IN the latest instalment of a regular new column focusing on North Ayrshire's housing market, Karen Kelly from The Property Boom - with offices in Beith and Irvine - offers some tips on selling a home in difficult circumstances.
Selling properties is really interesting and it’s always great to help people move on to their new home.
Sometimes you’re part of a young, expanding family looking for more space or a client looking for something more manageable as family have grown up and left home.
Others move because of an exciting new job opportunity, or they are moving abroad in search of sunnier climes.
It’s always lovely to help people move on to their next stage.
Then there are times when it’s not such a happy move – perhaps due to separation, divorce, financial reasons or even due to a bereavement.
More: Talking you through each stage of selling your property
These situations require sensitivity, understanding and guiding the client through the process at their pace, providing as much support as needed.
In these situations, we hope the following information will be useful for you.
Separation/divorce
Sometimes divorces can be amicable, sometimes not. In either case, it’s good to have a ‘Minute of Agreement’ in place and we recommend speaking to a solicitor to take advice on this.
It’s also a good step to have the property valued so you know exactly how much you can expect from the sale of the property.
One party may want to ‘buy out’ the other from the property and we can provide a desktop valuation, in the first instance, so you know if that’s an affordable option.
Getting in touch with a great mortgage broker really helps you know what you can afford, too.
It’s good practice to have one solicitor dealing with the legal separation/divorce and another for the conveyancing.
If selling is the best way forward, we can deal with both parties separately, communicating directly with each person to keep everyone up to date.
If you’d like us to recommend either a mortgage broker or solicitor, please just get in touch.
Financial considerations
We’ve been asked to value properties where the clients need to move due to financial reasons.
If the client would love to stay but thinks they can’t afford it, our first step is to put them in touch with an excellent mortgage broker.
Sometimes refinancing and looking at alternative mortgage terms can help clients keep their home.
If not, we can offer a range of selling payment fees to suit your cash flow situation, including deferring the payment until your property is sold.
Bereavement
When tasked with selling a loved one’s property, it can be difficult knowing where to start.
A Date of Death professional valuation is carried out to prove the value of the estate. We can do this free of charge for you.
This is then given to your solicitor. The solicitor gathers all the information, valuations, deeds, the will etc and carries out their procedures, lodgings in court etc.
When the solicitor is confident things are moving along, we then get the green light to market the property.
It’s useful to know the name of the deceased loved one as their name should go onto the Home Report etc.
We will keep the point of contact person up to date with marketing, viewings and offers.
We hope this helps with selling in those sensitive situations.
If you’d like to discuss your personal circumstances, please call us anytime on 0333 900 9089 or email Smile@ThePropertyBoom.com
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