Come Fly With Me...

I’ve often said, selling a property is much like going on holiday. Researching your villa or resort as you would and should with picking an estate agent. Preparing your home for photos and viewings is like packing up and hoping your passport is where you last saw it…..50 weeks ago!

The selling process is take off!! It’s in your agents’ hands now and you are literally along for the ride.

Now before we get to the destination or completion, which is what we set out to achieve in both instances, you may want to ask yourself the question, whilst you’re relaxing with the first (of many) G & Ts….

“Is there anything that I can do to avoid any turbulence”.

The answer is YES!... And to keep this blog at less than a million words, let’s focus on admin.

What I mean by that is the important invoices, certificates, or service agreements that you have kept religiously (I hope) during your time at your home.

At the time these might just be your back up to make sure the work carried out is guaranteed, but as you start the legal process these become a short cut to less stress and stop a lot of the buyer’s solicitor enquiries in their tracks. It paints a picture to the buyer of a much loved and well cared for property. In fact, a buyer’s solicitor who receives this level of documentation would be hard pushed to not give it the thumbs up if asked (as long as the survey doesn’t suggest otherwise).

The real important ones are any work around the heating system (Gas Safe) and I would always recommend a yearly service, any electrical work (NICEIC) as let’s face it, nobody needs a literal shock when buying (if you haven’t got a recent consumer unit RCD then expect that to come up), and finally with any planning or building control works PLEASE get a completion certificate.

It’s not a great deal of money but it’s often overlooked (once those beautiful bifold doors have gone in).

Other documents that the buyer’s solicitor will not search for (tbh it’s not their job) is FENSA certificates for any new windows or external doors - as long as the fitter is accredited. If you’re lucky/unlucky to be in a conservation area then you will probably need documents agreeing any changes or improvements to the façade (I once waited 8 weeks for this, for new front windows on a sale in SE London!)

If you are selling a flat, regardless of the size of the communal area you will need a fire safety and asbestos report (don’t argue just do it!). You can throw in the Japanese Knotweed plan as well, but I doubt at that cost you are likely to mislay it!

A great rule of thumb is either to marry a lady like my wife who keeps everything in binders…think Monica Geller from Friends, or just get in the habit of taking a photo/copy of any expense on the home and adding it to a file on the computer that can then be sent straight to your solicitor at the start of the transaction.

The reason I say this is, you will be surprised how many ‘copies’ do not arrive in the post…’ahem’.

So, there is no doubt and trust me on this one, this will reduce the stress levels considerably but what about something tangible, like time? How much could this speed the process up and get you to your new home quicker? ….I would say it could be measured in months, not weeks….now would you like ice in that?