Nine Steps to Selling Your Home

18 October 2021

Step One: Getting Your Property Valued

After you have decided to list your home for sale, you should get it valued to discover how much your property is worth. 

It is easy to request a free property valuation with a solicitor estate agent today, this marks the start of your selling journey and gets you on the right track, boosting your chances of selling your property for a higher value.

We recommend getting a couple of agents in to value your property so that you can find out more about what they can offer.

Step Two: Appoint a Selling Agent

After getting your property valued by selling agents, you need to choose one to take you through the rest of the selling process. Choosing a solicitor estate agent means that they can help you with securing your next property purchase too.

Step Three: Look at Your Mortgage Options

When deciding to sell your property it Is a good time to determine your current financial situation, so you can make the next steps confidently.

Seeking independent mortgage advice can help you make decisions about your mortgage and choose the best option for you. 

Steph Four: Preparing Your Home for Sale

Before putting your property on the market, you should make sure that it is in the best condition possible. You should attempt to remember what first attracted you to the property, and enhance those areas to show your home at its best. 

Think about how potential buyers will view your home, spruce it up where you can. You want the photographs of your home to show it in its best light and make it as attractive as possible to viewers.

Complete any maintenance or repairs necessary and freshen up any tired décor – a lick of paint or repairing cracked tiles can make all the difference!

Tidy up and declutter your home – moving things into storage is a great way to open up space and create an open, inviting space for potential buyers. 

Speak to your selling agent and ask them for anymore tips they may find affective. 

Step Five: Arrange a Home Report

A home report is an essential document required to sell your home. It looks in detail at the property and assess its condition to determine its value and if its mortgageable. You require a Home Report to sell any property in Scotland. 

Your home report will contain information about your property and include a property questionnaire for you to complete, a single survey (which looks at your home’s condition, value and audits its accessibility) and an energy report.

A surveyor will be required to visit your home in order to produce a home report and they will advise you on any extra health and safety precautions they are taking due to the current pandemic. 

Step Six: Marketing Your Property

Finally, it’s time to put your property on the market! 

You will now have photographs, a property schedule, and you’ll likely have a virtual or video tour as part of your marketing package, for buyers to watch first before deciding to view your property in person. You can share these on social media if you wish to.

Feel free to ask your selling agent what other services they can provide to market your property to the best advantage.

Step Seven: Conduct Viewings

After your home goes on the market, interested buyers will book appointments to view your property. 

In the first instance, viewings should be done virtually, so you will likely have a virtual video tour as part of your marketing package. 

Your selling agent will advise you on all stages of viewings, and provide guidance on how to ensure both you and the viewers stay safe during the pandemic.

Step Eight: Negotiating Offers

When a buyer wishes to purchase your property, they’ll either submit a formal offer ot make a note of interest. 

If they make you an offer, you can choose to accept it or negotiate on the price – your selling agent will negotiate this and other matters, such as entry date, on your behalf.

If they submit a note of interest, this means that the buyer is interested in making an offer. If you receive one or more notes of interest, you can set a closing date, which means all offers should be submitted by that date for consideration.

Step Nine: Conclude Missives

After accepting an offer on your property, your solicitor will work on the legal side of the sale, to ‘conclude the missives’ – this means making a binding contract between the buyer and seller, after which, neither side can withdraw from the sale without penalties. 

Once completed, the money from the sale will be collected, with arrangements made to discharge and repay your existing mortgage on the agreed date of entry. 

And that’s your property officially sold!