House Selling Made Easy

Reflect on why you are moving. If it’s necessary due to relocation, growing family needs or relationship breakdown you still need to get the basics right and have a clear idea of what you are trying to achieve.

When choosing an agent consider who would be best to advise you on what you can expect to sell for and what you need to do to maximise your sale. Sellers often trip up at this stage by failing to ask questions of selling agents who have local knowledge.

Try to see your house freshly, as though you are seeing it for the first time through your viewers eyes. If there are areas for improvement it’s better to be told now so that your marketing makes maximum impact from the start. Hastings Property Advisors are happy to do a free pre-sale valuation and suggest cost effective things you can do to give your house the all important WOW factor. This is even without you having committed to selling with us.

Whatever you do, don’t make the mistake of using a home report to highlight faults at this early stage as it is then date recorded and may blight your campaign by making your property look like it has been on the market for longer than it has, or that it has had problems.

Based upon years of extensive local knowledge Hastings can give a realistic assessment of the attainable price you may expect. Good research at this stage will be repaid with results.

INTEGRATED MARKETING AND LEGALS
Only solicitors can handle the selling of your property all the way from start to finish.

HIGH STANDARDS OF SERVICE
Solicitors are regulated by the Law Society of Scotland so you can expect them to be trustworthy and always put the client’s needs first. This applies to the marketing as well as the conveyancing aspects of the work we do for you.

LOCAL EXPERTISE
Hastings staff all live in the Borders so we have first hand experiential knowledge of how things work here.

REAL PROPERTY SHOPS
If you are selling in the Borders try to put your mind to where your buyers are likely to be coming from. If you choose an agent with Property Shops throughout the area as well as a good internet presence you can visit their premises to assess what sort of service you can expect once you have signed up. If you are impressed your prospective buyer will be too and people buy from people they trust. Hastings also have a presence in the ESPC Property Shop in George Street in Edinburgh to service the commuter market.

GREAT INTERNET MARKETING
With Hastings, as well as in our Property Shops and the hastingslegal.co.uk website, your property will be advertised, for no extra cost, on Right Move, Zoopla and affiliated web portals and also in the ESPC (Edinburgh Solicitors Property Centre) Property Shop and website.

COLOUR PROPERTY PAPER
We recommend you also advertise with the BSPC (Borders Solicitors Property Centre) who publish fortnightly a colour paper of properties for sale in the Borders which is freely available in shops and outlets throughout the region.

ACHIEVING THE BEST PRICE
On the face of it, budget online selling may seem like a slightly cheaper alternative but if your property sells for tens of thousands less than it could have it is a poor investment.

DEFERRED PAYMENT OPTION
If the initial outlays are a problem Hastings can arrange a deferred payment plan so your set-up costs are deducted once you have the money in from selling the house.

QUALITY PHOTOGRAPHS
Another important consideration is the quality of photographs your selling agent takes and whether they are provided at no extra cost. At Hastings we have a Blue Sky Policy which means that we assess the weather conditions and take external photographs on the day and at the time when your house is looking its best. As an optional extra you can have professional photographs with staged lighting to show rooms at their very best.

REALISTIC HOME REPORT VALUATION
In Scotland most properties need a Home Report which includes a surveyors valuation and report on condition. Not all Home Report providers are on Lenders Panels and trying to cut corners by selecting the cheapest off the web could cost you in the long run as it would need to be redone by an approved surveyor for the buyers mortgage purposes. Hastings instruct surveyors who know the local market conditions so give realistic valuations and also are on Lenders Panels.

GOOD COMMUNICATIONS
If you decide on Hastings as your selling agents you will receive a marketing agreement so everything is clear and up front. we will keep in touch with you through the process of selling your home.

PRO-ACTIVE SERVICE
As soon as we get the go-ahead we will arrange the Home Report and while we are at it get the surveyors to provide a floor plan. Buyers love floor plans and often disregard properties without one. Meantime we will be on the look out for the next sunny day to take photographs which will make your property stand out from the crowd.

WHAT YOU NEED TO DO
Here you can make a big difference by preparing in advance, making sure the front and garden is tidy and attractive with seasonal colour. Remove vehicles and clutter such as trampolines, dog mess and rubbish. Buyers are sophisticated these days and if it looks like you can’t be bothered it may deter viewers and those that do come may sniff a bargain if the place isn’t well presented.

Once you have a potential offer its important now to step back and let your agents take charge. We will endeavour to land the best possible result for you having assessed the alternatives and the buyers position in terms not only of price but also their ability to make this come good, as well as timescale. There is no point going for the fools gold of an attractive offer with no commitment because their house is still on the market. An offer you can rely on is key to your ability to move on so it is important that this is firmed up with a written offer.

As Solicitor Estate Agents Hastings are proud of our integrated legal and property service that enables us to move from offer in to progressing the missives with offer and acceptance within a remarkably short  timescale. In Scotland there is no “subject to contract” so it’s essential that everyone acting for you is in the loop. This is a major benefit of the “one stop shop” integrated service.

In Scotland the ‘missives’ are an exchange of letters forming the contract and your solicitor will advise you of the standard clauses and how these affect you.

 Legal Lab Alert – Do not write or email the other side accepting their offer as that could be treated as a formal acceptance and you might have committed yourself to standard clauses and conditions that would have been taken out if you had left this to your solicitor. This could be costly for you to rectify or even put you in breach of contract. There will be other documents for you to sign such as the Disposition (or transfer document) and your solicitor can set this up on your behalf if you make arrangements in time.

Communication is paramount and by using local solicitors that you can trust, and who are easily accessible, selling your house should be trouble and stress free.

Now that missives are concluded and you have a binding contract you can start planning your move and arranging for removers.

Don’t forget to collect all the keys to your home, including those left with neighbours, nannies and relatives.

The new owners of your property will appreciate information with details of rubbish collection, milk deliveries, recycling schemes and so on as well as instruction leaflets and service information for the heating system and appliances you’re leaving.

You will need to tell the following that you are moving:

• Bank, building society, pension provider and any company you have loans or investments with
• Telephone and internet service providers
• TV licensing.
• Credit card and store card companies
• Inland Revenue
• Local council (tax)
• Subscriptions to magazines and charities
• Employers
• The schools your children attend
• DVLA to renew your driving licence and vehicle registration document
• Friends, family and colleagues

On the Exchange Day

When we receive the sale price from the purchaser’s solicitors we will pay off any mortgage which you may have, your estate agency fees and legal fees and outlays. We will send out as soon as possible after settlement a full accounting to you of what we have done with the funds and pay to you any balance remaining.

Have a good move!