Fine & Country North Cumbria - Our Client Journey - Part 1

Instruction to Offer – Part One

INSTRUCTION TO OFFER S U P P O R T I N G YO U D U R I N G T H E S A L E O F YO U R P R O P E R T Y

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PartInstruction One - Instruction to Offer to Offer – Part One

Fine & Country’s status as a world-class estate agency is irrefutable with the brand claiming ‘Best International Real Estate Agency Marketing’ at the International Property Awards seven times in the past ten years.

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Thank you for choosing Fine & Country to sell your property, and for trusting us with the sale of your valuable asset.

With decades of combined property expertise in our office, we are confident that we will achieve a successful outcome.

Everything we do is designed to realise the value of your property and to provide you with the best service throughout this journey. We believe that it’s crucial for there to be ongoing communication between us and that we work together.

Despite a commonly held view that selling property is a simple matter, there are many different aspects to it and a number of stages which require expertise and experience to navigate.

This booklet is based on our extensive knowledge about selling property, and is intended to act as a ‘go to’ guide to support you through your sale. House selling has changed massively over the last decade, largely due to the advent of the internet.

In these pages we will give you advice about that process, so that you know what to expect. Also, we’ll highlight where

we may encounter challenges along the way. In our experience, the most tricky element of the whole process revolves around human beings, whose behaviour is unpredictable!

Part One - Instruction to Offer

WELCOME Also, due to the common existence of ‘chains’, changes in circumstances can give rise to outcomes over which we have no control.

We will always do our best to keep you informed at all stages,. We also rely on you to raise any questions that you have, at the earliest opportunity. The fact that one of our Directors is a lawyer with over 35 years experience in property transactions gives added reassurance that you will have all the right resources at your disposal.

In this booklet we’ll talk about what you can expect from now …. until you have accepted an offer from a buyer.. At that stage you’ll be able to read part two.

We’ll also mention the things that you need to do along the way to keep everything on track. We truly are working in partnership as we don’t earn our commission until you have successfully completed your sale!

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Part One - Instruction to Offer

ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING CHECKS AND LEGAL TITLE At the outset, we are obliged by Government anti money laundering legislation, to make identity and address checks on our clients, to confirm their identity and bona fides.

To reduce the bureaucracy previously involved in this, we have invested in a technological solution, called Smartsearch, which allows us to access public online data to information to carry out the checks needed.

As part of this process, we will also need to see a copy of your legal title to your property, for proof of ownership. Property is either ‘registered’ or ‘unregistered.’

‘Registered’ means that the ‘deeds’ are a copy of the computerised record maintained by the Land Registry under your unique Title Number, which in Cumbria starts with ‘CU’, followed by five or six numbers.

If you have this information, then that is helpful, but otherwise our Land Registry access allows us to obtain this information ourselves.

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Fine & Countr y’s mantra is ‘Presentation, Ser vice and Exposure’. In simple terms, we achieve the best price for your property by creating exciting and evocative sales information, exposing it to the right buyers through a wideranging set of marketing tools, and working in par tnership.

Part One - Instruction to Offer

PREPARING FOR MARKETING

The whole process prior to going ‘on the market’ can take up to three weeks, but we aim to do this as soon as practicable. The final timing is usually dependent on obtaining the right external p which are weather dependant. We don’t compromise on that.

PHOTOGRAPHY Our dedicated specialist photographer will visit your home.

This may take more than one visit, to ensure exterior images are taken in the optimum light conditions. Our photographer will contact you to liaise on timings.

The aim is to secure an exciting and informative impression of your home and your lifestyle. Your contribution to this process is to prepare your home for the visit so that we are able to present it in its best light. You can also assist the photographer by giving him the freedom to do this work, which may take a few hours, depending on the size and nature of your property.

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Part One - Instruction to Offer

PREPARING YOUR HOME FOR YOUR PHOTOSHOOT AND VIEWINGS

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complicated - we recommend following these simple steps: •

first impressions: ensure unattractive items, such as bins and hosepipes are hidden. Mow the lawn if its long, sweep the paths and create a welcoming entrance with potted trees or hanging baskets either side of the door..

