Whether you've completely decided to sell your property or are just thinking things over, please feel free to call your local branch of Mansell McTaggart. We have offices across the heart of Sussex and into Surrey, so there'll always be one nearby.
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Choose your nearest branchWe'll agree with you the best time to come and carry out a valuation of your property. We'll keep in mind the sum you'd like to achieve for your property, and any timescales you need to work to. Our expert valuer will suggest the figure that would be a realistic price to start marketing, and will back this up with evidence of similar properties nearby that have recently been on the market.
If you decide you want to go ahead and put your property on the market, we'll agree the best time to:
Some branches also offer the unique service of a personalised, narrated video tour of your property. These can assist buyers who may find an on-site viewing tricky for any reason, or those who maybe considering relocation from non-local areas, giving them a real live walk-through of your property to ascertain if it's of significant interest enough to make a serious on-site visit.
Download our free guide to help you prepare your home for photography and viewings.
Once we have compiled your property brochure with professional photography, we'll ask you to approve them for publication. We'll then upload your property to our website and the major portals that we use for advertising. We'll also match your property against our 170,000 buyers in our database and email those who are looking for a property like yours. We'll be on the phones to the ones we know are really keen, too.
Social media is also a significant marketing platform and we'll advertise your property on our Facebook and Instagram pages and apply our marketing budget to a targeted audience, to ensure we reach every customer touch-point we have.
Interest in your property will start to build and we will always call you to agree convenient viewing times with you.
We like to accompany potential buyers on viewing - partly for your security, but mostly so we can gauge buyers' reactions face-to-face and provide you with accurate feedback afterwards. Some sellers prefer not to be present for viewings, to allow potential buyers to 'see themselves' living there, as well as to ensure the house isn't too busy! We always keep any keys that we hold responsibility for in a locked and secure environment.
After each viewing, we will call them to hear their thoughts and be in touch with you as regularly as you would like to update you on progress, and to discuss any changes we think might help your sale.
The length of time before an offer, number of viewings and offers we receive will always vary on the market conditions, the marketing price and the type of property. Once we receive an offer from a potential buyer, we will clarify their ability to fund the property. If they need a mortgage, we will ask to see their Agreement In Principle (AIP). If they are selling a property in order to purchase yours, we will ask to see their Memorandum Of Sale as confirmation.
One of the key factors in agreeing a sale is how complex or simple the chain might be. We will undertake a 'deep-dive' into the prospective chain that you might be facing if a specific offer is agreed. Any points of note will be discussed with you.
You should take as much time as you need to consider an offer, but do bear in mind that sometimes things need to move quite quickly in order to keep the sale together. We are adept at handling negotiations with the buyer on your behalf.
Once an offer is agreed, we will contact your solicitors and the buyers' solicitors to confirm each parties details.
Once you agree an offer, you should get all the documentation your solicitors need to them to keep things moving. These will include:
If a property is leasehold, your solicitor will ask for the name of the managing agent, the freeholder and a statement of account for the ground rent and service charges.
The conveyancing process is complex and can be frustrating - especially if your solicitor is not particularly communicative. Your Mansell McTaggart negotiator will regularly chase all parties in your chain to ensure that things happen on time.
Your buyers and/or their mortgage lender will want to carry out their own valuation of your property, and may well ask for a fuller survey or 'homebuyer's report'. This can be a worrying time; it is not unusual for the report to highlight areas for concern which you had not previously considered to be problematic - but remember the surveyor's job is to mention anything and everything which might possibly be a cause for concern.
Buyers can often be troubled by these 'warning lights' but ultimately it usually comes down to a matter of common sense on their part, and even an acceptance of various imperfections as part of property ownership, especially in respect of older homes. It is the job of a good estate agent to make sure the parties don't panic unduly and to keep the sale together!
Finally, your solicitors will agree on the phone to ‘exchange of contracts'. This is an exciting moment as it is when the sale becomes legally binding for both seller and buyer.
Completion is the moment the sale of your property becomes final and it's time to move! Your solicitor will contact you and us when the buyer's money has cleared and we will then let the buyers have the keys. If any balance of monies is owed to you from your sale, your solicitor will transfer them into your bank account.
We hope this all makes sense, but if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to call us, your trusted agent.