130 High Road, Beeston, Nottingham, NG9 2LN
Telephone: 0115 922 9090
Email: letting@robertellis.co.uk
11 Derby Road, Long Eaton, Nottingham, NG10 1LU
Telephone: 0115 946 6946
Email: longeatonlets@robertellis.co.uk
Selling your first home can be both exciting and daunting. With the right preparation, a good conveyancing solicitor, and an experienced local estate agent, you can make the process quicker, easier, and maximise your return.
A local, independent estate agent who understands the Nottingham property market will ensure your home is accurately priced and marketed to the right buyers.
Selling a home often takes longer than expected, typically around 12 weeks from agreeing on a price to completion, and longer for leasehold properties due to third-party involvement. Delays can happen at any stage, but a good estate agent will keep you updated on progress throughout.
Being aware of everything you need to do before you start means that you should be prepared for much of what is to follow. This handy guide will provide most of the information you need, but every sale is different and can throw up its own issues. For that reason, it’s important that you listen to any advice you get from the professionals you engage to help you.
As the sale progresses, your solicitor will need you to provide your prospective buyers and their solicitor with a number of documents that will give important information about your property. It’s worth getting as many of these ready at the outset as you can, so that when the time comes, you can forward them on immediately rather than holding up the process.
Following a few key steps to get organised before you list your property for sale can help avoid delays.
Essential documents include:
An experienced estate agent with local knowledge of the area your property is in will help ensure the sales process is efficient and stress free. Look for agents offering:
Online-only estate agents are becoming popular; however, they often lack local knowledge and require upfront payment, reducing their incentive to sell your property efficiently.
One of the best things you can do is read verified reviews to find out what previous customers thought of the service they received. At Robert Ellis, we’re currently rating at 4.9 out of 5 stars based on over 2,500 reviews.
Finally, be careful about online-only estate agents, who are unlikely to know your area and will usually ask for their fees in advance, meaning that they have little incentive to do everything they can to sell your home once they’ve got your money.
Your agent should provide a free valuation based on:
You can set a price slightly higher to allow room for negotiation or lower the initial asking price for a quicker sale. Discuss your priorities with your agent to determine the best strategy to sell your home.
You can view the properties we currently have for sale across Nottingham to get an idea of current market values in our area:
Properties for Sale in Arnold
Property for Sale in Beeston
Property for Sale in Long Eaton
Property for Sale in Stapleford
Property for Sale in Nottingham
First impressions matter. To attract buyers and secure the best price:
Your agent can advise on any minor improvements that could improve your home’s appeal.
Rooms that are looking tired and out of date can be transformed with a coat of paint – in a light, neutral colour – for relatively little time or money. It’s also worth patching up any marks that are obvious and getting your garden into good order, especially at the front for maximum kerb appeal. Your estate agent will be able to advise you on any cosmetic work that they think will help, so make sure you take advantage of their experience and knowledge.
Giving your home a thorough clean and tidy for when the estate agent photographer comes round is a must. Hide any clutter and fully open any curtains and blinds so that each room is getting the maximum amount of natural light and looks as spacious as possible. You might also want to avoid having personal items such as family photos on display.
You may not need to maintain that level of cleanliness and tidiness throughout the viewing process – after all, you still need to live your life and you might be getting lots of viewers. Nevertheless, you should still make an effort to stay on top of any mess so that it’s a quick job to get your home to an acceptable standard ahead of any viewing. In particular, you should avoid leaving personal or private documents around for anyone to see.
Receiving an offer is exciting, but don’t rush to accept. If your home is attracting interest, you can negotiate a better price. Buyers may request reductions after surveys reveal issues, but you don’t have to agree if the price already accounts for necessary work.
Even once the price has been agreed, there may well be further negotiation and compromise to follow. Your buyer will almost certainly have a survey carried out that might reveal problems and issues that were not visible or obvious at the time of viewing – such as signs of damp, poor insulation, and the state of guttering.
As a result, they may ask for a reduction in the selling price to allow for sorting out such problems after completion. Of course, you don’t have to agree if you’ve already allowed for such work when setting the price in the first place.
A good conveyancing solicitor will guide you through the legal steps. You’ll need to complete a TA6 Property Information Form, disclosing details such as boundary disputes or flooding issues. Misleading information can lead to legal action.
You’ll also have plenty of expenses to take into account, so it’s important you bear this in mind when setting your selling price and working out how much the overall process will cost. For instance, you’ll need to pay:
Once a completion date is set, ensure your home is cleared out and ready for the new owners to move in. Notify utility and service providers (gas, electricity, water, broadband, council tax, TV licence) and arrange for mail forwarding to your new address.
With branches in Beeston, Arnold, Stapleford, and Long Eaton, Robert Ellis has decades of experience helping homeowners sell in west and north Nottingham. Our expert team is on hand to guide you through every step of the process, ensuring a successful property sale.
Then pop into your local branch, give us a call or fill in our online form to ask for a free valuation.
