Sellers · process
Selling Process
The journey from deciding to sell to handing over the keys, in the order it actually happens — and where the conventional and direct routes genuinely differ.
Written for England and Wales. An accepted offer binds no one here: the sale becomes legally binding only when contracts are exchanged.
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Set your priorities
You decide whether price, timing or certainty leads this sale, and what a good outcome looks like.
- Prepare or decide
- Agree the answer with every co-owner before anyone is instructed.
- Who normally handles it
- You — no professional can make this call for you.
- What can delay it
- Co-owners who discover at offer stage that they wanted different things.
Get a view of the likely value. Stage 2
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Understand the likely value
You gather a realistic picture of what the property is likely to achieve — an estate-agency market appraisal, and a formal valuation from a qualified valuer where a lender, tax or legal purpose requires one.
- Prepare or decide
- Your mortgage redemption figure and any early-repayment charge, so the numbers mean something.
- Who normally handles it
- An estate agent for the appraisal; a qualified valuer for any formal valuation.
- What can delay it
- Mistaking an optimistic appraisal for a promise — it prices the sale wrong from day one.
Get the paperwork ready before marketing starts. Stage 3
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Prepare documents and arrange the EPC
Title and tenure information, planning and building-regulations paperwork, guarantees and certificates are assembled. If there is no valid EPC, one is ordered — it must exist before the property is marketed and must come from an accredited assessor.
- Prepare or decide
- The document checklist from the Seller's Guide; check an existing EPC has not expired (they last ten years).
- Who normally handles it
- You gather; an accredited assessor produces the EPC.
- What can delay it
- A missing lease or an unregistered title surfacing mid-transaction instead of now.
Choose the route and instruct the professionals. Stage 4
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Choose the sale route and instruct professionals
You commit to a conventional open-market sale or a direct investor introduction, and instruct your solicitor or licensed conveyancer so the draft contract can be prepared early.
- Prepare or decide
- The priority you set in stage one — it makes this choice for you.
- Who normally handles it
- You choose; your conveyancer opens the file and prepares the contract pack.
- What can delay it
- Leaving the conveyancer unchosen until an offer lands, which parks the sale while everyone waits for a file to open.
Put the property in front of its audience. Stage 5
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Present the property or approach investors
On the open-market route the property is advertised and viewings are held. On the direct route, Dukes introduces the property to investors who buy directly — there is no public marketing.
- Prepare or decide
- The property at its practical best, and honest answers to the questions every serious viewer or investor asks.
- Who normally handles it
- The instructed agent, or Dukes as introducer on the direct route. Dukes is not the buyer.
- What can delay it
- Overpricing quietly stalls the open-market route; incomplete condition information stalls the direct one.
Offers, if the market or an investor responds. Stage 6
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Receive and compare offers
Offers arrive through the agent or introducer. You weigh each against price, the buyer's position, their funding, any chain and their proposed timescale — and negotiate freely.
- Prepare or decide
- Proof-of-funding expectations: it is normal to ask before taking a property off the market.
- Who normally handles it
- You decide; the agent or introducer negotiates on your instruction.
- What can delay it
- A headline figure from a buyer who has not evidenced funding or is trapped in a chain.
Accept the offer that fits your priority. Stage 7
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Accept an offer and begin conveyancing
Acceptance starts the legal work — it does not bind anyone. The buyer's side arranges searches and reviews the title; your conveyancer drafts the contract, answers enquiries and negotiates its details.
- Prepare or decide
- Fast, complete answers to enquiries — slow responses are the most common self-inflicted delay.
- Who normally handles it
- Your solicitor or licensed conveyancer, acting for you alone.
- What can delay it
- Search turnaround, unanswered enquiries, the buyer's mortgage offer, and any chain above or below.
Exchange, once both sides are satisfied. Stage 8
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Exchange contracts
Both sides sign final copies of the contract and exchange them. This is the moment the sale becomes legally binding — before it, either side can still withdraw; after it, neither can without serious consequences.
- Prepare or decide
- Agreement on the completion date, which is fixed at exchange.
- Who normally handles it
- The two conveyancers, on their clients' authority.
- What can delay it
- Anything unresolved from stage seven — exchange happens only when both sides are actually ready.
Completion, on the date the contract fixes. Stage 9
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Complete the sale
The buyer's side transfers the money. Your conveyancer pays off the mortgage and any fees from the proceeds, sends you the balance, and ownership passes to the buyer. You hand over the keys and leave the property in the state the contract agreed.
- Prepare or decide
- Removals booked, meters read, keys ready for handover.
- Who normally handles it
- The conveyancers and the lenders; you hand over possession.
- What can delay it
- Funds arriving late in the banking day, which can push handover to the next working day.
The sale is complete — keep the completion statement for your records and any tax advice.
Where the two routes differ
The nine stages above describe both routes. Where they genuinely differ:
| Stage | Open-market sale | Direct investor introduction |
|---|---|---|
| Presenting the property (stage 5) | Advertised publicly; viewings; the market sets the pace. | No public marketing — Dukes introduces the property to investors who buy directly. |
| The offer (stage 6) | Aimed at the best price the market will pay. | Normally below potential open-market value — the price of speed and certainty. |
| Timescale | Set by the market, the chain and the legal work; no honest figure can be promised. | Where the property, the title and a buyer are all ready, completion may be targeted within approximately 28 days. That is a target, not a guarantee. |
On either route: an offer binds no one until exchange, and neither a buyer, an acceptable offer nor a completion date can be guaranteed.
Sales that carry extra steps
A tenanted property, a probate sale, a jointly owned property or one sold under a power of attorney each adds legal requirements to the stages above — tell your conveyancer at the start. Selling an investment or previously let property can also have tax consequences; Dukes does not give tax advice, so speak to an accountant or tax adviser before committing.
Start with a personal assessment
Tell Dukes about the property and what matters most, and get a personal view of the likely route and next steps — an estate-agency assessment, not a formal valuation, with nothing sent until you choose to send it.
