Market overview
England’s property market remains one of the most open and accessible in the world. There are currently no restrictions at all on foreign investors buying in, which opens up a world of opportunities to make the most of a very affluent property market. The economy of the UK is seen as among the most liquid on the planet and its housing market something of a safe haven from financial crash fallout.
Residential properties and business lettings in London represent money in the bank, holiday homes across the Cornish coast are in massive demand all year-round and even England’s second cities like Manchester, Sheffield, Birmingham and Liverpool are experiencing colossal growth. In fact, it’s one of the very few markets where it’s actually quite hard to go wrong.
The Selling Process
Marketing your property
The normal means of marketing a property is via an estate agent who can also value your property. If you used an agent to buy your UK property, it would make sense to use the same one to sell it as they will already know the property Alternatively, the UK industry is home to an increasing number of online estate agencies and FSBO services, which can help you to sell your home withou the usual agent fees.
Legal Representation
You will need either a solicitor or conveyancer to carry through the selling process. These can vary in costs and expertise, with conveyancers unable to help with more specific legal disputes or complex situations (e.g. if you are going through a divorce) and many solicitors hiring their own in-house conveyancers.
Preparing for viewings
Ensure that your home is as tidy and presentable as possible for viewings. A little less clutter can help you get a little more buying action.
Provisional offer
After viewing, a buyer may make a provisional offer on your home. This can be accepted, subject to contract and survey. You may be asked to take your home off the market while the provisional contract is drawn up, but this is not a legal requirement yet.
Legal checks
Your solicitor or conveyancer should now carry out the requisite legal checks on the property, from surveys and inspecting for property damage to providing your buyer’s legal team with details of te deeds. Your buyer will also have a surveyor, who will need to access your property.
Negotiate
After legal checks are complete, you may need to renegotiate the original offer that was made to account for any unforesoon maintenance or repair work. Ask for multiple quotes from contractors to ensure that any mitigating costs are as accurate as possible. If you cannot reach a compromise, you may still pull out of the deal/
Deposit and contract exchange
Once you have signed and exchanged the finalised contracts, you are legally committed to complete the transaction. You will receive a deposit from your buyer at this point, while the solicitors will arrange the registration of the sale with the land registry and the trasfer of title deeds.
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All you have to do now is agree on a completion date – then make sure you’ve got everything packed in time to move!
Average selling prices
1 Bed Apartments
£33,490
2 Bed Apartments
£61,750
3 Bed Apartments
£12,512
2 Bed Homes
£55,940
3 Bed Homes
£121,754
4 Bed Homes
£76,962
Selling Costs Checklist
Once you have met these costs, you have paid to sell your home
Estate agent fee – usually 2% of the sales price Legal fees – anything from £200+ CGT – Applicable if you have more than one home or it is a buy-to-let property. (From 6th April 2015, foreign owners will have to pay CGT, most likely 18% or 28%, depending on their tax bracket.)
Photos: Martie1Swart, AJC1 href=”http:>
