Selling Your Property - Estate Agents Surveyors & Valuers in Hertfordshire, Trend & Thomas

SELLING YOUR PROPERTY

Selling your home can be a stressful process so it is important to choose an agent you can trust who will make this process as smooth as possible. We at Trend & Thomas aim to eliminate the stress and make the experience as easy as possible.

What sets us apart is that we are independent, committed to providing you with an uncomplicated experience and our Directors oversee every transaction on a day to day basis. You will never be passed on to another office or department, every part of your sale will be dealt with in-house and we will follow the progress of your purchase with as much enthusiasm as you do yourself.

WHAT TO DO NEXT

MAKE AN APPOINTMENT WITH US
The first step towards selling your home is to make an appointment with us to have a free Market Appraisal carried out on your property. Please contact us if you would like some advice about the Valuation process or simply to make an appointment for us to carry out the Market Appraisal. Either phone, visit us or click here to complete our Market Appraisal request form.

MARKET APPRAISAL
Our Market Appraisals are, a no obligation, factual and accurate appraisal, of the current market value of your home. Our experienced property valuers will provide you with an appraisal based not only on their in depth knowledge of the local areas, but also utilising our extensive database of recent properties sold, competitive marketing analysis and the individual elements relevant to your own property such as specific location, condition, any additional features, proximity of local facilities and the current market trends.

FINANCIAL ADVICE
If you haven't already, it may be prudent at this stage to take some time to discuss your financial situation with a Financial Advisor. This will allow you to be clear about the costs of moving and the budget you can set yourself for your next purchase, should this be your plan. We can provide you with recommendations for Financial Advisors should you require these.

INSTRUCTION & PROPERTY DETAILS
Once you have received our Valuation for your property we will be happy to discuss this with you in more detail to ensure you are comfortable and confident with the process. When we have answered all your questions and you are fully satisfied you will need to confirm your instruction of us as your Agent. We will then prepare full sales and marketing details of your property. Bearing in mind the importance of presentation, we will ensure that your details highlight the vitally important aspects of your property, ensure your home is shown to its best possible advantage with the aid of full colour photographs, have floor plans produced and work with you to market your property to its best potential. These details will be uploaded to our website at the earliest convenience, along with interactive maps, full colour brochures and relevant local information.

Brochures - We produce extremely detailed Property Details for every property we market. We do not abbreviate the Sales details down to bullet points like some Agents but spend an enormous amount of time preparing details which will give interested parties full particulars about all aspects of your property. This is one of our specialist offerings and we take pride in these details so please feel welcome to work with us on ensuring these details are correct as these are invaluable to the sale of your property. Where relevant we may also suggest producing tailored brochures to sit alongside the detailed particulars for expanded marketing purposes.

HOME INFORMATION PACK (HIP)
No doubt you will be aware of the introduction of HIP's on the 1st of August 2007. Every property marketed for sale, now needs a completed HIP before marketing can begin. We have made arrangements with an excellent HIP company who can complete the HIP's for our clients at a competitive price and in the quickest time possible, so that marketing can commence as soon as possible. We are happy to discuss your HIP with you further and work with you to have this completed in the best way possible for needs.

INSTRUCT A SOLICITOR
It is advisable to instruct a solicitor as early as possible in order to ensure there is little hold up to the sale process once a sale is agreed. Should you require assistance in finding a Solicitor we will be only too pleased to recommend local firms. We are an Independent Estate Agency and this means we have the benefit of being able to work with the best Solicitors for each sale. Unlike other Agents we do not accept commissions for recommending Solicitors and therefore are able to point you in the direction of the best Solicitor for your individual sale. We do suggest you use a local firm as this speeds the conveyancing process and we do strongly recommend you ensure any Solicitor you appoint specialises in Conveyancing.

ADVERTISING & MARKETING
Once your HIP is complete and you have approved our Sales particulars for your property, we will then be in a position to fully market your property. An extensive marketing campaign will begin to include the following:

For Sale Board - This is the most simple and effective marketing tool, available 24 hours a day
Office and Window Display – External and internal photographs will be prominently displayed in our premises in order to optimise exposure to the market place
Email - All prospective buyers who register with us are asked to provide email addresses in order to ensure that they are notified of any new properties as soon as possible and always within 24 hours of receiving your instruction
Mail Shots and Telesales - We will contact registered prospective buyers as soon as possible after receiving your instruction and your details will be forwarded to any new registered buyers immediately
Website - This is updated daily and full colour details of your home are placed on our website within 24 hours of being placed on the market
Web Marketing - Besides the exposure on our own site, Trend & Thomas is also affiliated with all the market leading national property websites which will feature your home
Advertising - We provide regular prominent advertisement of your property in the local publications and reach further into the nationals should this be part of our marketing strategy for your property

VIEWINGS
Now that the marketing is in full swing you will be ready to receive prospective buyers. Appointments to view your property will be made by us and we will be in close contact with you in order to arrange these viewings at times that are beneficial to all involved. We provide accompanied viewings where we show prospective buyers around your home but we are more than happy for you to carry out your own viewings.

