – The world of technology now enables us to send your property all around the globe with a simple click of a button. Our marketing team aim to send out 6 properties a week via a mailing list to make sure your house has the optimum media presence.

Direct marketing – Our experienced sales team with many contacts and connections built over the numerous years in the business, will contact any prospective purchasers who are registered with us and inform them of your property within minutes of receiving your instruction. Property details can be sent via any method of communication, including emails and SMS alerts. Targeting a direct market of registered applicants, ensures we don’t get time wasters.

Website and property portals – Our website is updated instantly and full particulars of your home will be placed as soon as they have been approved by yourself. In addition to advertising on our website, we also market through national property portals, such as Rightmove and Zoopla.

Our in-house marketing team will come to your property at a time that suits you; take professional photographs, video walkthroughs and will draw up floorplans. This is all included in our sales package with no hidden charges. These then will be signed off by you, the client, and will be uploaded to all our Social Media platforms. You can look at our social media platforms by following the links on our website to see what sort of marketing we produce for other clients.

Abacus Estates believe that flexible opening times are essential to maximize viewing opportunities for your home. We know that our customers need to work around their usual daily commitments, resulting in a large number of our clients viewing after work or at weekends. Accompanied viewings allow us to share our expert knowledge on your property to achieve competitive offers. The safety of our clients is paramount therefore we never allow prospective buyers to visit un-accompanied. Do not worry, we will always ask you before any appointment is confirmed for a time most convenient for you and don’t feel you have to be there, in fact we may ask for a spare set of keys!

All offers will be reported both verbally and in writing. We will check all offers for validity and ask for proof of funds. We will also conduct checks under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and Money Laundering Regulations 2003 and ensure that any mortgage offer is verified. In the case of multiple offers, we will advise you on the best course of action.

We will always try to achieve the best possible price for your home and act in your best interests throughout the transaction. We aim to sell your property like it is our own.

Before an offer is agreed, we will check the buyer’s ability to purchase a property. We can also contact the buyer’s personal mortgage adviser to confirm their financial commitment. This minimises the risk of a purchase falling through.

At the point of a sale being agreed, we will liaise with both your solicitor and the buyer’s solicitor to prepare the memorandum of sale and we will write to all parties confirming the agreed details.

Your solicitor will request the title deeds from the lender (if appropriate). The solicitor will prepare the draft contract, which details the terms of the sale, and send it to the buyers’ solicitor together with all relevant documents. The buyer’s solicitor will then start the preliminary checks. The Title Deeds and Lease (if applicable) will be checked and local searches carried out.

Remember that in England an offer is not legally binding, so until contracts have exchanged your buyer could change their minds without financial loss.

At this stage both parties become legally committed to the sale, and if it falls through from this point onwards then the deposit is forfeited. Contracts are signed by both parties and the solicitor requests the buyer’s deposit. A completion date is set and agreed upon by both you and the purchaser. Unless agreed otherwise (e.g. a simultaneous exchange and completion) the completion date can be anything up to 28 days from the date of exchange.

Normally both parties will want a short period of time between exchange of contracts and completion to organise their move. If you haven’t done so already you should have arranged all packing and removal duties, informed everyone of your change of address and booked any disconnections/re-connections of services for your new home. Remember on the date of completion the property is legally owned by the new buyers so allow plenty of time to move out.

Don’t forget the dog!

Completion occurs when all outstanding legalities have been completed and the balance of funds are transferred to your solicitor. The solicitor will let you know when this has happened and will inform us so that we can release the keys to the new homeowners.

Congratulations on selling your home!