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My Proper Home

Guide · 10 min read

Selling a home

The seller's side of the same chain — pricing through completion.

1. Get a realistic valuation

Three valuations from three estate agents is the classic move — the high one wants your instruction, the low one is being lazy, the middle one is usually right. Cross-check against recent sold prices on the same street. My Proper Home's free valuation tool gives you an independent third opinion.

2. Get your EPC

Energy Performance Certificate — legally required before marketing, valid for 10 years so you might already have one. The cheapest assessors charge £40–80. Bands E and below now restrict which buyers (and mortgage lenders) will engage.

3. Choose your agent

High-street commission is typically 1–1.5% + VAT, sole agency ~10–16 weeks. Online / hybrid agents charge a fixed fee (£600–1,500). The thing most affects sale price is buyer flow, not commission rate — so pick the agent who can prove the listing will be seen.

4. Prep + photograph

Clear surfaces, fix the obvious snags, paint the front door. Decent photos in good light beat a higher price by every metric we've seen — a property with strong photos gets ~50% more clicks for the same asking price.

5. Go live + viewings

First two weeks decide everything. If nobody books in week one, the asking price is wrong — drop it before the listing goes stale (Rightmove's day-counter is brutal). Accompanied viewings ≠ pushy; most buyers prefer to talk freely with the agent rather than the owner.

6. Receiving offers

Sellers must (by law) be told every offer. You don't have to accept the highest — chain-free cash beats subject-to-mortgage with a long chain even at lower money. Ask the agent to verify the buyer's proof of funds and MIP before you accept.

7. Instruct your solicitor

Same conveyancing flow as buying, just the other side of the contract. The seller's solicitor sends the contract pack first — getting your TA6 / TA10 forms back to them quickly is the single biggest accelerator on selling timelines.

8. Survey hiccups

Buyer's survey comes back with something — damp, roof age, a crack. Three options: drop the price by the cost of the repair, do the repair yourself, or refuse to budge. Refusing only works if you have a backup offer.

9. Exchange + completion

Same legal mechanics as buying. Get a removals quote four weeks before — find one in the removals directory.

10. Track your chain

Once you've accepted an offer, you're in a chain whether you like it or not. List your property on My Proper Home and use the chain view to see where everyone is. Send a "nudge" notification once a fortnight; the data is shared with every other chain member, so silence costs you nothing but often unlocks weeks of progress.

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