If you were to believe all the recent media coverage, your property is worth less now than it was this time last year.  As with most press statements, this shows a general trend in the market place and you ought not to assume that it applies to every property.  It is true, however, that in a falling market, it is even more important that you obtain expert advice on the extent to which your property may have been affected.   As ever the location, size and general condition of your property are all important in establishing a true market value.  Please contact us if you would like us to provide you with a free pre sale valuation.

The length of time taken to sell properties has lengthened in the current financial climate, and you should not assume that you will be able to sell your house quickly enough to use the free proceeds of sale to help fund the purchase of your next home.  Accordingly, we would recommend that in the majority of cases, you should have made real progress with the sale of your own property before committing to the purchase of another.  The precise timing of the completion of contracts varies in each case.  Please contact our legal department for further advice on your specific circumstances.

The length of time between advertising your property for sale and successfully concluding a bargain is now measured in months rather than weeks.  In a market where there are more sellers than buyers, it is difficult to predict how long this will take.  It is for this reason that we are currently recommending you complete the sale of your existing property before entering into a contractual obligation to pay across the price of your next home.

The fees that we charge are tailored to the specific circumstances of each property that we are instructed to sell.  As part of our free presale valuation service we also provide a detailed estimate of the costs that you are likely to incur both in the sale of your present property and the purchase of your next home.  As a general rule, however, you should expect to pay between 1% – 1.5% + VAT for our estate agency service and a further fee for the legal work involved.  This amount will vary according to the price paid.  You should note that you will also require to pay various outlays such as advertising and search dues in connection with a sale transaction and stamp duty (on a sliding scale between 1% - 4% where the purchase price is greater than £175,000) and registration dues for a purchase transaction. 

Please note that with effect from 1st December 2008 every seller of residential property must provide a Home Report (see below) that needs to be available to any buyer as soon as the house goes on the market.  The cost of a home report is directly related to the value of your property and will again be based on a sliding scale starting from around £600.

The Scottish Government have recently passed a law that requires every seller of residential property to make available to prospective purchasers a pack of information about the property for sale.  The information must be collected and be available before the property is put on the market. The law is due to come into effect on 1st December 2008. The Home Report is to include a questionnaire completed by the seller containing a range of information about the property, dealing with such matters as any alterations that may have required planning consent or a building warrant, the providers of the various services such as water, gas and electricity, and a range of other matters.

The Report will also include a seller’s survey containing a detailed report on the condition of the property and giving an independent valuation.

At the moment, the jury is out on whether or not you should provide a Home Report where your property is already on the market on 1st December 2008.  While it is clear that this is not strictly necessary as the requirement does not become law until the beginning of December, it may be that in a very competitive market, a property without the benefit of a Home Report may be less attractive to purchasers, creating a marketing advantage for those properties where a detailed Home Report is available.