Knowledge Hub

Getting started with selling your property

Thinking of selling? When to sell, how long it takes, whether to sell before you buy, what selling costs and what happens to your mortgage.

Understanding your property’s value

How estate agents value homes, why valuations differ, how market value and asking price differ, and how to check what similar homes have sold for.

Choosing an estate agent

How to choose an estate agent to sell your home: local vs online agents, sole or multiple agency, contract lengths and how agency fees work.

Preparing your property for sale

Preparing your home for sale: decorating, worthwhile improvements, decluttering, photos and floor plans, EPCs and the paperwork to gather early.

Launching and marketing your property

Getting the launch of your sale right: open days or individual viewings, viewing feedback, what to do if offers are slow and when to reduce the price.

Offers and negotiation

Handling offers on your home: checking a buyer can proceed, cash buyers, multiple offers, best and final offers, gazundering and when a sale is binding.

After accepting an offer

What happens after you accept an offer: sold subject to contract, the memorandum of sale, chains, timescales and what to do if a buyer pulls out.

Exchange, completion and moving

What exchange of contracts means for sellers, how long it usually is until completion, and what happens on completion day when you hand over the keys.

Preparing to buy a property

Getting ready to buy a home: what you can afford, deposits, mortgages in principle, Stamp Duty, buying costs and how to become a proceedable buyer.

Finding the right property

How to choose where to buy, research schools and planned developments, hear about homes before they go online and judge whether an asking price is fair.

Viewing properties

What to look for and ask on a viewing, whether to go back a second time, and how to weigh up cracks, damp, leasehold flats and homes that have not sold.

Making an offer

How to make an offer on a property, how much to offer, what to include with it, how best and final offers work and when an offer becomes binding.

After your offer is accepted

What happens after your offer is accepted: mortgage applications, surveys and valuations, conveyancing searches, property chains and keeping things moving.

Buying a leasehold property

Buying a leasehold home explained: freehold vs leasehold, lease length, service charges, sinking funds, share of freehold and what to check before you buy.

Exchange, completion and moving

What happens at exchange and completion when you buy: the deposit, buildings insurance, collecting the keys and when the property legally becomes yours.

Considering letting your property

Thinking of letting your property? Rental values, landlord costs, buy-to-let mortgages, safety certificates, licensing and whether to use a letting agent.

Marketing your property and choosing a tenant

How to market a rental property, set the rent, reference tenants and carry out Right to Rent checks, and choose fairly between applicants.

Setting up the tenancy

Setting up a tenancy as a landlord: holding deposits, deposit limits and protection, tenancy agreements, information tenants must get and inventories.

Managing the tenancy

A landlord’s guide to managing a tenancy: repairs, access and inspections, fair wear and tear, damage, rent arrears, subletting and pet requests.

Rent, ending the tenancy and check-out

Rent increases, ending a tenancy, Section 8 and Section 21 notices, check-out and deposit deductions and disputes, explained for landlords.

Starting your rental search

Starting to look for a home to rent: when to begin, deposits and holding deposits, referencing, guarantors, self-employed tenants and renting with pets.

Finding and viewing a rental property

Where to find homes to rent, what to look for at a viewing, which questions to ask the agent and whether to view a rental property more than once.

Applying for a rental property and moving in

Applying for a rental home: rental bidding, holding deposits, referencing, Right to Rent checks, your tenancy agreement, deposit and inventory.

Living in your rented property

Your rights and responsibilities as a tenant: repairs, landlord access, decorating, pets, sharing or subletting, rent increases and handling disputes.

Leaving a rental property and getting your deposit back

Moving out of a rented home: giving notice, Section 8 notices, cleaning, the check-out inspection, deposit deductions and getting your deposit back.

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