Selling with Tennison Property

We can help you achieve the highest possible sale price in the quickest possible time. You will find us straight-talking, upbeat and totally customer-focused with a single point of contact and a personal accountability for your successful move.

Value Establishing your current property's value Sale Process Initiating the sale process Negotiation Negotiation
Select Agent Selecting an estate agent Cobveyancing Conveyancing After Sale After the sale
Preparing property Preparing your property Finance Finance Agree Agreeing the sale
Viewings Viewings Chain The chain    

Establishing your current property's value

This essential part of the process will enable you to accurately forecast the financial side of your proposed move. Whilst a general picture of your local marketplace can be gleaned through local newspaper advertisements and website property-portals, to establish an accurate value of your property specifically you will need the services of an estate agent.

We will visit your home and meet with you at a time to suit your needs. This appointment usually takes between thirty and sixty minutes and will involve a detailed inspection of your property. We will discuss your specific needs relevant to your own situation, market forces and current demand, previous transactions in your street and activity levels with other property similar to your own.

From this we will be able to advise you on the value range applicable to your property and anything we think you can do to enhance this value. We will then suggest an appropriate asking price.

Our comprehensive marketing strategy will be explained together with the service level you can expect from Tennison. Any questions or concerns you have will also be addressed.

Selecting an estate agent

Having established the value of your property and decided to go onto the market, you will need to choose an Agent to act for you. When considering which company to use, watch out for those suggesting inflated values (which can leave you languishing on the market whilst those around you sell.

Selling your house should be straightforward and not very complex, however some high street and Internet based agents will try and bamboozle you with all the gimmicks and hype so you use their services.

We tell you straight and simple how to market, promote and display your property. We inform you how to deal and show purchasers around your home confidently and with security in mind at all times.

We give you all the information you require and more. Just because we do not charge you high estate agency fee we are happy to share all the information and knowledge and put it into simplistic terms for you to understand and use.

A successful agency will have a comprehensive marketing strategy, a proven sales record, professional & courteous people and a realistic expectation of what the market can achieve. You only pay commission when we successfully sell your property and you'll always have access to a specialist team dedicated to sales.

Preparing your property

The majority of buyers now use internet property portals to search for a new home. Three quarters of all our registered clients at Tennison are introduced to us through the many different sites with which we advertise our property portfolio. Therefore the visual imagery used with these listings are the first taste of your home a potential purchaser will have and will be hugely influential on whether they contact us to arrange a viewing.

Preparing your home for photography is one of the most important actions you can take to maximise your chances of attracting interest. Room dimensions and details will be recorded and a plan of the property will be drawn.

We will discuss with you the best times & days for viewing, the correct route to follow and what preparation you can make prior to a viewing. Some owners prefer to supply their agent with keys whilst others choose to be at home during viewings. Whichever way you opt to enable access, Tennison will work with your requirements.

Viewings

We will undertake to accompany viewings if this is what you'd prefer. Estate Agents commit huge amounts of time and expenditure towards marketing their properties to prospective purchasers, yet the ultimate result of all those website-portal listings and newspaper/magazine advertisements, emails and phone-calls can only be......viewings.

We will discuss with you the best times of the day & week to show your property and do our best to steer appointments around these times. Many considerations need to be made, including your normal weekly patterns, parking availability and traffic levels, children and pets, light levels and garden aspects.

A correct "route" should be established which the initial inspection should adhere to, whether you or Tennison are showing. This will give us the opportunity to save the best features of your property until last, to achieve a favourable lasting impression, whilst enabling others in your home to give your viewers the space to take in your property. For this guided tour, it should have been established what needs to be pointed out, and what doesn't.

Finally, try to say your farewells in your area with most impact, ask only once if they have any questions and answer these truthfully. And don't be tempted to "oversell" the property; it will have spoken for itself and you don't want to sour that favourable last impression with an awkward moment.

A planned and prepared viewing will provide the least disruption to you whilst enhancing the impact your property has on your prospective purchaser.

Negotiation

Any offer received will be put forward to you verbally at the first available opportunity, and in writing within twenty-four hours. You will need to make a response to any offer.

If the initial offer is rejected and the purchaser decides to increase, the process is simply repeated.

It is at this stage that we will try to make you aware of any chain implications and the likely timescale of any agreed transaction. Due to the nature of the buying process, any information provided by us concerning the transaction chain is not guaranteed and can change at any time.

