Guide to Selling London Property

Deciding on an asking price

There’s no right or wrong when it comes to valuing how much a property is worth. If you were to get a number of opinions on value there is likely to be quite a variation; from the realistic to the optimistic and all points in-between. What agents give you is more a view on "marketing price" than a valuation and, as such, the numbers can be very different. We aim to give you a range, an explanation and help so that you to decide on an asking price and the right strategy for you. Our objective is to get the best possible price for you and there are different ways of achieving this depending on your circumstance and the amount of activity in the property market.

See our offices here or arrange a free valuation here.

We are your representative and adviser

Our aim is to represent your property as you would do yourself. The first thing we would do is visit your house or flat and ask you questions, for example: Why did you choose to live here? Why this particular property? What do you like about the property and the area? The more we know about your property the better job we would do selling it.

We expect to spend in the region of 150 to 200 hours in total selling your property, there is a great deal of work behind the scenes which we explain below. Throughout the process we are acting as your representative and expert adviser, concentrating on getting the best price and a successful sale.

We would ask that you have a solicitor instructed as soon as possible so that we could be quick off the mark when a sale is agreed. We have a panel of approved solicitors that we can recommend.

Showing your property at its best

We’re all familiar with the tips about brewing coffee and baking fresh bread. Although you don’t need to go to quite those lengths, it does pay to present your property at it’s best. The more effort you put in, the better sale price you stand to achieve.

We will give you tips about what is worth spending time and money on - we can also give professional help through our Design and Interiors Team who can arrange anything from some staging, to a complete makeover. We have our own photographers, floor planners and brochure designers to make sure that we are presenting your property beautifully.

Treat your viewings as a first date - highlight the most attractive features of your property. Declutter, make sure lightbulbs work, tidy your wardrobes (people will open them), plant bright flowers in the window boxes and hide the dustbins. It’s more about effort than expenditure but it never does any harm to critique your property through the eyes of others.

Read about our Refurbishments & Design team here.

Creating excitement

Our job is to actively promote property, create a "buzz" and excitement, then from that momentum get a number of offers and in turn the best price.
This doesn't happen just by advertising and sitting back waiting for buyers to get in touch. As London's leading Estate Agent we are in touch with thousands of buyers every week and we aim to speak to those that may be interested and generate interest and viewings.

We often sell property "off the market" without advertising, as we are in touch with most buyers already and so if a discreet approach appeals to you then sometimes this is effective, as buyers like the idea of being the first to know about somewhere. Open days are a useful way of getting people looking at a property in a condensed time, this also creates excitement since buyers know that others are interested.

The point is that we aim to attract the right buyer, not necessarily the first buyer. That takes planning, regular communication and hard work.

During this time you can expect us to be in constant touch - we’ll present you with a marketing plan and review it with you every week and we’ll update you after each viewing.
We know that the small things matter. We’ll appoint a single, dedicated point of contact that you can rely on. You’ll never have to ask twice because we’ll always be one step ahead of you, anticipating your questions. 

Managing offers and the sale

Negotiating a sale is a skill and as your representative we manage the process for you. This is where we come into our own - it’s what we do every day. We have any number of strategies where we try to create an auction amongst buyers, if interest is particularly strong then we might use a sealed or best bid tender.

We’re here to reassure you, provide you with expert advice and to arm you with all the information you need to make a decision, be that accepting an offer or agreeing to take the property off the market.

We are in a unique position when it comes to agreeing and setting up a sale and seeing it through to a successful conclusion. We are able to speak to both you and the buyer and your respective solicitors, finance providers, surveyors and advisors. Nobody else can do this and it allows us to look after your best interests and coordinate the sale to the agreed timescale.

We are alert to any warning signs - sometimes buyers don't do as they promise and so we routinely have a back up plan so that if necessary we can move forward at pace with a replacement buyer. Not only that, but we will keep you updated right up until completion about what prices are doing locally so that you can make informed decisions.

After sales service

Congratulations, contracts have been exchanged and we can now help with arrangements for the completion of the sale. With over 70% of our business stemming from recommendations and repeat business, it's really important to us that we consistently do a great job.

Hence we will be chasing you up for feedback as we are keen to hear if we could do better and hopefully you will be recommending us to colleagues family and friends!