Process Explained

Home Information Packs (HIPs)

The Home Information Pack contains important information that buyers and sellers need to know. Properties marketed for sale in England and Wales from 14 December 2007 need a Home Information Pack and we can advise on the options available to you.

Market Appraisal

This is the first and most important step since it will determine who you choose to represent you. Our market appraisals are free and without obligation and only undertaken by the most senior members of our team. We commit to being honest, accurate and thorough and will cover the following:

• Your goals and objectives
• Market conditions
• Legal obligations such as Home Information Packs (HIPs) and Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs)
• Our tailored markerting plan
• Market value based on actual Land Registry sales data and similar properties currently being marketed for sale
• Any development potential which could influence value and saleability
• Our Terms of Business, fees and associated services

Instructing Us

You will need to sign our Terms of Business and decide who will be supplying the HIP for your property. If you decide to use one of our partners, we will ensure that everything is completed as quickly and efficiently as possible – this is very important since it affects our ability to market your property.

We will visit your property again to take photographs and gather the information necessary to prepare the full colour sales particulars, This will normally include a visit from a professional floor planner and energy assessor (if we are arranging the HIP and EPC).

Draft sales particulars will be sent to you for approval before being issued to prospective purchasers. At the same time we will prepare comprehensive details for our own website listing and the other web portals we use, including Find a Property, Property Finder and Primelocation.

Finally, many of our clients will also benefit from our free property extension evaluation service provided by Upshoot. Have you ever wondered if it would be possible to add value to your property through an extension or loft conversion? What are the likely planning issues? Are there local planning precedents? Would this information help to achieve a quicker sale at a higher price? We think this is a unique and potentially invaluable service.

Presentation of Your Property

First impressions are extremely important and we will provide you with honest feedback and recommendations. During our initial meeting we will also discuss the importance of good internal and external photographs and what can be done to help present your property in the best possible way.

If you are planning to sell a property that is unoccupied and unfurnished we can also advise on ‘home staging’ and the costs associated with hiring a furniture package until an acceptable offer is secured.

Keeping You Informed

We recognise that prompt and effective communication is essential. You will have a dedicated point of contact at Steed & Co and will be contacted on a weekly basis to discuss progress. Whenever a viewing has been undertaken you will be contacted within 24 hours and given feedback.

Offers

Any offers received on your property will be communicated to you without delay and confirmed in writing. It is our job to validate all serious offers and establish, for example, if the prospective purchasers are in a position to proceed quickly and have mortgage finance in place. Where we receive several offers at the same time, we will try to identify the strongest candidate.

Needless to say we will negotiate strongly on your behalf to secure the best possible offer.

Sale Agreed

Once an offer has been accepted and terms agreed, we will need to write to the solicitors representing both parties. We issue what’s called a Memorandum of Sale which sets out the terms agreed including price, target completion date and any special conditions. At this stage the sale is agreed ‘subject to contract’ and subject to survey / mortgage valuation.

If you have not already appointed a solicitor to represent you, we would be happy to make a recommendation and obtain a quotation for you to consider.

Sale Progression

Having written to both solicitors we then actively track progress towards Exchange of Contracts. We will liaise with your purchaser regarding submission of any mortgage application and ensure that an appointment to carry-out the mortgage valuation / survey is made as quickly as possible.

We will then diarise to check the outcome of the mortgage valuation and establish when the purchaser’s mortgage offer will be issued. In parallel, we will keep in touch with both sets of solicitors and keep you informed on a weekly basis.

Exchange & Completion

Once the purchaser’s solicitor has completed all enquiries, reviewed the draft contract and satisfied the requirements of the mortgage provider, a date for exchange of contracts can be agreed with your solicitor. Both parties will also agree a date for completion of the sale which is usually several weeks after exchange of contracts.