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make it sparkle: ensure the property is as clean as possible, especially shiny surfaces, fireplaces and kitchen appliances. Clean your windows, especially if you have good views.

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out of sight: remove unattractive utility objects, including bins, cleaning products, and pet bowls. Declutter if you have lots of knick-knacks but don’t make it look too bare.

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make it their home: help prospective buyers imagine themselves living in the property by removing personal items such as family photos, certificates and personal bathroom toiletries.

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perfect upholstery: ensure cushions are plump and beds neatly made. Adding attractive scatter cushions and throws is a simple way to make living spaces and bedrooms look more appealing.

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sell the lifestyle: make your home and garden look gorgeous and inviting by adding stylish props, eg. fresh flowers, fruit, candles and houseplants. Put out your patio furniture/cushions if you have them.

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finishing touches: do a final walk around the property and check that pictures and mirrors are straight and all cupboards and drawers are closed. Check your French/patios doors open easily if you’ve not used them in a while.

Part One - Instruction to Offer

Preparing your home doesn’t have to be

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Part One - Instruction to Offer

MEASURED FLOOR PLANS AND E N E R G Y P E R F O R M A N C E CERTIFICATE (“EPC’) We’ll commission floor plans from our supplier, who will contact you directly to make an appointment for their Accredited Energy Assessor to carry out their inspection. This person will produce the floor plans from their visit.

The EPC is an energy efficiency rating which every seller of a property is obliged to have prior to marketing their property.

As part of our service, we obtain this on your behalf.

The EPC is carried out using standardised measures, as a guide for buyers as to the energy efficiency of a property and improvements that can be made.

Using dedicated software, measured floor plans are produced, which also show the floor area and compass North point. If there are outbuildings which you wish to be shown, please be sure to mention this to the assessor on the appointment.

Once the draft plans are available to us, we’ll email them to you for your approval. Any amendments required will be done by email the finished plans will then be ready for the marketing material.

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Whilst putting the marketing material together, we’ll make arrangements for relevant members of our team to visit you, to familiarise themselves with your home house.

They will take any additional notes that they gauge to be helpful when conducting viewings. You can help with this process, by giving insight on the property and the location, so that we are better able to inform buyers.

Part One - Instruction to Offer

PRE-MARKETING VISIT

With Fine & Country you will be treated with respect by a team of trained professionals.

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Part One - Instruction to Offer

BROCHURE AND ADVERTISING We prepare key feature narratives of the house for the brochure and combine these with the photography, floor plans, EPC and other useful information to produce our draft sales brochure. This will form the basis of all our marketing materials in print and online.

We don’t write traditional “estate agency speak’ for our marketing material, as we strongly believe that our Fine & Country properties are such that a picture really is worth a thousand words.

The idea is to generate interest with an exciting visual presentation, to bring buyers to view. They will take in the detail - and ask further questions - after that.

An individually prepared brochure will be designed for you and emailed to you for your approval. Please try to feed back to us as soon as possible. Once approved, we are ready to launch ‘on the market’.

We will then send the brochure to our specialist printers. Within a few days, these will arrive. Copies will be sent to you and made available in our sales offices.

The content is uploaded to our online advertising outlets, namely fineandcountry.com, onthemarket.com, rightmove.co.uk and countrylife.co.uk.

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Selling your home is very much a legal matter yet most sellers don’t appoint solicitors until they have agreed a sale through their estate agent.

This practice can lead to serious problems, delays and even ‘fall throughs’.

It also means that no-one has checked the legal title before going on the market, for example to check whether there are any restrictions on the use or future development of the property. Nor has the planning history been checked, to ensure that all required consents and certificates are available. We have even had cases where part of the property is missing from the title plan!

Part One - Instruction to Offer

SOLICITORS AND LEGAL STUFF

The consequences of this can range from delays in the conveyancing process, to a buyer pulling out of the deal.

Our experience tells us that doing things this way is no longer a sensible option and we urge all our clients to appoint solicitors at the start of the selling process.

The advantages of this include: •

A check is done on the legal title to ensure that it is complete and marketable and to establish whether there are any restrictions which would rule out any particular buyer;

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A check is done on the planning history to ensure that all the necessary paperwork is available when a sale is agreed;

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Contracts can be prepared in advance so that it can be dispatched as soon as a sale is agreed;

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You have solicitors who can guide you and be available as soon as they are needed.

