How to speed up a house sale and have less stress

Moving home can be a very stressful experience. The paperwork, upheaval and unforeseen obstacles can make selling your property a complicated and drawn-out affair.You could be subject to the unpredictable behaviour of buyers along the chain and face difficult to answer questions while trying to plan ahead for your own move.The chances of deals falling through after a sale has been agreed are quite high. It is estimated that over a fifth of all property transactions fail after an offer has been accepted.The most common reason is the buyer pulling out. Gazumping, where the seller accepts a higher offer from another buyer after the original sale has been agreed, accounts for about a fifth of failed sales.Issues revealed by a buildings survey is the next most common factor, followed by difficulty securing a mortgage, the buyer or seller feeling upset that the deal wasn’t progressing, and gazundering, where the buyer reduces their offer after the sale has been agreed.Speed and efficiency can overcome many of the above issues, according to property lawyer Sarah Sargent.She is Head of Residential Property at Lupton Fawcett, which has introduced a Quickstep programme to help home sellers to identify issues and resolve them early in the sale process or as Sarah puts it “forewarned is forearmed”.She says: “As a residential property lawyer who deals with buyers and sellers across Yorkshire, I see many common and avoidable issues that needlessly delay transactions and add to the overall stress of the experience. There is no need for property sales to be so drawn-out.”Here, Sarah shares her top tips on how to reduce anxiety and see off challenges before they become problems.*Prepare yourself: your lawyer will want to see passports to prove your identity so make sure yours is available. If you bought the house a long time ago, are your name and title on the passport up to date?*Get your paperwork ready. Locate the title and other important documents relating to your property. These should include planning permissions and building regulation consents for any relevant building work/ property extensions.Have any pre-existing covenants been breached? What if you have misplaced any documents and need to source replacements? I have seen entire chains collapse because a seller is unable to produce the right document for building work done on the property.Buyers can get nervous so make sure you think through every step you are likely to encounter on the journey and consider what evidence you will have to demonstrate compliance. Get all these basics sorted into a “sales pack” at an early stage and your property will then be sale-ready.*Is your property freehold or leasehold? If it’s a leasehold, you need to know how long it is until the term expires? Some people decide to buy the freehold to make the property more marketable. If you decide to do this then don’t just accept the first price given by the freeholder. You can negotiate and get advice to avoid overpaying.*Buyer beware is a thing of the past. It always used to be the buyer taking the risk but nowadays it is incumbent on the seller to disclose all relevant information upfront.*You are likely to experience challenges to the price you want to achieve if your purchaser can point out unexplained title problems, historic planning issues, building irregularities or other anomalies. Your conveyancing solicitor should be able to prepare a full report highlighting issues that a prospective purchaser is likely to raise.We always include a full title report and advice on how to resolve any issues which may limit the saleability of your property.*Don’t assume that all mortgage lenders are the same. Each one has different requirements. At an early stage, think about anything in the title that might limit the ability of a purchaser to obtain mortgage funding. This can slow things down and is another reason why you should have everything present and correct before you start.*Work smart. Use online services to supply documents where possible and use your device to respond quickly to questions. Technology is great for speeding up the sale process, though it gives you less time to respond and rectify issues.*Finally, know the difference between what your heart and your head are telling you. Homes are bought with the heart but, as a seller, you need to have your head engaged from day one – and even before you put your property on the market. If you get the right advice and map out the journey in advance, stress levels can be managed.*Sarah Sargent is a Partner and Head of Residential Property at Lupton Fawcett LLP, a UK top 200 full service law firm, which has offices in Leeds, Sheffield and York. www.luptonfawcett.com