3 ways to get you moved before Christmas!

- Wed 10 Aug 2022

The fact we are even mentioning the ‘C’ word in August seems a little premature even for the most enthusiastic of Christmas fans, although that is the reality when looking at how long house moves are taking currently!

Following a reported average of 22 weeks from the moment an offer is accepted to the moment a buyer collects the keys to their new home, statistically you may find any home move agreed now to tip into the New Year. There are, however, measures that can be taken to help reduce the timescale so we thought it may be useful to outline a few of these should you be thinking of marketing your home in the coming week or months;

1. Be legally prepared. Conveyancers can only process paperwork as fast as they receive it, whether that be carrying out identity checks at the outset, a completed fixtures and fittings list or a copy of your FENSA certificate for the new windows you had installed 5 years ago. The more paperwork that can be completed, prepared or provided at the very start, the quicker your sale can proceed. If you wait to instruct a conveyancer until a buyer is found, you can almost certainly look towards a January move. Dig out any warranties, guarantees, copies of insurances, receipts for any major works plus anything else that your conveyancer is likely to need and keep it to hand or provide it to your conveyancer at the outset.
2. Consider alternative sale methods. Depending on your situation you may want to consider selling via auction, as one example, whereby the legal preparation is done prior to the marketing of the property. This way once a buyer is found, there can be strict timescales agreed and a deposit or buying fee paid in order to formalise the deal, leaving both buyer and seller happy. This will not suit everyone, although it becomes far easier if the property is empty or if you as the seller are not looking to buy another home so you become the ‘end of the chain’, which means there are no further transactions related beyond your sale.
3. Be realistic when setting your price. The tendency to ask a little more when setting your asking price is all too tempting for most sellers, although can have a direct impact on how quickly you will find a buyer, and whether you attract multiple buyers. Consider how buyers will find your home, which if searching online, will mean certain round numbers are easier to attract multiple buyers. For example £399,950 used to be seen as the more appealing, although at £400,000 you will reach buyers searching up to £400,000 and those starting their search at £400,000 – double the audience! If you have a choice of offers to consider there is likely to be buyers in a better position to proceed more quickly than others. For example, a buyer in rented accommodation and a mortgage agreed in principle is likely to be able to proceed to a successful completion more quickly and with less chance of any hiccups than a buyer who has 2 other buyers in their chain.

These are just a few things to consider that are likely to have the most direct impact on your move, although having trust and belief in your chosen agent will also be of vital importance. All good estate agents should be mindful of what is important to you and set about working to achieve your goal, which should also be considering the three points above.

Regardless of whether you need to move before Christmas or not, the sooner you start talking to estate agents, planning your move and checking your finances the more we can help you towards a smoother home move.

3 ways to get you moved before Christmas!

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