Worthing Borough Council

Selling your property

Page Rating

1 2 3 4 5

01273 263034

jemma.seaton@adur-worthing.gov.uk

If you want to sell your property you have 3 options, to sign up with an estate agent, to sell it privately or to sell it at Auction.

Using an estate Agent

When choosing your estate agent make sure you shop around and get recommendations from family and friends. All estate agents will charge a fee usually this is a percentage of the actual sale price. Before you sign a contract make sure you read it carefully and find out whether you have the right to cancel it  and how long the contract will run for.

There are 3 trade organisations for estate agents and this will give you an indication of the standards they work to:

• National Association of Estate Agents
  01926 496800
• Royal Institution of Registered surveyors
• The Guild of Professional Estate Agents

If you are unsure about the contract you can get advice from the Citizens Advice Bureau, Consumer Direct or instruct a solicitor to assist you, you can find a solicitor using the Law Society's website .

Selling privately

By selling privately you will save yourself the commission charged by estate agents, you will however need to market your property yourself, show potential buyers around your property and negotiate a price with the potential buyers.

There are numerous websites to advertise a property on, however for general independent advice and guidance for all aspects of selling your home look at The Advisory

Selling at Auction

This is not the best option for an everyday sale, however if your property needs a lot of renovation and work it could gain you a sale that otherwise you would not get.

You do have to pay commission to an auctioneer on the final price agreed for your property, but also you will have to pay fees to the Auctioneer if it does not sell.

There are some useful websites on using and finding Auctioneers:

• The Investment Property Database Service  
  You can request information from Auctioneers on selling your property by filling in an online form.
• Essential Information Group
  They publish the details and results of all lots sold at property auctions across the UK.  

Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)

If you are planning to sell your home either through an estate agent or privately, you will need to have available for buyers an Energy Performance Certificate. The EPC gives information on the energy performance of your home and how to make it more efficient and reduce carbon emmissions.

The EPC is done by an accredited domestic energy assessor, you can find details of assessors on the Landmark website which is run on behalf of the government.

• Landmark Information Group website - EPC Register 

Further information about EPC’s is available at :

• Direct Gov website - Energy Performance Certificates – what they are 

Back to Navigation - Back to the top of this article