A realistic assesssment of the current value of your property is an important first step in achiveing a successful sale.

Whilst local property newspapers and websites can be used to provide an indication of what your property might be worth, you will need the experience of a professional estate agent to get a more accurate and realistic assessment of its real value.

Homes Property Centre will be happy to provide you a free, no-obligation, property appraisal.

We can meet you at your property a time that best suit your needs. Our appointment with you would typically take between 30-60 mins and would include a detailed inspection of your property. At our meeting, we will discuss the specific needs relevant to your own situation, market forces and current demand, previous transactions in your street and activity levels with other property similar to your own. This information will help us advise you on:

• the potential value range applicable to your property
• anything you could do to enhance this value, and
• a recommended marketing strategy that suits your particular objectives.

Any questions or concerns you have can also be addressed at this meeting.

To book a free valuation, please call us on 020 8653 5233, click this link to submit your details or contactus now on our dedicated instant messenger.

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Once you have established the value of your property and decided to start the selling process, you will need to choose an agent to act for you.

Having established the market value of your property and decided to start marketing your property, you will need to choose an agent to act for you.

At Homes Property Centre the initial market valuation of your property is free. You only pay us commission when we have successfully sell your property and you'll always have access to our specialist consultants.

When considering which agent to use, watch out for those suggesting inflated values (which can leave you languishing on the market whilst those around you sell) or knock-down commission (you get what you pay for!).

A successful agency will have a comprehensive marketing strategy and methods, professionally qualified & courteous staff and a realistic expectation of what the market can achieve.

With Homes Property Centre you only pay commission when we successfully sell your property and you'll always have access to a specialist team dedicated to sales. But, beyond that, Homes Property Centre provides a significantly higher level of service that you would typically expect from a traditional estate agency.

Click here to find out more about what Homes Property Centre offers you.

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The Government introduced HIPs and Money Laundering Regulations in 2007 to improve and control the home buying and selling process.

HIPs

All residential properties placed on the market for sale are now required to have a Home Information Pack ('HIP').

The HIP is an extensive fact file about the property and includes details of the property title, local authority searches, lease details and an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). With our HIP provider Homes Property Centre can arrange to have a pack produced for you, quickly and without fuss – and at a very competitive rate!

Call us or click here to learn more about our HIPs service.

Moneylaundering

As estate agents we are obliged to verify the identity of our clients - both sellers and buyers. To do this we will need to obtain proof of identity and proof of residence from you.  We then have an online verification service which will provide us speedily with the assurance we are obliged to obtain under the regulations

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Most buyers now use the internet to search for a new home so the visual images used will hugely influence whether they contact us to arrange a viewing.

Preparing your home for photography is one of the most important actions you can take to maximise your chances of attracting interest. This could involve some moving of furniture and basic de-cluttering.

Homes Property Centre can advise you if necessary as part of the instruction process. Our consultant will help you to carefully consider the best layout of furniture, removal of personal items and the best aspects to capture. Room dimensions and details will be recorded and a floorplan of the property will also be prepared.

Our consultant will also discuss with you the best times & days for viewing, the correct route to follow and what preparations you should make prior to any viewing. Some owners prefer to supply their agent with keys whilst others choose to be at home during viewings. Just let us know what suits you best and Homes Property Centre will work to your requirements.

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Estate agents commit huge amounts of time and money towards marketing properties to prospective purchasers - but conducting the viewing properly is just as important.

We will discuss with you the best times of the day and week to present your property and do our best to steer appointments around these times. Many considerations need to be made, including your normal weekly patterns, parking availability and traffic levels, children and pets, light levels and garden aspects.

As part of our service Homes Property Centre offer to conduct all viewings so that you experience minimal inconvenience. However, there may be circumstances where you may prefer to conduct the viewing yourself and this will be respected. The following advice is given if this is the case.

• A correct “route” should be established which the initial inspection should adhere to, whether you or Homes Property Centre are conducting the viewing. This will give us the opportunity to ensure a favourable first and last impression, whilst enabling others in your home to give your viewers the space to take in your property.
  
  
• Having conducted an initial walkthrough, space and time should be allowed for at each viewing appointment for your viewer to browse again at their own leisure. Never impose on your potential purchaser but be easily available to respond to any queries raised.
  
