Does asking for a first visit commit me to selling with you?
No. A first visit is an hour at your home, talking through a sale in the order it happens. Nothing binds you until you have our written terms of business and choose to sign them; the terms page explains what they always contain.
What do I need before my home can go on the market?
An Energy Performance Certificate commissioned before any marketing, identity checks on every owner, the material information a buyer needs, and our written terms. The seller’s pack lists every item, and a mover’s account lets you tick them off as you go.
Why do you need to check my identity?
Estate agents come under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017, which require us to identify every seller before we act and, once a sale is agreed, the buyer too. At instruction we tell you which documents to show and how to send them. Please do not email copies of identity documents before we ask.
What do “sole agency” and “sole selling rights” mean?
Both mean instructing one agent only. They differ in which sale that agent is paid on: under sole selling rights, a buyer you find yourself still counts. If either is used, your written terms explain it in the words the Estate Agents (Provision of Information) Regulations 1991 set down, before you sign.
Do I need a new EPC if I already have one?
Not if it is under ten years old: you can look it up on the government’s Find an energy certificate service. If the house has changed a good deal since, with a new boiler, windows or insulation, a new assessment shows it as it is now.
Can a family home be sold before probate is granted?
The house can be prepared, the papers gathered and a buyer found. Exchange of contracts has to wait for the grant of probate, or letters of administration, so we plan the dates around it and agree one person who speaks for the family.