Agreeing the sale

If an offer is acceptable to you, Tennison will need to check your purchasers' status. In order for us to do this, we will require, if applicable, the contact details of their broker or mortgage lender, and any estate agent dealing with their current property sale.

You will need to be prepared to instruct a solicitor/conveyancer to act for you in the sale. It is only when this information has been provided and we have contacted the necessary parties for verification of your purchasers' situation that we will consider whether it would be pertinent to stop showing your property to other prospective purchasers.

Initiating the sale process

You will be assigned a Tennison sales progressor who will be your point of contact during the sale process. They will confirm the agreed sale in writing to all the relevant parties.

Several things need to be in place before your solicitor is able to exchange contracts, which ultimately secures your sale. The time needed to get to this stage is at the mercy of many variables, but the speed with which you start the ball rolling will hugely influence the overall timescale involved.

Conveyancing

Both buyer and seller will require a solicitor/conveyancer that can act for themselves and their lender, but both parties cannot use the same person. The choice of who will act for you is entirely at your discretion. It is important, however, that you instruct a solicitor/conveyancer who will deal with the purchase of your property promptly. It is essential the solicitor is experienced in handling residential property sales, can be readily contacted and can deal with your case speedily.

You will need to furnish your solicitor with payment to start the process. Upon confirmation of your instructions and receipt of their initial payment, they will normally correspond with you, seeking full information on the property.

This typically includes your current mortgage provider (if applicable) and location of the title deeds, current buildings insurance certification & schedule, a list of any contents to be included in sale together with an accurate list of fittings that are to remain.

You will be asked to provide any evidence of works that have been done to maintain or improve the property and the necessary documentation regarding any changes that have taken place (extensions, drainage changes or insurance claims for example). Once your solicitor is armed with all this information, they will prepare a draft contract of sale which will be sent, together with an array of supporting documents, to the purchasers' solicitor.

The Tennison sales progressor assigned to your purchase will stay in contact with your solicitor throughout the sale process to monitor progress and to assist with any issues. They will liaise with all parties involved across the entire chain so it is important that you instruct a solicitor that is prepared to communicate with the sales progressor directly.

Conveyancing with Ormerods

At Tennison Property we recommend a local firm of solicitors Ormerods who specialise in all property matters.

Feel free to contact Janet Borrow or Robert McDonald on 020 8686 5000 or vist thier website for further details. www.ormerods.co.uk

Finance

If your purchasers are using a mortgage provider for any part of the purchase, they will need to submit a full mortgage application to begin the process. Before their lender can guarantee to provide the funding required, they will insist on inspecting your property.

Usually the lender will offer them two types of inspection: A basic Valuation will check only briefly the condition of the property and may comment only on its value. Alternatively, a Homebuyers Report will provide much more detail on the overall condition of the property, and may make recommendations to check certain areas more thoroughly.

In either instance, we normally expect this appointment to be made within three weeks of the property sale being agreed. Should this report recommend/require further investigation of any specific issues, further access to your property will need to be arranged.

Once a purchaser has investigated any recommendations or requirements brought up in their valuation or survey, they might attempt to renegotiate the agreed price. There are no hard & fast rules with this scenario as each property is different. Subsequently, we will continue to advise you but will, ultimately, take your instructions.

All we can suggest in such a situation is that neither party lose sight of the overall desire to move and get caught up on principal!

Once your purchasers' mortgage provider is completely satisfied with the value and condition of the property and their own personal situation, they will produce a Mortgage Offer. This document guarantees the finance and must be in place before their solicitor can exchange the contract of sale.

The chain

This term is used to refer to the people and property moving as part of one extended transaction. For example, a first time buyer agreeing the purchase of a flat may find that their seller is purchasing a small house, the sellers of which are moving up to a larger house whose owners may be downsizing, and so on. The individual people and properties on the chain are all dependant upon each other. If one section breaks, the whole chain collapses.

Chains take time to develop but cannot progress until they are complete, with a beginning and end. Whilst the individual elements of the chain may mature at different times, exchanging contracts and completion have to occur simultaneously. It can sometimes be challenging to get agreement for a common completion date from all parties involved and compromise is often required.

During the transaction your solicitor will reply to any additional enquiries that are raised by the purchasers' solicitor. Once the contract has been approved by the purchasers' side, you will meet with your solicitor to sign the contract and discuss completion (the day you actually move)

Contracts can then be exchanged and the completion date can be set. This is usually a maximum of twenty-eight days after exchanging contracts

After the sale

We recommend you leave any manuals for the operation of appliances and instructions for the Central Heating etc in the kitchen for the new home owners.