Selling your home requires a good amount of patience and persistence, and the process is never as straightforward as it might seem. On average, 34% of transactions fall through before exchange, and this is why some homes take longer to sell than expected.

If you’re thinking about ways to jumpstart the moving process, we’ve put together some top tips to help you achieve that smooth sale…

Complete your forms

At the outset of the sale, your solicitor will send over a property information form and a fitting contents form which will need to be completed and returned. These documents form part of the contract paperwork that is sent to your buyer’s solicitor, so the sooner you complete these forms, the sooner the solicitor will have a full pack of information to work through and raise any enquiries they might have.

Alterations

In the property information form, you will be asked whether you have carried out any alterations to your property. If the answer is yes, return the form with copies of the relevant planning permissions, building regulation completion certificates and electrical and gas installation certificates attached. This will narrow down the amount of enquires that need to be raised by your buyer’s solicitor – and therefore will speed up the process.

Guarantees

The property information form will also ask if there are any existing guarantees for the property. If so, make sure to give them to your solicitor with your completed forms. For example, if the property is less than 10 years old, there should be a new home warranty and if you have had damp treatment carried out on the home, there should be a damp-proofing guarantee.

Any time spent getting the necessary paperwork prior to your sale or even as soon as the property is listed will pay off immensely in time saved once the lawyers are involved.

Survey

It’s highly advisable to have a survey carried out, and if you decide to, it is your responsibility to instruct the surveyor rather than your solicitor. It’s important to note that the surveyor may not be able to visit the property immediately, so it’s better to book the survey sooner rather than later. Once your survey has been conducted, the surveyor can prepare a report which may take a few days. As soon as you have received the report, you should forward a copy to your solicitor immediately as they may have to raise further enquiries with your seller, depending on the findings.

Mortgage

If you are purchasing with the aid of a mortgage, it is essential that you provide your lender with the documents that they have requested as soon as possible. This can range from ID documents to evidence of income, and they will not be able to issue a mortgage offer until these requirements have been met. 

Money

Upon exchange you will need to hand over the agreed deposit to your solicitor, so make sure the right amount of money is readily available and in the right account as you may be asked to transfer it to your solicitor at short notice.

Completion Date 

The buyer and seller should have agreed on how soon completion will take place after the exchange. This is something to start considering early on in the transaction as the exchange cannot go forward until a completion date has been agreed upon by both parties. Let your estate agent and solicitor know of any dates that need to be ruled out and any preferences you might have for timing. This will eliminate the need to negotiate on dates in the final stages when everyone is eager to get moving.

Are you thinking of selling your home? Get started on your property journey today by arranging an up-to-date valuation.