A Guide to Selling

1. Free Market Appraisal and Valuation

If you are thinking of selling your home, this FREE service will help you understand your home’s current market value. We will provide you with up-to-date information relating to market trends and recent sales of comparable property in your area. Our valuation will be based on a range of information including the size, location, layout and condition of your home along with the local market conditions.

2. Instructing Us

Once you have decided you would like Longsons to be your agent, you will need to formally instruct us by signing an agency agreement. To meet legal requirements, we ask for documents to confirm your ID/residence and an electronic money laundering check will be undertaken before we can begin to market your property. The majority of properties marketed for sale require a valid Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). EPC’s are a rating scheme to summarise the energy efficiency of buildings. We can let you know if a certificate is required for your property and if needed, provide the certificate for you at no extra cost.

3. Online Marketing

Your property will be instantly available on our website - longsons.co.uk with professional photography, professional floor plan, 360 virtual tour, detailed video tour and detailed description. As well as listing your property on the top four biggest property portals, Rightmove, Zoopla, On the Market and Boomin, we also extensively use social media advertising.

4. Window Displays

Situated in the heart of Swaffham town centre in one of the most prominent positions within the town, we have a large window frontage that boasts the very latest LED window displays, ensuring our properties can be seen 24 hours a day. The benefits of a high-quality window display should not be underestimated, we get many enquiries from potential buyers browsing on the high street.

5. Distinctive ‘For Sale Boards’

These are a vital marketing tool clearly identifying a property and frequently generating interest. Our For Sale boards are extremely prominent throughout the local area.

6. Magazine Advertising

We firmly believe that using traditional marketing methods such as magazine advertisements is an essential part of upholding our traditional values. We have our own branded magazine, the Longsons Property News, in which we place monthly property adverts.

7. Marketing

As an independent estate agent, we strive on creating new innovative marketing ideas to set ourselves apart from other agents, we constantly seek ways to maximise the exposure of your property. As part of our marketing campaign, your property will be matched to our extensive register of applicants, with details being sent to those looking for a home like yours.

8. Viewings

As soon as we have buyers ready to view your property, we will contact you to arrange a viewing at a time that suits you. Unless instructed otherwise, we accompany every viewing regardless of whether the property is occupied or vacant.

9. Feedback and Contact

Our customers are the main focus of Longsons, our priority is to keep you updated and to provide you with regular feedback. Following each viewing, we call the viewers to see how the viewing went and then relay the feedback back to you.

10. Negotiating Offers

As your estate agent, one of our many responsibilities is to use our experience and judgment to guide you through the negotiation stage. We have an experienced team of negotiators who are duty-bound to inform you of every offer and negotiate on your behalf. Before advising you of any offers, we will research the buyers position to get as much information as possible to help with your decision . The following are some of the questions we ask buyers -

• Are they a first-time buyer and ready to buy immediately?
• Are they in a chain, what are the chain details?
• Do they have a property to sell?
• Do they have an ‘Agreement in Principle’ (AIP) from a mortgage lender to confirm they can access the required funds?
• Etc, etc.....

11. Accepting an Offer

Once you have accepted an offer, the property will be sold subject to survey and contract. At this point, most buyers will ask you to take your property off the market and the property listing will be changed from ‘For Sale’ to ‘Sold Subject To Contract’ (SSTC)

Once the sale is agreed, we will send you, the buyer and the solicitors a memorandum of sales. This legal document is a written confirmation of the essential details of a property transaction.

12. Sales Progression

Once you have accepted an offer on your property, our service doesn’t stop there. We will regularly progress your sale, speaking to all parties involved including the solicitors, mortgage brokers, etc keeping you informed of any updates and events as they occur. We aim to closely monitor the sales progress and where possible, eliminate any issues before they occur.