Avoid these Surveying Mistakes when Selling Your London Home

Hi 👋

Selling your London home isn't a walk in the park. A survey is a vital part of a property transaction between a buyer and a seller. It creates buyer confidence (or the opposite), which is important for their motivation.

By giving buyers answers to questions about the property, you will save time. That's why instructing a surveyor as a part of your power team is a great strategy when you are selling your London home.

In this article, I'm diving into my learnings on the topic, together with my guest, Chartered Surveyor Joe Arnold 🐝 , managing director and founder of Arnold & Baldwin Chartered Surveyors .

Mistake 1: Not having a Survey

Joe, why does a property need a survey?

When a buyer purchases a property, no one usually looks at the building for the buyer anymore due to the advancement of technology. Banks and building societies are using computer programs to work out what a property is worth, then lending money based on computer algorithms.

This leaves a buyer exposed, and buying blind. It is therefore vital to have a surveyor look at the property to highlight what's behind the front door. It ensures the buyer is fully aware of any potential nasty surprises lurking within the drains or in the loft that they haven't seen on their viewings.

What would you do to prepare a London property, say a Victorian terraced, to sell for a great price with a quick exchange?

Provide material information upfront. At Arnold & Baldwin, we have a new product called SellSmart enabling the seller to provide data upfront to the buyer, on matters such as broadband speeds, mobile strength, details of the conservation area, and it even shows planning applications that have been submitted on the property.

National Trading Standards has advanced their regulation, and requires estate agents to provide more material information on the property upfront. As the seller, you need to answer questions such as: who is the electricity provider? Are the drains connected to the mains? Whilst the seller fills out those forms, our system SellSmart also creates the Law Society’s Transaction (TA) forms which are required to sell a property.

Then I would carry out a home survey on the property so that any buyer knows everything right and wrong with the house. This allows the seller to fix issues at the property before they list it for sale.

When a seller provides this information and carries out a survey, they are pretty much exchange-ready as soon as they find their buyer. When the buyer knows what they're buying it removes any risk from the transaction. That's why, 83% of the time, the seller can exchange contracts within four weeks. It currently takes 17-20 weeks!

Mistake 2: Missing out on Buyers

Joe, why is it important for the seller to have a qualified and motivated buyer purchase their property? 

On average in the UK, over one-third of property transactions don't exchange contracts - the sales fall through. It is very important to choose the right buyer to make sure you're not wasting weeks and losing out on the property that you're looking to move to.

By choosing the right buyer, it means that you are improving the chances of the sale completing. There are lots of time wasters out there, and by providing material property information up front, you can help the buyer to be confident that your home is the one that they want.

Mistake 3: Wasting Time

Wouldn't the seller save time by surveying after you have a sale agreed? 

No, it's actually the other way around. When the buyer is looking to buy they will likely procrastinate, and sometimes the survey gets left until quite late in the selling process. The surveyor needs time to get to the property. They have to investigate the whole building. They then have to write a report. That report then needs to be provided to the buyer. They need to have the time then to read and understand the information. The buyer’s solicitor will need to ask questions to clarify points raised.

This all adds time to the transaction. When the survey is undertaken by the seller up front, all of those questions are available day one, cutting weeks out of the transaction.

Would the seller, and their agent, access more qualified buyers by carrying out a survey before listing their property?

It gives them a competitive edge over the other properties that are on the market because their property is de-risked for the buyers. If the buyer is considering your property over a competing one, which doesn't have this information, they will have to spend over a thousand pounds to obtain the same detailed information. This makes it easier and cheaper to buy your property over the competing one.

For any seller, a Chartered Surveyor should be part of their power team consisting of an agent or broker, a solicitor, and a financial adviser.

Thank you for the great insights, Joe!

I've been learning about residential sales since 2019. Here's my (Jacob's) take on the topic (avoid these surveying mistakes when selling your London home) based on my learnings.

Mistake 1: Not Remembering Your Motivation

Selling your property is not just about putting it on the market for sale. It's not just about meeting an estate agent and receiving a valuation. It's a consideration of your goals, of your timeline - what you want to achieve with the sale.

Is it about upsizing to that big house with a pool currently for sale? Is it about downsizing to get an apartment in that new, central development? Your motivation to sell your property will be at the center of consideration for your power team throughout the sale (and onward purchase). Listen to your advisors, as a survey is often that smoother, quicker road to fulfilling your goals.

Mistake 2: Not Saving Money

As explored by Joe, by instructing your Chartered Surveyor to survey your property before listing it for sale, and by providing the material information about the property, you present the 'full package' to buyers. It de-risks their purchase, thus increasing their confidence and motivation to carry through, resulting in quicker exchange and fewer fall-throughs due to unnecessary surprises after you have had a sale agreed.

Yes, getting a survey before selling costs money. However, it removes the need for the buyer to get a survey, which gives your Property Advisor (estate agent) room to negotiate a higher selling price for you. The higher selling price could return you more money than the cost of the survey.

The result? Money saved, confident buyer, quicker exchange, you're happy, and you can move to fulfill your goals. This is not the time for short-term thinking. Carry through the selling strategy as advised, and get to your next chapter of life.

Mistake 3: Not Selling the Lender's Valuer

If the buyer needs a loan, they should be pre-approved by the lender for a mortgage, and an approved LTV (loan to value) percentage (e.g. 85%) of the value of the property, with a deposit (then 15%). That value is determined by the lender's valuer.

If the home doesn't appraise, i.e. you have an offer accepted at £1,500,000 and the valuer appraises it at £1,450,000, the property is down valued by £50K. In this scenario, the lender may reduce the amount they are willing to lend, meaning the buyer needs to increase their deposit to bridge the gap. The lender may also not be willing to lend on the property altogether.

If the property doesn't appraise at the sale agreed price it could wipe out the entire deal. So how can you try to avoid a low appraisal? On Sell It Like Serhant , I've learned that you should present your property beautifully for the valuer's visit, and instruct your estate agent to accompany the valuer, as they have to renegotiate the deal all over again.

What?!? Look, the valuer has the power to make or break the deal you and the buyer have. That is why your agent - Property Advisor - should personally be present, bringing the necessary property documents, as well as explaining the purchase price, the comparable sales, and information on what is happening both on and off the property market.

As the seller, you need the buyer's lender's valuer to be as educated as possible to give a fair appraisal. That's why your Property Advisor must sell the value of the deal to the valuer, and be there, present, for you, as this is your move.

Thank you for reading, and thank you Joe Arnold 🐝 for being my guest on this 2nd edition! 💜 The next edition is out on the 26th of February.

Want advice on your property needs?

I'm your aspiring Personal Estate Agent in London, based in Islington - let's chat! Read more or get in touch at jacob@jacoblittorin.com. 💜

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