Before your house goes on the market

It is important to ensure that you have the right paperwork in place. We will ask to see your escritura when we take on your property so that we can ensure that it is up to date. If this is not the case then we will advise you about what needs to be done. If you have had any extensions built onto your house or a swimming pool added you will need to up-date the description of the property in the escritura. To do this you will need:

• the planning permission
• a copy of the building plans
• a letter from an architect stating that the work has been finished in accordance with the plans

If the extension is more than 4 years old you can apply, via your asesoria for a "certificado de antiguedad" which means that you do not need the above documentation.

You can then have the escritura amended at the same time as completing on the sale of your property at the notary's office. There will be a fee charged by your asesoria or lawyer. Usually this will depend on what needs to be up-dated. You should always ask for a quote first.

Sale price

You will have an idea about how much you wish to market your property for. However we do urge you to talk to us and take our advice into account because we are obviously very knowledgeable about the local market and what a realistic selling price would be.

Presentation

Clearly good presentation of a property is vitally important. When we take photographs of your house we recommend that you de-clutter, putting away as many of your personal things as possible and that you do the same for each viewing. It is worth freshening paintwork to make a good impression. Again, if you need advice on how to present your home in the best possible light then we are more than happy to help.

Viewings

We always accompany clients who come to view your house and we will give you as much notice as we can. Arrangements for access to the property if you are away need to be clear, whether you ask a friend to look after viewings for you or leave a key with us.

It is also helpful if we jointly discuss how the viewings will be conducted. For example who is going to show the clients round, what questions are they likely to ask and what are the good points about the house that you will want to emphasise? Having these things thought through properly helps make a good, professional impression to the prospective buyer.

Reviewing progress

Unless you're lucky enough to sell quickly then you might eventually want to think about whether there's anything you need to do to make your property more attractive to buyers, for example reducing the price. The feedback we give you after each viewing will help to inform this process.