Selling a house checklist
Ordered from the decision to sell through to completion. Most delays come from paperwork that could have started weeks earlier, not from finding a buyer.
33 items
Makes your own editable copy. No account needed.
The items
- Before it goes on the market
- More than one valuation taken, not just the highest
- Solicitor or conveyancer instructed earlyBefore an offer, not after — nothing should be waiting to start.
- Energy Performance Certificate in dateRequired before the property can be marketed.
- Mortgage, if any, checked for an early repayment charge
- Estate agent chosen
- Sole agency compared against multi-agency fees
- Tie-in period checked before signing anything
- Marketing plan and photography agreed
- Property information gathered
- Property information form started
- Fittings and contents form listing exactly what's included
- Planning permissions and building regulations certificates found
- Guarantees for windows, boiler or damp-proofing located
- Getting it ready
- Anything damp, cracked or leaking dealt with or disclosed
- Clutter cleared and personal photographs put away
- Front door and entrance tidiedThe first thing a viewer sees before they've said a word.
- Photographs taken on a bright day
- Floor plan produced
- Listing live on the main portals
- Viewings
- House kept presentable at short notice
- Pets and mess out of the way before each one
- Likely questions answered in advance rather than on the spot
- Offers compared on more than the priceA proceedable buyer with nothing to sell is often worth more than a slightly higher offer stuck behind a chain.
- Offer accepted in writing
- Buyer's mortgage valuation and survey access agreed
- Buyer's solicitor's enquiries answered promptlySlow answers here are the single biggest cause of a sale dragging on.
- Completion date agreed with everyone in the chain
- Meter readings recorded on completion day
- Keys, alarm codes and instruction manuals left for the buyer
- Post redirected and accounts notified of the sale
Makes your own editable copy. No account needed.
Questions people ask
- How long does selling a house usually take?
- Several months from listing to completion, and the paperwork is usually the slow part rather than finding a buyer. Starting the legal side early is the single biggest thing you control.
- What's the most common reason a sale falls through?
- A buyer's mortgage or survey turning up a problem, or slow answers to the solicitor's enquiries. Answering every question promptly keeps a chain moving.
- Do I need a solicitor before I have a buyer?
- It helps. Instructing one early means the legal work starts the day an offer is accepted instead of weeks later while you find someone available.