Sellers FAQs

The first step to selling your property is arranging an accurate property valuation. Prospect can provide you with a free, no obligation appraisal, from our local, experienced property Valuers. Getting an accurate initial price from a property valuation is essential when marketing your home, as interest is at its highest when your property first goes onto the market.

We advise completing any home improvement projects and making your house look its best before you even get your property valued. However, we always take into consideration current improvements/projects when valuing a property.

It’s quick and easy to book your property valuation with Prospect, simply contact your local estate agents or request a property valuation online.

Learn everything you need to know about selling your property in our Complete Guide to Selling.

There are many factors governing this. At Prospect, we will ensure that we present your home in the best possible light, which helps us to achieve quick property sales. Once the sale is agreed and the chain is complete, it typically then takes 10 -12 weeks with Prospect to get to Completion/Moving day.

With 85% of buyers starting their property search on the web, we focus on ensuring maximum online exposure for your home. We will advertise your property on our main website www.prospect.co.uk which receives over 30,000 hits per month.

With 90% of potential buyers using property portals, we ensure that your property is also featured on all major portals. Unlike other agents, we link your video tour to your listing, which ensures your home will not be overlooked! In fact, research shows that clients view properties on Rightmove for 3 seconds, in comparison to 36 seconds on our own website.

Learn more about our marketing here.

An EPC is the only legal requirement when marketing your property. This must be ordered and paid for at the point the property goes live on the market. It gives information about a property’s energy usage and typical energy costs, alongside recommendations about how to reduce energy use and save money. It gives a property an energy efficiency rating from A (most effective) to G (least efficient). EPCs are valid for 10 years.

The EPC must be produced by a certified Domestic Energy Assessor or Home Inspector. Prospect has an in-house team of Domestic Energy Assessors and we can arrange this for you. Please ask your Client Manager for more information or you can request an EPC online.

Each Prospect office is fully equipped with the latest digital cameras and we also produce professional, accurate floor plans of your property. We will take internal and external photographs and aerial photography where appropriate. We will ask you to prepare your home for the photography, as the best photos attract the greatest number of viewers.

We provide a high quality ‘For Sale’ sign, as we’ve found that this will assist in raising awareness of your property to the market and may lead to additional buyer enquiries. However it is not a situation and should you prefer, you do not have to display one.

We are able to give advice on all aspects of presenting your property for sale. Our knowledge is based on both current trends and many years of experience of what buyers are looking for in a new home. Speak to our expert agents to find out how to maximise the value of your home.

We will liaise between you and the potential buyer to find a mutually convenient date and time. We will, whenever possible, be available to accompany a viewing so you don't have to worry about meeting prospective purchasers. It may be that you would prefer to take any children or pets out of the house to leave purchasers uninterrupted time to view your property, along with one of our experienced sales agents.

Prospect operate a secure key system, so you can confidently leave a key with us, so accompanied viewings can be conducted by one of our staff, while you are at work, or on holiday.

Viewing feedback will be provided within 24 hours, whenever possible.

We advise you to instruct a solicitor once your property is on the market and before your buyer is found. This will allow your solicitor time to prepare all legal documents, in preparation for your sale and will help shorten the process between agreeing a sale and completion.

If you have a solicitor who you know can work quickly and efficiently where conveyancing of properties is concerned, you can continue to use that firm.

However, Prospect work closely with a number of Solicitors, who we have good working relationships with. They offer ‘No Sale – No Fee’ services and no obligation quotes are easily obtained from your Client Manager.

You are also advised to keep in contact with your Solicitor on the progress of your sale and any purchase that you are also making. However, once you have accepted an offer, Prospect has a dedicated Transaction Support team to help you throughout the sales process.

We will market your property until it is sold, or until you ask us to take it off the market. Sales can happen very quickly, although Prospect’s standard contract is 16 weeks. This allows us sufficient time to explore every opportunity in the marketplace to ensure that we achieve the best possible price for your property. Your contract can be extended if more time is needed.

We will let you know about all offers by phone and in writing. If the offer is not acceptable to you then we will do everything we can to negotiate an offer you are happy with.

It is in both our best interests that we obtain the maximum sale price and we work hard on your behalf to achieve the maximum price possible. We qualify all potential purchasers, so that you can make an informed decision regarding any offers put forward.

A house sale or purchase becomes legally binding at exchange of contracts. The solicitor for both parties will hold signed contracts – if either party fails to honour the obligations, this will constitute breach of contract.

Your solicitor will arrange for you and your buyer to sign contracts; this can either be in their office, or they will post the contract to you to sign. Your Solicitor will telephone the relevant Solicitors in the chain and upon agreeing a Completion date, contracts are formally exchanged.

The sale of any property is governed by four principal factors - namely the price, the property market, the property itself and the agent. Assuming that all of these factors are in order, your property should sell. However, in the unlikely event that your property does not sell, or if your circumstances changes and you decide to withdraw your property from the market, Prospect work on a ‘No Sale/No Fee’ basis.

Once you have found a property that you want to purchase, it is advisable to instruct a survey on the property.

If you are arranging a mortgage, a Mortgage Valuer will be appointed by the lender to inspect the property on their behalf. This report will not take into account the full condition of the property, so we do not recommend relying on this alone.

There are different types of surveys available.

You can chose a Home Buyers survey, which includes a report and a valuation. This is designed for properties that are of a traditional type and construction, or are apparently in reasonable condition.

A full Structural Survey and valuation is an in depth report that looks at the fabric of the property, as well as its overall condition and will make appropriate recommendations and suggest a value.

Prospect Surveyors are able to provide this essential, professional service.

Many people ask 'Why do I have to use an estate agent?' The skills of an estate agent and the benefits our service provide are often underestimated. The vast majority of sales are conducted by estate agents, whose responsibility it is to market a property at the most appropriate price in the circumstances.

Your property will reach the widest possible audience, as opposed to the fairly limited market that a private sale reaches. A professional estate agent will always negotiate the best possible price on the best terms for a client. Also, their expertise, marketing and service, can ensure the offer turns into a sale.

We take our customer's privacy and trust very seriously. All of our data is stored on secure servers with the latest and highest levels of encryption. We do not pass any information onto third parties and we will not share your information with potential buyers or sellers without your permission.

We comply fully with the Data Protection Act and follow GDPR best practices. You can find information about how we store and use your data in our privacy policy.

At Prospect, we take the quality of service very seriously. That's why we are proud to be members of the main regulatory governing bodies for Estate Agents in the UK. This allows us to ensure complete peace of mind and to focus on guaranteeing an excellent service.

We are regulated by the Property Ombudsman and the Office of Fair Trading.

Your personal Client Manager can also assist you with finding your next property. Simply let us know what you’re looking for and we will do our best to help you find it – contact your local estate agents or register as a buyer online.

Your next step is to arrange a valuation on your property. It’s quick and easy to book a free, no obligation property valuation online by clicking here. Alternatively, you can visit one of our cafe-style offices, find where our estate agents are based by clicking here.