Now you’ve decided to sell your property, our aim is to be with you every step of the way.

Our essential short guide aims to furnish you with the information you need to prepare your property and yourselves!

Preparing your property

Consider that people are often buying a lifestyle as much as a property so show them the attractive side of your lifestyle.

Always create a good first impression – give the front door a new coat of paint, or a good clean. Remember your front door is the first thing your viewer will see.

Declutter and look to get rid of excess stuff that has accumulated in every nook and cranny. However, do leave some personality, it gives unimaginative buyers suggestions as to what they might do.

Clean, tidy and fix any obvious problems. Try and clean everything until it sparkles, trim bushes, power wash the patio. Many buyers want to move in without making changes and some buyers will look for a reason to make a lower offer.

Viewings

Make the property feel homely. Ensure the rooms are sufficiently warm, the curtains are pulled back and all lights work.

Bad smells are the single biggest turn off for prospective buyers. Don’t just cover them up, fix the source of the smell. Clear drains, wash bins, open windows, and air the kitchen from old cooking smells, get rid of furniture that is embedded with cigarette smoke and wash any grimy bed sheets.

Let us conduct the viewings. It is our job to know what things to say, what to highlight and what to downplay. We are effective at answering those tricky questions.

Feedback

After each viewing, we will contact you to discuss the details of the appointment and let you know any feedback the viewer had.

It’s not always the easiest to give, nor receive a potential critic of your property. Nonetheless it’s very important to consider the feedback to see if any adjustments to the property or marketing is needed to ensure you get that offer.

Offers

You can be sure we’ll be straight on the phone with details of any offers! We’ll be at your side throughout the negotiations to help achieve the perfect outcome.

We deal with offers day in; day out so please be confident we will do our best for you with price, buyer position and timescale.

Sales Progression

A Conveyancer will deal with the legal aspect of your property sale and perhaps a purchase too if that is your plan. We will liaise with the other estate agents involved in the transaction (known as the ‘chain’).

If you ever have any questions about the sales process and timescales, we’ll be happy to provide the answers.

Completion

Success, the sale is over the line! On the day of completion, you need to have entirely cleared the property, loft, sheds, garage of all items (unless they were part of the sale). The property needs to be clean and tidy too.

You need to read the utility meters and don’t forget to close your accounts (electric, water, gas, council tax, TV services, broadband, phone, TV license). It’s also important to have your mail redirected.

We will need keys to give to the buyer, so make sure you’ve dropped them to the office ready for completion day.

Once your Conveyancer has given us the go-ahead, we’ll then pass the keys on to the new owners.

Questions

As with all things in life, sometimes the sales process runs smoothly, sometimes it can be a bit bumpy. If you need reassurance, advice or just a shoulder to lean on, we are with you all the way.

Please feel free to chat with our expert sales team on 01392 348 300 or email sales@athelstans.co.uk.

What is your home worth?