If, like many people, you’re plotting your next move but need to sell your current home to help pay for your next property, you may be wondering how the logistics of doing both transactions simultaneously will work.
Here, we outline the different steps you’ll need to take:
1.) A valuation of your home
Essentially, you need to understand what your home could potentially sell for before you can do anything else. The best way of doing this is to ask a local, reputable estate agent to value it. (This is typically more accurate than an online instant valuation.)
2.) Assess your financial situation
Obviously, you need at least a rough understanding of what you could afford before you can make your next move. Once you know what you can reasonably expect to make from selling your current home, you can add this sum to any savings you have, bearing in mind that you’ll still need to pass some affordability assessments.
3.) Work out how much your move might cost
Moving home is never going to be a particularly cheap business. So factor in the various costs at an early stage, including:
· Deposit
· Estate agent fees
· Solicitors’, mortgage brokers’ and conveyancing charges
· Stamp duty
· Removal firm costs
4.) Prepare your property for sale
We’ve previously written about preparing your home for a sale. Do everything you can to make your home as marketable as possible.
5.) Assemble your team
Don’t underestimate the importance of having the right team to support you for a smooth simultaneous sale of one property and purchase of another. That includes any painters, gardeners and others to help prepare your property, as well as the best estate agents, conveyancers and solicitors you can find to work with.
6.) Prepare your paperwork
Having key documents ready at an early stage saves time later on. That includes title deeds proving you do indeed own your property, alongside your Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) and Fenestration Self-Assessment Scheme (FENSA) certification.
You’ll also need ID and proof-of-income paperwork for your mortgage lender.
7.) On the market
Tell your estate agent that you’re ready to market your property. At the same time, you can start house-hunting. However, it’s never a bad idea to sell your home before you buy your next one, if you can, so bear that in mind before making any offers.
8.) Agree your sale and get your offer accepted
When it comes to agreeing a sale, while it may feel tempting to accept the highest offer you receive, you also need to be sure the prospective buyer can move and has the funds offered.
In terms of getting your own offer accepted, you’ll need to do the same as your buyer and be a bit strategic in the offer you make to secure your dream new home. Ask your estate agent for advice. Once you’ve had your offer accepted, get the vendor to remove the property from the market to minimise the chances of someone ‘gazumping’ you before everything is finalised.
9.) Next formalities: finalise your mortgage and kick off the conveyancing process
Don’t crack open the champagne just yet. Complete your mortgage application and start the conveyancing process. For their own benefit, most mortgage lenders will insist on having a surveyor carry out a valuation. However, it’s generally considered a good idea for buyers to have their own survey done, for extra peace of mind.
10.) Exchange contracts and set a completion date –then get organised!
At this stage, you can exchange contracts and agree a date for completion. Then it’s time to pack up, hire your removals firm and sort out everything else that needs to be done, from booking pet sitters for moving day to redirecting post, ordering new Wi-Fi and sorting out utility bills.
Clearly, the more effort you put in at an early stage, the more smoothly moving day is likely to go when it rolls around.
Buying and selling at Carter & May
Salisbury-based Carter & May is one of the leading independent estate agents in its area. With a strong city-centre presence in Salisbury itself, we also cover Amesbury, Fordingbridge, The New Forest, Ringwood, and Alderholt. With many years’ experience working with those buying and selling, we’ve helped many people to do both at once – we could help you, too. Browse our website and get in touch to kick start your hassle-free move to your dream new home today.