Selling Your House Guide | first direct bank

Preparing and selling

Energy Performance Certificate

An Energy Performance Certificate Opens an overlay [Will show a security message first] (EPC) shows your home’s energy use and carbon dioxide emissions, along with any improvement recommendations. You usually need one before you put your house on the market and a good one could be a real selling point.

Preparing and repairing

Buyers can be very picky – and rightly so, a house is the biggest thing they’ll ever buy. So make sure you get around to those niggling DIY jobs before anyone comes around for a view. A lick of paint, a well-maintained garden and a clutter-free space goes a long way.

Selling your home

Gone are the days when the only way you could sell your home was by putting it in the local estate agent’s window – which is still a good option, so don’t write it off straightaway. Lots of people look for properties online – and while an estate agent can also list yours on the internet, there’s nothing to stop you doing it yourself. It could be cheaper than using an estate agent – but you might need to do a bit of the work yourself.

Offers

Your first offer may be less than your asking price – but don’t panic. It’s to be expected. You need to think about what your plan is for when this happens. How low can you go? What’s the minimum you can afford to accept?

You’ll also need to think about negotiating what the price includes – be that some furniture the previous owners don't want to take with them or white goods.

The legal stuff

Exchange

Yesssss! Someone’s made you an offer and you’ve accepted. You’ve sold your house. Now what? You’ll need to get a deposit from the buyer, so you know they’re serious – you may want to make sure you have one before taking your property off the market. The deposit is normally paid to your solicitor or conveyancer when contracts are exchanged. This is a formal stage in the process, and a legally binding agreement between you and the buyer. You’ll have agreed a completion date, when the buyer will pay the remaining balance and you’ll hand over the keys.

Completion

Moving out

Moving house

The month before you move

The more you can get done at this stage, the better – leaving it all until the last minute is a recipe for disaster. Here are some things to think about:

provisionally agree the date of your move (the exact date will be agreed just before exchange of contracts)
if you're renting, check the terms of your contract to ensure that you give the required notice period and notify your landlord of your provisional moving date (you can notify the landlord of the exact date when agreed just before exchange of contracts)
check your new buildings insurance starts from the date of exchange
get written quotes from several removal firms – make sure you get references and check their insurance
notify the relevant utility companies you’re leaving.

One week to go

Start packing. It's never too early – you’ve got far more stuff than you think. You’ll also need to contact all your financial services, health and utilities providers etc, so they can update their records and send post to your new address. In case you miss anyone, it’s worth registering with the Post Office Redirection Service Opens an overlay [Will show a security message first] – for a small charge they’ll make sure all your post is forwarded to your new address for a set period of time.

The day before the move

If you're using movers, check in with them to make sure they’re still coming and that they know where to park etc. You should keep a bag of essentials separate – wallet, phone, toothbrush, toilet paper, knickers – just in case they get buried in stacks of boxes.

Moving day

Have a list of essential phone numbers to hand – solicitor, estate agent, movers – especially if you're completing on the moving day itself. And make sure you have the keys to your new house. While the move's underway, check the meters and take any final readings – you'll need to do this at your new home as well. Before you leave for the last time, say goodbye and make sure everything's locked up. It’s considered good manners to run the vacuum round and give the windowsills and surfaces a wipe down, but that’s up to you.

Selling your house