Getting your house in order this Spring

Head of Residential Property Richard Broadhead offers advice for those planning to put their house on the market this Spring.

Springtime is fast approaching and it is this time of year that we would expect to see more people putting their homes on the market – but what can you do to ensure that you get the quickest sale?

Most people will spend a lot of time making sure that the house or flat looks its best for potential viewings, but how much time do people spend making sure that the legal side of things is in order before they go to market?

We would recommend that you consider a legal check, which might not only help you find a Buyer more quickly, but will also avoid you encountering problems at a later stage.

We would recommend that you consider all of the following:-

• Get your Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) early as they are necessary in every sale.  It may be that one has been done in the last 10 years which you can use  and which will save you time and money – we can check this for you.
• Have a Solicitor look at your title.  If your Property is registered, we can download the title and look at it to try and identify any potential issues.  If your title is unregistered then we would recommend that a Solicitor checks that you have all of the documents that a Buyer will need to see.
• Complete your forms before you go to market.  In every sale, you will be expected to complete several forms of which the Property Information Form is the most significant.  If you are not familiar with it, this may take a bit of time.  If we help you do this at an early stage then it may also help us to spot issues which might concern a Buyer.