Are You 90 Days Away From Selling?

Most homeowners do not wake up one morning and suddenly decide to put their property on the market. The idea normally develops gradually.

Perhaps you have started looking at what your next home might cost. You may be wondering whether you have enough equity to make the move work, or perhaps you have caught yourself checking what similar homes nearby are selling for. Conversations at home may also have shifted from talking about moving “one day” to discussing whether it could realistically happen this year.

If any of that sounds familiar, you may already be further into the moving process than you think.

Being roughly 90 days away from selling does not mean choosing an estate agent immediately or preparing the house for photographs next weekend. It simply means that if a move is becoming realistic, there are some useful questions you can answer now rather than waiting until you feel under pressure.

Start with the number that unlocks everything else

For most potential sellers, the first useful piece of information is what their current home could realistically achieve.

This is not just about curiosity. Your likely sale price influences almost every other part of the move, including how much equity you may have available, the type of property you could buy next and whether the overall plan stacks up financially.

Market conditions also vary substantially by area and property type. Zoopla’s latest index showed UK house-price growth of 1.3%, but with significant differences between regions and even neighbouring markets. It is another reason why broad national figures and automated online estimates can only tell part of the story.

A valuation does not mean you have decided to sell. It gives you something much more useful at this stage: a realistic number to plan around. Once you have that, your property searches become more meaningful too. Instead of browsing homes that might or might not be achievable, you can begin to understand what your likely budget would buy and whether the move you have in mind is realistic.

Preparation does not have to mean renovation

This is also the point when homeowners often begin looking around their property and noticing every unfinished job. Suddenly the hallway needs painting, the garden needs redesigning and a bathroom that has been perfectly functional for years feels as though it needs replacing before anyone can possibly see it.

Most homes do not need a major renovation before they are sold.

There is a difference between dealing with obvious maintenance and investing money in improvements that a future buyer may have changed anyway. Touching up marked paintwork, fixing broken handles, tidying the entrance or dealing with a leaking tap can all help. Replacing an entire kitchen simply because you are considering selling deserves much more thought.

An early conversation with an agent can often help here. They see what buyers react to every week and can give a more objective view of where preparation is worthwhile and where your money may be better left unspent.

Use the time to make the eventual move easier

If your move is likely to happen over the next few months, September is also a good opportunity to start finding the information that tends to disappear into drawers and old email folders.

Documents relating to extensions or improvements, guarantees, certificates and information about the property can all become relevant once a sale is agreed. Leasehold owners may have additional information to locate, while anyone with a mortgage may want to understand whether an early repayment charge applies or whether their existing deal can potentially be ported. Your conveyancer will advise on exactly what is required, but starting from an organised position can make the process much less stressful later.

Most importantly, preparing early gives you freedom over timing. You might decide after a valuation that you are ready to go ahead. You might decide to wait another few months. Either outcome is useful because you are making the decision with more information.

If you have already started checking property prices, thinking about your next home and wondering what your current property could achieve, you are probably no longer simply curious about moving. That does not mean you need to put a For Sale board up tomorrow, but it may mean the right time to understand your options has already arrived.

If selling within the next few months is becoming a realistic possibility, complete the contact form and one of our team will arrange a no-obligation property valuation to help you understand what your move could look like.