It is well documented that, nationally, around 30% of all sales arranged fail to reach a successful exchange of contracts. Fortunately, our success rate is much better than this average!
However, the sales cycle can be frustratingly slow and the longer the sale takes, the greater the chance of it falling through. This makes it particularly important that your estate agent handles your sale with kid gloves. So we typically advise our sellers as follows:
- Preparation – Make sure your solicitor has called for the deeds and prepared a draft contract in anticipation of finding a buyer.
- Be serious – Only accept a serious offer. Does the buyer have anywhere to sell, a mortgage agreed in principle and a solicitor lined up? Ask to see details. A serious buyer will be prepared and won’t want to delay.
- Don’t accept an offer exclusively from someone with a property to sell. By doing so you limit the saleability of your property to the saleability of theirs, and you lose control.
- Bridge – Bridging finance can provide a solution if you are caught between selling and buying. It is effective but costly and risky, so think carefully before entering into any agreement.
- Ask your solicitor about pre-contract agreements, which can bind the purchaser to buy prior to exchange, subject to certain provisions, much as they use overseas. You can even take a deposit from the purchaser to guard against them pulling out or renegotiating.
At Martin & Co Sales & Lettings, we pride ourselves on our ability not only to deliver buyers to your door – but, more importantly, to make sure that your sale sticks! So you’ll find our agents don’t just walk away once the deal is done, but are fully involved in the whole sale process and will hang in there with you until the day you move.
