Sellers Guide

Ashley King: Make it simple with our straightforward guide to selling your home

  It's All in the Planning

Selling your property can seem stressful and complicated, but having the right team behind you, knowing what to expect and planning your move carefully can make all the difference, not only to your success, but also to your stress levels.

Ashley King's guide to selling will help you take control of your move, and provide you with the knowldedge and tools to move with confidence. 

  Arrange a Valuation

Establishing how much your property is really worth isn't just good from a selling perspective, it also gives you a better idea of what you can afford to buy next, and if it is a second home of investment property, whether or not there could be Capital Gains to consider.

Ashley King's completely FREE, no-obligation property valuation service provides you with an accurate and competitive market price, including a detailed assessment highlighting the unique features of your property. Your valuation will also include considerations such as your own moving timescale and financial commitments.

  Preparing your Property

We recommend getting all of those odd jobs done, like regrouting the bathroom, giving tired and scuffed paintwork a lick of paint, tightening screws on loose door hinges and of course decluttering, before putting your property on the market.

Once you've decluttered, declutter some more and pack away anything that you don't need on a regular/daily basis, and store somewhere unobtrusive. Not only will it make your home look more spacious and appealing to potential buyers, it will make moving day a lot simpler when the big day comes.

  EPCs

If you haven't already obtained or organised an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC), do it now, as you will need to provied it before we can begin marketing your home.

We can arrange for an EPC survey to be carried out for you with one of our partners services, if you wish. Please ask us for a quote.

For more information on EPC's, click HERE.

  Marketing the Property

Your property needs to be seen in all the right places and we will list it across Rightmove, our website and social media platforms. Where local bylaws allow and where appropriate, we also recommend having a board as this can also help attract plenty of attention.  It also helps potential buyers locate your property easily when they attend viewings

Whilst marketing and throughout the entire moving process, we will keep you fully informed as to how much interest your property has generated, and providenany feedback from potential buyers. We will also monitor our marketing strategies and make modifications as and if required.

As many of our vendors and potential buyers are overseas clients and customers, we make sure we keep communactions open and continious throughout. Not knowing what's happening is just one of the many reasons more and more vendors leave their existing sales agent and join us. 

  Viewings

Although it can be tempting to conduct your own viewings, our agent led guided tours have a much higher conversion success rate than owner led tours, and they also provide quicker and more open feedback.

We will arrange viewings at convenient times for you and take the utmost care of your property whilst highlighting your property's most desirable and key features, and answering any questions viewers might raise.

  Receiving Offers

On receiving offers, we will put them forward to you with supporting information such as financial status, timescale to complete, chain or other influencing factors for consideration.

If you are not happy with the price offered, we will negotiate on your behalf with buyer to secure the best possible terms for you.

  Memorandum of Sale

Once you have accepted an offer, we will prepare a Memorandum of Sale which will be a formal letter to all parties, detailing the property and and the buyer's intention to purchase and the vendor's intention to sell to them. Once your appointed conveyancing solicitor receives this document, they will proceed with the next phase of the legal process. 

  Conveyancing

One of the first jobs your conveyancing solicitor will start work on is the Contracts of Sale. These will include everything that is included in the sale, even the kitchen sink.

There are usually some negotiations between both party's solicitors over what fixtures and fittings are included in the sale. This can anything from fitted curtains to a garden shed.

They will also retrieve a copy of the Title Deeds to the property from the Land Registry, and information within this will confirm that you are legally entitled to sell the property, where boundaries lie, and any restrictive covenants that will need to be disclosed.

Your solicitor will also complete Anti Money Laundering checks on your buyer, as well as standard Identity Checks on you to ensure you are the legal owner of the property.

  Exchange 

Once the contracts are agreed on by both parties, it is time to sign and exchange. You are now legally bound to selling your properety. 

Your buyer will now pay a deposit into your solicitor's client account, which is normally 10% of the property purchase price. 

At this point a Completion Date is also agreed and you can now start preparing to move in earnest. 

You will need to vacate your property on Completions Day, usually by midday, so you will need to get packing, and start planning for the big day. 

We can recommend several local removal companies that would be able to assist you. Please let us know if you would like to know more about our referal partners. 

  Completion

The big day has finally arrived and once you have vacated your property and dropped the keys into our office (or we can arrange to collect them from you), and your solicitor has confirmed that the outstanding funds have been transfered to their client account, your sale has Completed, and we are cleared to hand over the keys to your buyer.

There is still however a lot to do and if you have an outstanding mortgage on the property, and or are using assets from the sale to purchase another property, your solicitor will have to settle those payments immediately.

  Loose Ends 

In the days after Completion, the last loose ends will need to be tied up, including settling bills such as our commission and legal expenses, which your solicitor will facilitate with funds held back for such payments. 

You may also need to pay Capital Gains or Iheritance Tax, and we advise that you speak to an Independent Tax Advisor if this is the case.

  Overseas Vendors

Every country has their own rules and regulations when it comes to the profits gained from selling a property in the UK, and this may mean tax liabilities are incurred, therefore we recommend vverseas vendors consult with a tax specialist in their country of residence regarding tax liabilitles.

Ashley King is committed to providing a seamless experience for all vendors, whether local, overseas, or corporate, and ensure that every transaction is conducted with the utmost integrity and professionalism.

For further details or to arrange a consultation, please contact our Canary Wharf, or Northwood offices.

Note: The above guide is based on generalised processes and considerations for selling a property in the London area. It may not account for all specific legal, tax, or regulatory requirements. Always consult with legal and financial professionals to ensure full compliance with all relevant laws and regulations.