The decision to list your property for sale can be quite a daunting experience and one of the first steps is to consult your solicitor so that you can start preparing the contract for sale.
During your negotiation process and prior to marketing your property, a contract will need to be prepared even if it is just in a draft format initially so that this can be provided to your real estate agent to enable marketing of your property in normal residential situations.
This legally binding document is prepared with your solicitor and managed by your solicitor during the sale process and this is in conjunction with the real estate agent who will be advertising your property and negotiating with the buyer.
Some of the key points to note in your contract are:
- You will need to talk to your lawyer about what is included in the sale. This includes things such as fixtures and fittings that you may be unsure of as there are very specific legal requirements of what needs to remain in your property.
- Window coverings such as curtains and roller blinds. If you are planning on removing any coverings this needs to be indicated at the outset.
- Light fittings which are not affixed but are easily removed.
Consideration needs to be had in relation to those items.
These are the main points that we discuss during our initial consult.
We are seeing more and more people who have undertaken home renovations or building without consent. It is important to make full disclosure at the time of marketing a property for sale if there are any of these issues so that you can work in conjunction with your real estate agent and prevent any issues after the exchange of contracts occurs.
It is important also to outline any special conditions that should be put into your contract so this can also be negotiated prior to settling on a sale price with any potential buyer. A special condition may be things such as how the property will be left at the time of the sale, any outstanding issues that may need to be attended to such as a compliance for a sewer management or a pool certification along with issues such as inspections or valuations. It is preferable that any of these matters are raised at the outset and provided in the initial contract for marketing.
It is also important during the preparation of the contract that searches and enquiries are conducted and one very important one is the council certificate that outlines what future buyers can and cant do and how the property is listed.
Your solicitor can discuss these matters with you in more detail.