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Part One - Instruction to Offer

ACTIVE MARKETING From the time that you sign with us, we are on the lookout for buyers, from within our known buyers and contacts and our registered buyer database.

Once all the marketing material is available and we have something to send to interested parties, then we explore all avenues for selling.

Our marketing strategy is specifically tailored for each property that we sell, and we will discuss our plans with you at the outset.

VIEWINGS When we have a viewing request, we’ll call you to arrange this at a convenient time. We will always discuss how the viewing is to be carried out.

Visits which we conduct will be carried out by one of our professional viewings staff. Initial viewings are best carried out without your presence, as this sets viewers at ease and allows them to ask questions that they may feel uncomfortable about asking when you’re there.

On a second viewing, often the buyer may wish you to be there, so that they can ask more detailed questions. After each viewing has been conducted, we will seek feedback from the viewer, starting on the day following the viewing.

Sometimes, viewers are hard to get hold of, so please bear with us if it takes a few days. We generally make three attempts to contact a viewer after a viewing.

Please note that we may be unable to offer a full viewings service where a property is located more than 20 miles from either of our offices.

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The key elements in securing interest for your property are the visual presentation and the price.

Our ambition is always to secure the best price for you, backed up with great marketing. The market for higher priced and individual properties is specialist and the number of buyers is sometimes small.

In addition, the vast majority of the buyers for Fine & Country properties come from out of the area. It is these dynamics which provide us the opportunity to maximise the value.

Part One - Instruction to Offer

MARKETING REVIEW

These buyers don’t want a ‘mass market’ property. They want your property, which cannot be secured elsewhere. Sometimes it can take a while to find that person, so be patient and don’t be disappointed if you don’t get an immediate sale.

On rare occasions, even with the best marketing, if the price is seen as too high in the market then buyers will not come forward. When we judge that this is the case, we will advise you on r3evised pricing.

Generally, with the quality of the imagery that we create, it is simply a matter of time before we find the right buyer. Every property sells.

You can rely on our continued best service levels until we achieve this.

At the outset of instructing us, we will agree frequent communication points and review dates with you, so that we can discuss progress. If for any reason outside of this you wish to discuss developments, then please never hesitate to get in touch.

Presenting your property professionally to the widest possible audience enhances your chances of achieving the best price in the shortest time.

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Part One - Instruction to Offer

INSTRUCT F&C

ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING CHECKS AND LEGAL TITLE

PHOTOGRAPHY

If any buyer expresses serious interest in

your property but has not yet made an offer, we record a note of interest in their name and follow that up.

When an offer is made by a buyer then we will report this to you and advise you on the terms being proposed.

Unless you accept the offer immediately, we inform any interested parties of the offer that has been made. This ensures that we will secure the best price for you.

Depending on the instructions that you give to us, we will then seek to negotiate to an acceptable position.

Once terms have been agreed, we issue a Notice of Sale.

The diagram on the right summarises the steps we have explored so far in this guide. What happens next is covered in the second part of this publication “From Offer to Completion”.

BROCHURE AND ADVERTISING

SOLICITOR INSTRUCTION

PRE-MARKETING VISIT

FLOORPLAN AND EPC

ACTIVE MARKETING

VIEWING

INTERESTED PARTIES

MARKETING REVIEW (IF NEEDED)

Part One - Instruction to Offer

INTERESTED PARTIES AND BUYERS

£££ OFFER

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Instruction to Offer – Part One

DISCLAIMER The information in this booklet is intended as a general background guide to the processes in home moving.

It is not intended to be a substitute for appropriate professional advice. You should take specialist legal and financial advice when you are involved in a home move.

Fine & Country North Cumbria do not accept any liability for any losses arising from reliance upon the information in this booklet.

© Fine & Country North Cumbria

Fine & Country North Cumbria 50 Warwick Road, Carlisle CA1 1DN | Tel: +44 (0)1228 583109 1 Little Dockray, Penrith CA11 7HL | Tel: +44 (0)1768 869007 cumbria@fineandcountry.com www.fineandcountry.com/uk/north-cumbria