What Do I Need to Know When I Sell My House?

Selling a house is an incredibly confusing and often difficult time, with a huge amount that you need to know, as well as all sorts of long and complicated processes that you need to deal with. We Buy Any Home know it tends to be really frustrating, especially if you don’t actually know what information you need to hand when you’re doing certain things and the importance of all of the documents, so we have put together some handy information to help you!

What documents do I actually need? 

When you look to sell your house, you need to be able to have to hand various documents that prove your identity, as well as those that prove you own the house and that the house is legally able to be sold. We’ve outlined those documents below –

Proof of your identity:

  • This could be something such as a utility bill that has your name and address on it, as well as a form of photographic identification like a passport or driving license, to make sure that you are who you’re saying you are and to adhere to the anti-money laundering laws in place.

Property title deeds:  

  • These will prove that you legally own the house to be able to sell it on, and if you don’t have the deeds, you can get a copy from the solicitor you used when you first bought the house.

The freehold/leasehold documentation:  

  • Whether your house is a freehold, which means that you own the land it’s on as well as the house itself, or a leasehold, which means that you own the property but not the ground that it’s actually built on, you’ll need to have the paperwork to prove this that state the fees that will be involved for your buyer.

EPC:  

  • Your Energy Performance Certificate is a legal requirement when you sell and needs to be updated every ten years to make sure that it’s correct and in date.

Do I really need to have an estate agent? 

Almost all homeowners think that they have to use an estate agent when they want to sell their home when the reality is there are other ways that you can do it yourself if you’d rather take things into your own hands. Often, homeowners aren’t happy about the various fees that are involved, which can be up to 6% of your sale price or even higher, depending on the fees outlined in your contract.

Asking price 

If you move forward and sell with an agent, they will generally survey your home and tell you their estimated value so you can then confirm your asking price from there. It’s really important to know that when estate agents do their valuation, they will almost always value your house on the higher end when they speak to you. It encourages you to move forward with them, as you’ve been encouraged to think that you can get a better price compared to other options, as well as increasing their percentage of your sale if you move forward with that price.

Generally, when a buyer submits an offer for a house, they will go in lower than the asking price – and estate agents know this all too well. They will usually suggest a higher value to a seller to balance this out; however, it can backfire and cause issues. If your asking price is much higher than the other properties in your area that are very similar to yours, you’ll lose the interest of potential buyers to these homes instead. This means that you could be sat on the market for months on end and get very little attention, which will result in your property value drops.

Knowing this means that you can avoid any of these issues and be more aware from the start of how important getting your asking price right is.

First impressions really count 

Of course, every house isn’t perfect, and that’s something that homeowners always expect when they’re viewing.

While your house doesn’t have to be in the most perfect condition when you want to sell, there are a couple of things that you can do that will increase the interest you can generate and boost the chance of achieving your sale –

Stage your house: 

  • This is a really great way to make your house look the very best it can and increase the interest from your viewers in moving forward. Tidy each room and make sure that the house is completely clean before every viewing.

Redecorating:

  • Some homeowners will redecorate their house fully before they sell, but if you aren’t in a position to do so – or you simply don’t want to – making some small changes will often have a big effect. By repainting the walls, you’ll increase the interest for any viewers, as well as make the place look well-maintained.

Repair any obvious issues: 

  • Most homes have their little imperfections, but anything that’s too noticeable can put off potential buyers and leave you waiting to sell for much longer. Damaged walls or cracked tiles are a very common one – if they can be repaired relatively easily without causing too much trouble, t’s worth doing to achieve a faster sale.

By knowing the ins and outs, you’ll find that your sale goes much smoother, and you can reduce the stress that you’d likely have experienced if you didn’t know – which is a win-win in anyone’s books!