  
• Try to say your farewells in the area of your home that has most impact, ask only once if they have any questions and answer these truthfully. Don't be tempted to “oversell” the property; it will have spoken for itself and you don't want to sour that favourable last impression with an awkward moment!
  
  
• A planned and prepared viewing will provide the least disruption to you whilst enhancing the impact your property has on your prospective purchaser.

After the viewing, Homes Property Centre will contact the potential purchaser to get their thoughts and feedback as soon as possible after the viewing. Their feedback is vital as it will help influence whether any changes need to be made to our marketing strategy.

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Receiving an offer is only the start of the sale

Any offer received will be put forward to you verbally at the first available opportunity, and in writing within twenty-four hours. You will need to make a response to any offer. If the initial offer is rejected and the purchaser decides to increase their offer, the process will simply be repeated.

Homes Property Centre will make seek to qualify purchasers in advance of any viewings - but at the very latest, at offer time. By "qualify" we mean that we will formally check their status and ability to proceed with any offer they make. In order for us to do this, we will ask them for contact details of their broker or mortgage lender, and any estate agent dealing with their current property sale. 

Surveys
If the buyer requires a mortgage their lender will make arrangements for a very basic valuation survey to provide them with the assurance that the property is worth the price being offered for it.  In addition, the buyer may also commission a more comprehensive survey – which will assess in more detail the condition of the property and make appropriate recommendations.

You will need instruct a solicitor/conveyancer to act for you in the sale. It is only when this information has been provided and we have contacted the necessary parties for verification of your purchasers' situation that we will consider whether we should advise you to stop showing your property to other prospective purchasers.

It is at this stage that we will try to make you aware of any chain implications and the likely timescale of any agreed transaction. Due to the nature of the buying process, it is important to note and understand that any information provided by us concerning the transaction chain is not guaranteed and could change at any time. However, regular liaison will be made with legal parties acting on both your and your buyers behalf to ensure we can keep you abreast of progress on a timely basis.

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Once you have accepted an offer the legal process starts for contracts to be prepared and agreed to ensure that the buyer makes payment for your property and that legal title is properly transferred.

To support these activities you will need to instruct a solicitor or conveyancer to do this work on your behalf.

The choice of who will act for you is entirely yours but to help you Homes Property Centre provides contact to a range of different and very competitive conveyancing options. Please call us for further information or click here to find out more.

Our support
Our consultants will stay in contact with your solicitor throughout the legal contract process to monitor progress and to assist where possible with any issues as they arise. As they will liaise with all parties involved across the entire chain it is important whoever you instruct to act for you is prepared to communicate with Homes Property Centre directly.

Summary of the legal process

In summary, the overall legal process to exchange and complete contracts with your buyer generally takes the following steps:

1. Terms are agreed between Seller and Buyer and both parties instruct their conveyancer to work for them.
2. The Seller’s conveyancer obtains the Seller’s title deed and prepares the draft Contract for the Buyer’s conveyancer to approve
3. The Seller’s conveyancer send to the Buyers conveyancer the draft Contract together with rest of the documentation needed to form the overall contractual package.
4. The Buyer’s conveyancer reviews the detailed terms of the Contract, does the legal Searches and reviews the results, confirms that there is a Mortgage Offer in place, and also checks the readiness of any dependent sale (in the same chain) to proceed.
5. Contracts are then signed and exchanged at which time a Completion Date is agreed between both parties.
6. The Transfer Deed is prepared by the Buyer’s conveyancer and approved by the Seller’s conveyancer, and then signed in readiness for the Completion Date.
7. The Buyer’s conveyancer obtains the funds for the purchase from the Buyer – either directly, or though the sale of his/her previous property – and the lender (if there is a Mortgage)
8. On the Completion Date the Buyer’s conveyancer sends the required funds to the Seller’s conveyancer (on behalf of the Seller). When receipt of these funds is confirmed by the Sellers conveyancer, the purchase is deemed compete and the Buyer can take legal occupation.

Our advice: The time it takes to progress through this stage is dependent on various factors – but the entire process could take at least 6-8 weeks. However, to speed up the process from your end, we recommend you instruct legal representation prior to finding a buyer as there are various things they can do well in advance, and hence save time later. This includes calling for your title deeds office copy entries and various other documents – all of which can take some time to get hold of. Its worth completing various documents in advance – such as the “Sellers Property Information Form” and “Fixture Fittings and Contents” declaration – as these will also help speed up things later.

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