3 Key tips to help ensure you achieve the best result

Selling and buying a house at the same time can be complicated and sometimes stressful. – The cash buyer who later decides to take out a mortgage. The dreaded property chain, where nobody seems to know what’s going on. The sellers who change their mind. Buyers pressing for a quick move. These are just a few of the issues you could encounter.

Here’s 3 tips to help make things run more smoothly if you have to buy and sell a house at the same time:

1. Choose your estate agent carefully

This is likely to be a relationship that will last for several months and could be the difference between a successful outcome or stress and disappointment.

What to do: Choose an agent that you trust and have confidence in, to not only find you a buyer at the best price the market will deliver but also actively help you find and secure your next home. Make sure they have the resources and expertise to expose your property to the widest pool of buyers, accompany plenty of viewings, negotiate on your behalf and guide and support you every step of the way, throughout the selling and buying process.

What not to do: Don’t choose the agent on the basis of which one values the highest and offers the lowest fee in order to win your business. A quick sale to the first buyer that comes through the door could cost you thousands of pounds. With many sales taking far longer than is necessary and as much as 40% of sales falling-through before exchange of contracts – the apparently cheaper agent might be the costliest.

2. Sort your finances

This may seem very obvious but it’s best to know before you plan your move what your finances are going to look like. How much you can afford to spend on your next house? How much equity do you have in your current home? How much you will need (or are able) to borrow and what the repayments are likely to be?

What to do: If you need to borrow , speak to a good mortgage broker who can help guide you to finding the right solution. That may involve re-mortgaging or porting your mortgage (transferring your existing mortgage to your new property). Understand the pros and cons of a fixed or variable rate. Whatever your needs, a whole of market mortgage broker will be able to help. Check how long it might take to process your application and a formal mortgage offer will be confirmed – you don’t want to lose out by it all taking too long.

What not to do: Don’t rely on assumptions, casual conversations or an online mortgage calculator. ‘The devil is on the detail’ as they say, and you don’t want to find out that you or the property doesn’t qualify for the loan you apply for late in the process.

3. Choose a good solicitor

The critical part of the buying and selling process can all too often become a long and drawn-out affair. For your sanity and peace of mind, a good conveyancing solicitor with a ‘can do’ attitude and is a good communicator, will help speed the process and settle any issues as and when they arise.

What to do:  Shop around for your conveyancing solicitor. Not on their fees – although this may be a consideration  – but on reputation, reviews and recommendation. The process should move smoothly but there can be bumps in the road. You need someone who will both help meet your buyer’s and your seller’s expectations and also have the communication skills, time and resources to help iron-out those bumps if and when they arise.

What not to do: Don’t choose your conveyancing solicitor based on costs alone OR if you have been heavily pressed by a selling agent to use their strongly recommended. By all means listen to their suggestion but ask if they receive a financial reward for referring them. Sadly, many are too busy to speak to you  personally to update you through the process and some of the larger ‘bucket shop’ conveyancing firms are notoriously poor at communicating effectively – often causing unnecessary delays and upset.

There’s plenty more to consider to help ensure a smooth, trouble-free sale and purchase but by taking these three key steps you should be best-placed to achieve the best result.  At Wilkinson Grant & Co we are here to help you every step of the way.