Why so many questions from the estate agents when you put your property on the market?
There seems to be an endless stream of questions when you put your property on the market, but it's not because people are nosy or your estate agents are turning into detectives; the answers to these questions are important. Read on to find out why.
As you embark on the journey of selling your home, you may not be aware that there are specific details you need to disclose to potential buyers by law. The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 legislation says all property sellers are required to inform all potential buyers of 'material information'.
What is 'material information'?
This is defined as "information which the average consumer needs, according to the context, to make an informed transactional decision." Any potential buyer of your property needs to know the answers to these questions before they make a huge decision to buy a property.
Why is it important?
Disclosing important information about your property saves time. Letting buyers know everything up front reduces the number of viewings with potential buyers for which your property is simply unsuitable. Not only that, but it will reduce the chances of problems with a sale further down the line when you have accepted an offer, instructed solicitors, and, perhaps most importantly, started to incur costs.
Where can you find material information about a property?
Material information can be found in the listing of a property for sale, either in online marketing or an agent's brochure.
What do you need to disclose?
The information that must be provided is quite lengthy, but nothing that you shouldn't already know the answers to. Here is a list of the kind of things you and your agent need to include:
- Property type - is it a detached house, semi-detached, a bungalow, or a flat?
- Type of construction - is the property a timber-frame build, brick or stone? How the property is constructed is relevant for the buyer and their mortgage lender.
- How many rooms?
- Council Tax - how much is the council tax for your property each month or year?
- What is the EPC rating?
- Tenure - refers to how the property is owned, i.e., as a freehold or leasehold.
- The asking price - this might seem obvious because the asking price is not new information.
- Parking at the property
- Details about the utilities.
- Heating systems and the fuel type (mains gas, oil etc?)
- Broadband accessibility
Other relevant information
If relevant, there may be further information required about your property, including:
- Construction safety, such as asbestos or unsafe cladding
- Any restrictions, such as tree preservation orders
- Rights of way that affect the property
- Covenants that have an impact on the property
- Easements, footpaths or bridleways
- Flooding risks or coastal erosion
- Any planning permissions that would affect the property, ie, if land next to the property is going to be developed
- Accessibility adaptions such as ramps or lifts
There is much to learn about a new property, and some of the factors listed here could be critical in a buyer's decision-making. The idea here is that the material information that might impact whether a buyer is interested in a property or not is given at the beginning of the process rather than a buyer committing to buying before discovering something that may cause the sale to fall apart. In theory, this will reduce the chances of a sale falling through later down the line, at a stage when both you and your buyer may have incurred costs.
If you are thinking of putting your home on the market for sale, it is helpful if you can be prepared with the answers to these questions beforehand to speed up the process to get your property on the market.
We are here to help and would love the chance to assist in this process. Please get in touch with our team.