PREPARE FOR YOUR VIEWINGS
First impressions are incredibly important and there are a number of tasks you can carry out to increase the saleability of your own property. Here is a quick checklist to help you prepare for your viewings, but please do not hesitate to discuss this with us further so we can tailor our advice to your exact property.

Viewing Preparation Checklist:

Spring Clean - A thorough clean of your home prior to marketing is strongly advised and make sure you include all those tiresome but beneficial jobs like windows inside and out, skirting boards and bathrooms. We have a very reputable cleaning company we can recommend especially if cleaning is the last think you have time for amidst everything else.
Remove Clutter - all those Property programmes are correct when they say remove as much clutter as you can. It helps viewers see the potential of your home and imagine their own possessions in place. Putting a box or two of clutter in the loft/garage will make an enormous difference to the look of your home.
Entrance - Pay particular attention to the entrance to your property, ensure outdoor areas are clear of mess and garden waste, your door is clean (and freshly painted if possible) and remove all old shoes, coats, tennis rackets and dog bones as much as possible! First impressions really do make a big impact.
Brighten Up - Turn on all relevant lights and open all the curtains to make your property as bright, spacious and welcoming as possible.
Warm/Fresh - Depending on the season keep the property a comfortable temperature. In the winter ensure the heating is on at an appropriate temperature and in the summer ensure the property is well aired out and windows are open if the day is warm.
Pets - If you can keep you pets contained during the viewing this will be a big help. Not everyone will love your dog, cat or hamster like you do so best to keep it as concealed as possible and smells and fur balls to a minimum!
Flowers, Coffee & Warm Bread! - All lovely touches to add to your home and will make the viewing much more enjoyable but not many of us have time for baking bread these days and a clean, uncluttered, bright home is your best sales approach.

FEEDBACK
We understand that keeping you up to date with the progress of your sale is very important to you. At Trend & Thomas we pride ourselves on our conscientious sales management and aim to keep in close contact with you during each stage of the process. During the viewing stage we will phone you on a weekly basis with verbal feedback from recent viewings, on a two weekly basis we will forward you printed analysis of the marketing of your property and we are always available to meet with you in our office to discuss the process in further detail with you should you desire it. Please make us aware of exactly how you would prefer to receive your feedback and we will accommodate you and your wishes to the utmost.

In addition to the viewing feedback we aim to keep you regularly appraised of your sales process right through to completion. We will liaise with your purchaser, all legal representatives, surveyors and the mortgage lenders in order to ensure that your sale is progressed as smoothly and as stress-free as possible.

RECEIVING AN OFFER
Any offers we receive are promptly forwarded to you verbally for discussion and then followed up in writing. Our sales team will negotiate between you and your prospective applicant or applicants, in order to achieve the strongest buyer and the most acceptable price for your property. At every stage of the offer process we are here as your Agents to discuss the details with you and provide our expertise and advice each step of the way. We will research and inform you of the position of the buyers and liaise with you until an accepted offer has been agreed.

Elements to consider when evaluating offers:

The Offer Price - Obviously!
Position of the Purchaser - Are they in a chain with their own property?
The Purchasers Finances - Confirmation their mortgage offer is in place?
Time Lines - Can the Purchaser move in time to fit with your plans?

Ultimately the decision to accept an offer is yours, but we will assist you every step of the way in evaluating the offer and making the best decision.

ACCEPTING THE OFFER/AGREEING THE SALE
Congratulations! You have accepted an offer and we can agree the sale of your property. We will notify all parties and forward the initial paperwork to both your Solicitor and the Purchaser's Solicitor, so that draft contracts can be drawn up.

DRAFT CONTRACTS
Your Solicitor will forward a draft Contract of Sale to your Purchaser's Solicitor at this stage which will be responded to with preliminary enquiries from the Purchaser's Solicitor so it may be useful to have considered the following in preparation for this:

Restrictions/Boundaries for your property
Rights of Access
Guarantees & Insurance policies
Utility services to the property
Building permissions and Planning documentation
A list of Fixtures and Fittings

The Sellers’ solicitors will request the Title Deeds from the lender (if appropriate) or yourselves as the Seller. The Draft Contract sets out the Terms of the Sale and once the Purchasers Solicitor has received this draft any enquiries can be raised, Title Deeds and Lease (if applicable) will be checked and Local Searches carried out. Once the draft contracts have been approved, it can be signed by both parties.

EXCHANGE OF CONTRACTS
As long as the mortgage offer has been received and cleared funds placed with your Buyer’s Solicitor, a mutually convenient date can be agreed upon for the exchange of contracts.

COMPLETION
The completion and your actual house move can take between 7 to 28 days from the Exchange of Contracts, depending on the buyers, sellers and their respective solicitors but by this stage of the process Completion is near and you will be very close to having sold your property...CONGRATULATIONS!

START THE BALL ROLLING AND REQUEST YOUR 'NO OBLIGATION' MARKET APPRAISAL NOW!