Selling

Selling your home can be stressful so it is important to choose an agent you can trust who will make this process as smooth as possible. At Waterfords we aim to eliminate the stress and make the experience as easy as possible.

VALUATION:
Firstly, if you are selling, you will require a valuation. At Waterfords we can offer you a free, no obligation accurate appraisal of the current market value of your home. We will provide you with a valuation based not only on our knowledge of Worcester and surrounding areas, but also on research as to what is for sale and what has sold in your locality. When we value your home we also take the opportunity to discuss the most effective way of securing a successful sale.

PROPERTY DETAILS:
If you wish us to market your property we will then prepare full sales details of your home. Bearing in mind the importance of presentation, we will ensure that your sales details highlight the important aspects of your property and ensure that your home is shown to its best possible advantage.

MARKETING:
Once you have seen and approved the sales details, we will commence the marketing of  your property and arrange viewing appointments with prospective purchasers. All appointments are made by Waterfords and accompanied viewings can also be arranged.

Our marketing includes the following features:

FOR SALES BOARD - This is the most simple and effective marketing tool.

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 – Wherever possible, 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 within 24 hours of receiving your instruction.

MAIL SHOTS/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, and also on http://www.rightmove.co.uk/.

ADVERTISING – We arrange for regular prominent advertisements to appear in the Worcester News and other local publications if we consider that these would be of benefit.

PROGRESS REPORTS – At Waterfords, we pride ourselves on our conscientious sales management. We aim to keep you regularly appraised of the sales process right through to completion and liaise with your buyer, the legal representatives, surveyors and mortgage lenders in order to ensure that your sale is progressed as smoothly as possible.

NEGOTIATING YOUR SALE – When we receive offers for your home we will notify you as soon as possible by telephone and then confirm the details in writing.  Our sales team will negotiate on your behalf to secure the best price from the strongest buyer. As part of this process it will be necessary for you to supply details of any target dates you wish to set for the completion of your sale.

NOTIFYING SOLICITORS – Once you have accepted an offer from your preferred Buyer, the next step is to instruct a firm of solicitors to carry out the legal work on your sale. You may have nominated a solicitor when placing your home on the market, but if not it will be necessary to do so at this stage. Your choice of solicitor is entirely free, but if you wish to benefit from a single fee that includes all the legal work on your sale, we can offer this through our exclusive arrangement with Thomas Guise solicitors. 

Once we have details of the Buyers’ and Sellers’ solicitors we notify them of the agreement that has been reached by sending a Memorandum of Sale. This sets out all the information they require to commence the legal work.

The Buyers or their lenders will then instruct a surveyor to conduct a survey of your property.  If this reveals any problems or if the lender considers the property to be worth less than the agreed sale price, the Buyer may withdraw from the sale or try to re-negotiate the price.

In the meantime your solicitors will ask you for your title deed, or request them from your lender if you have a mortgage. You will also be asked to complete a Solicitors Property Information Form regarding the property, together with a list of the fixtures, fittings and contents that are included in the sale price.

Once they receive the title deeds, your solicitors will prepare the draft contract  which is a legal document that sets out the terms of the agreement you have reached with the Buyer. This is sent to the Buyer’s solicitors for approval, together with copies of the title deeds and other relevant documents.  The Buyer’s solicitors will check the contract papers and raise any further enquiries if necessary.

Once the draft contract has been approved two copies are produced, one of which is signed by you and the other signed by the Buyer..

EXCHANGE OF CONTRACTS – Your Buyers will be able to enter into a binding agreement when:

• All enquiries have been answered satisfactorily
• They have received all their searches
• Their lender has issued an acceptable mortgage offer
• Their own buyers and any other parties in the “chain” are also ready to proceed
  A binding agreement is achieved by exchanging contracts. This is done when the Buyer’s solicitor sends your solicitor their copy of the contract, together with a deposit.  At the same time your solicitor sends your copy of the contract to their solicitor.

When exchanging contracts, you agree with the Buyers on a completion date when the sale will actually take place. This can be a matter of days or weeks after exchange of contracts, depending on the parties’ wishes.

COMPLETION – On the completion date, the Buyers’ solicitors send the balance of the purchase monies to your solicitor and in return receive the keys, the title deeds and a document that transfers the property to the Buyers.