First time sellers!

chillimog

Ok, need some help here as I find myself in unknown land! lol

Basically, we have fallen into arrears on our mortgage and have a possession hearing on monday. We plan to offer the court the monthly installment plus an amount for the arrears, of what we can realistically afford. And we also want to sell so a) we can get the hell out of this and b) to pay back the mortgage company asap, to get the hell out of this! lol

Of course, we do hope that they will suspend the possession - if not, we are going to apply to our local council under the homeless scheme.

Does anyone know, with these terms, if the judge is likely to agree to suspend or are we on a loser right now?

We are both on a low income, so after paying towards the mortgage and arrears, have very little spare cash.

Now, we have never sold a property before and have a number of questions:

1. what's the first step to putting the flat on the market?
2. Will we have to pay outright for HIP pack or is this deducted from the sale? What is a HIP pack?????
3. Are all fees (valuations, conveyancing etc) deducted from sale?
4. What's the quickest way to get a sale? We want to move ideally in the next 6 months but will settle for 12. We are going into the rented sector (never having a mortgage again!)
5. What should we look for in a good estate agent?
6. Is there anything else we should know?????

We had the property valued last year for a remortgage, which came out at around £115 k and the remortgage is for £89k. Early redemption would be just over £90K, so how much are we likely to receive from the sale?

Any help is really appreciated, as we are totally lost and just don't know where to start!

Thanks

Kxxx

princessamy86

First step would be to get 3 estate agents out to give you a valuation and talk you through their services. Remember; the highest valuation is not always the true valuation, and the cheapest fee does not always represent the best value for money. There's loads of threads on here with advice about choosing an agent-I would have a search through for those.

HIP: This is required by law to put your property on the market and consists of some local searches, title deeds, energy performance chart amongst other things. Some HIP providers will allow you to defer the payment until you sell, it's a question of searching for those that will. Don't just agree to pay through the agent, you will probably end up spending more this way!

All fees from the EA should be deducted from the final sale. Solicitors: again, a case of shopping around. Some will charge a fee when you instruct them, some operate on a no sale no fee basis, and deduct their fees at the end.

Quickest way to sell is to price competitively! Don't be afraid to reduce if you aren't getting viewings, but the best way is to go on at a competitive price from the start.

I know that doesn't answer all your questions but I hope it helps as a starting point :rolleyes: