According to homesellingexpert.co.uk, a staggering 31% of property sales fell through (collapsed) between 2021 and 2022. What is even more shocking, is that 3% of people have experienced their house sale falling through three of four times!
This a national average but it’s worth checking your local market conditions and asking your local estate agents. There are always those one or two agents where you see the sold board going up and then weeks later going back ‘For Sale’ – it happens far too often and there is good reason for it.
Monitoring and administrating the sale post ‘SOLD S.T.C’ should be one of the first discussions you have with your Estate Agent when they come out to see you. It’s the period of time between when a buyer purchases your property and when the sale actually completes – most sellers and buyers find that this is the most nerve racking experience, but at the point of considering selling, this is rarely considered.
It’s all very well having an agent telling you that they can sell your property, but if they can’t keep it together afterwards then you will just find yourself going round in circles with unqualified buyers – inevitably losing time and money. The value of the property can actually drop as buyers become disillusioned wondering why the property has come on and off the market and been for sale for so long.
It’s not always about how many boards an agent has up. It’s how many SOLD boards they have up and how often they are coming up and down – do some research, you’ll be surprised.
Find an agent who is local to your area, has years of experience in negotiation and is an expert in customer service – somebody that knows how to mediate if your sale gets a bit challenging. There are so many irritating moments throughout a sale and purchase that often different sellers and buyers see differently. An inexperienced agent can easily sell a property but will not have the knowledge or experience to hold what is sometimes a complex challenge together and bring it to a satisfactory conclusion. So many sales are lost by the lack of experience at the point of sale so please just be aware.
So what kind of things do we at Campbells do, to stop sales from falling through?
We investigate buyers and their offers before we accept them on your behalf.
Before we suggest that our sellers accept final offers, we keep our properties on the market until the potential buyer can prove they are financially able to buy that property. As a seller you have every right to know how that purchase will be funded. If your buyer wishes not to prove to you that he/she has the financial capability, then walk away and find another buyer.
We make sure the rest of your chain is secure.
Often there are other people involved in your sale or purchase which is commonly known as a ‘chain’. You could potentially have a chain of people behind you and in front – sometimes the chain splits in two, for example, if a buyer or a seller has two houses to sell or two sellers are both buying in different directions. It can be a minefield but to an experienced agent this is normal behaviour.
You need to know what you are up against so that you can make informed decisions – estate agents who know what they are doing are worth investing in. They will save you so much anxiety, time and often money. Sadly, this is a service that is very lacking within the online and budget method estate agents.
Extraordinary estate agents know how to talk to the estate agents, solicitors, mortgage brokers, lenders, surveyors and builders etc, so that when things go a little ‘pear shaped’ they will pull it all back together.
When everything has been agreed, we will liaise with your solicitors.
We will outline the memorandum of sale and make sure everyone knows what is expected of them over the coming days and weeks – from instruction of individual solicitors, to arranging a survey within a fair time, to making sure the endless paperwork is kept moving, to encouraging mortgage offers, organising survey queries with experienced tradesman, to negotiating an actual moving date. No two sales are the same and this can be the most stressful time so, make sure you have an expert on hand to literally ‘hold your hand’.
So many sales fall through during this point quite simply due to inexperience and lack of expertise.
If you are thinking of selling do your homework, check out your chosen agent’s reviews – see what their customers say about them.
Keep it simple. Choose a local face to face estate agent who comes highly recommended and who, without a doubt, knows what he or she is doing and will look after you throughout your new journey – they will be worth every penny.
Is there anything you can do?…
What can you do to help?
You can help your sale progress much quicker by doing the following:
Have all of your ‘ducks in a row’ before you sell your property.
Instruct a solicitor or a conveyancer early. Take advice from your estate agent. Please, please, do not use the cheapest conveyancing service you can find online as it will end in tears. We know it’s tempting but work with your agent and if you have chosen well they will look after all this for you.
As soon as you are ‘For Sale’ instruct a conveyancer or get your agent to do it for you. There are lots of forms to fill in but do it now while you wait for a buyer – you will thank yourself later when all hell lets loose and you suddenly have so much to do. A good buyer will appreciate your efficiency too.
Make sure any work that has been done on your property has the relevant planning consent paperwork and building regulation certificates, stamped – one of the most popular holdups!
Collate any guarantees for work done i.e. windows, damp proofing or woodworm treatment etc.
Make sure you complete and return any paperwork we or your solicitors give you. Don’t forget, if you don’t fill that paperwork in, then the process cannot move on. If you get stuck and you need help, just ask.
If you instruct the right Estate Agent you’ll be very grateful.
