Do you often wonder why it is taking so long for my house sale to go through? Or what could I do to help my house sale go through quicker? If you do hopefully the five minutes it takes to read this brief guide will help answer those questions and minimise the stress associated with moving house.
By failing to prepare you are preparing to fail.
Benjamin Franklin
This quote can be applied to anything in life and moving house is exactly the same, a lot of delays in the house sales process are very, very avoidable. By preparing to move before you put your house on the market you will find the entire sales process easier and avoid unnecessary stress.
Get yourself legally prepared- Appoint your solicitors the day you put your house on the market. This doesn’t have to cost you anything (worth checking), but by getting your solicitor to open your file, take the identification they require and give you the forms you are required to complete there is one less step to worry about once you have accepted an offer on your house. This point includes completing your property information form and completing your fixtures and fittings forms, once your solicitor has these they are normally ready to issue draft contracts. These forms shouldn’t take too long to complete, but in my experience it is the last thing people want to do once they have agreed a sale on their house as their focus is often on finding their next home. I think by completing the paperwork beforehand you will avoid delays of 1-2 weeks.
Get the house prepared- Part of preparing your home to sell is de-cluttering and de-personalising to make it look it’s best for photographs and viewings. But part of preparing the house for sale should also include preparing the house to move, don’t make the same mistake I made when I moved out of my first home and take boxes out of one loft and straight into another. I ran out of time to clear the loft and throw away what is no longer required and this is a common mistake. Going through the loft and garage is always a good idea before you go onto the market so as soon as that house sells you can start boxing up the house not worrying about what should be thrown out of the loft or garage.
Get yourself mentally prepared- It might sound obvious, but don’t be surprised if you sell your house after just a few days of marketing. You need to be ready to move and that might mean simple things like knowing where to get your boxes from or more serious issues like where you will live. Once you have agreed a sale the work starts on packing the house up, so part of being mentally prepared is being willing to start the process straight away. If you wait a few weeks before contemplating moving, those few weeks could make your transaction drag on unnecessarily.
Be flexible- The most common problem we come across when progressing a sale is people falling out over moving dates. My advice is discuss them early and be as flexible as you can, don’t resent your buyers if they can’t get a certain day off work and be willing to change social plans if required. If you want to sell your house and move into your new one on the same day you are just one part of a chain containing 2 other people, as chains get bigger more people become involved so if you can break the chain by moving into short term accommodation sometimes it has to be done.
Instruct a gas safety certificate & electrical test- A large number of solicitors will ask for up to date details that gas appliances and electrics have been checked. So if you don’t have this done regularly this is worth organising once you have accepted an offer so you can provide these certificates without delay.
I hope you have found this guide helpful and it has helped answer questions about how to progress a house sale quickly. I always think it makes sense to get a sale through as quickly as possible because the sooner a transaction has exchanged contracts and become legally binding the better.
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Georgina Cox
