Estate Agency. Helping you every step of the way

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1 Estate Agency Helping you every step of the way

2 Do you want help finding your next home? Whether you re buying or selling Halifax Estate Agents offers you a complete home moving service that offers outstanding value and makes the whole process as hassle free as possible. Halifax Estate Agents is one of the country s leading estate agents with over 330 branches in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Choose us to sell your home and you ll get the knowledge and expertise of a local estate agent with support from the Halifax one of the UK s leading financial organisations. This guide explains the comprehensive service you ll receive if you choose Halifax Estate Agents to help you move home. We are a founder member of the Ombudsman Scheme for Estate Agents so you can be sure you ll get a fair deal and a clear explanation of costs. Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.

3 Contents Step 1. Getting started 3 Step 2. Instruct us to sell your home 4 Step 3. Preparing your HIP* 4 Step 4. Marketing your property 5 Step 5. How we ll manage your sale 7 Step 6. Making your sale happen 9 Step 7. Helping you find your next home 11 Important Information 13 Halifax Estate Agents Voted Best Estate Agency Chain 2005, 2006 and 2007* *Please see Important Information for further details.

4 Step 1 Getting started To start the home moving process we ll help you understand all the costs involved by providing you with a HomeMover Review. We ll start by reviewing your finances which will help you work out how much you can afford to spend on another property. As part of this you can receive a Halifax Mortgage Promise. Halifax Mortgage Promise This tells you, in principle, the amount Halifax will lend you. You ll receive a Mortgage Promise certificate to show sellers you re serious about buying, putting you in a stronger bargaining position. This is subject to a satisfactory valuation of the property you decide to buy and the details you give us being correct. Free Market Valuation We ll also arrange a FREE market valuation of your existing property with the aim of getting you the best price for your home. One of our Homemoving Advisers will discuss and explain upfront what our fee will be once we sell your home. There are no hidden costs and you have the added reassurance of our no sale, no fee guarantee*. *Please see Important information for further details. 3

5 Step 2 Instruct us to sell your home Give us the go-ahead and we ll agree the costs upfront, ask you to sign our Agency Agreement and help organise your Home Information Pack (HIP)* and Conveyancing. Once the legal requirements of your HIP are met we can start to market your home immediately. Your sales details We ll then prepare full sales details for your home, featuring photos, room descriptions, measurements and floor plan (where applicable). We ll ask you to approve these details to ensure everything we re saying about your property is true in accordance with the Property Misdescriptions Act 1991, in readiness for the full marketing of your home. Then as soon as the legal requirements of your HIP* are met we can start to market your property. Step 3 Preparing your HIP* Using Halifax Estate Agents for your HIP* means you don t have to shop around. In the ever changing climate of legislation and regulations we will do everything to ensure you have all you need to comply with the law and make sure the home you are selling is marketed without delay in order to attract prospective buyers. A fixed fee You will know exactly what you will be paying. Deferred payment option If you are selling your home through Halifax Estate Agents you will be able to take advantage of our exclusive deferred payment option arranged through LMS, our HIP provider. 24 hour tracking and online viewing Track the preparation of your pack and view the pack online as it builds. Buyer and seller confidence A name you can trust with experience of preparing house buying and selling reports. 4

6 Step 4 Marketing your property We want to generate the maximum interest for your property amongst potential buyers. We ll do this in the following ways: HomeFinder As soon as we have the minimum legally required parts of your HIP* your property details will be loaded onto our HomeFinder system to produce property sales details for branch displays. It also links together our 330+ branches which means any branch can produce high quality property details of your home for potential buyers. Database marketing We have a list of registered buyers held on our HomeFinder system. As soon as we have the minimum legally required parts of your HIP* we will match your property details to their requirements and immediately contact those who are looking for a property like yours and encourage them to view your home. marketing We will details about your property to potential buyers so they are made aware that your property is on the market and they have all the information to hand. SMS text messaging We ll also send an SMS text message to the mobile phones of buyers who have registered with us and expressed an interest in properties like yours. 5

7 Prominent For Sale board Our familiar For Sale boards are instantly recognisable to get your home noticed. They also give the reassurance of the reputable Halifax brand. Our website receives an average of around 300,000 visits a month and provides full details of all our properties for sale. It also features prominent links to and from the main halifax.co.uk site. The UK s number 1 property website receives more than five million visits per month, which means thousands of potential buyers will see your property. In Northern Ireland, we also advertise property for sale on propertynews.com, which gets an average of over 200,000 visits a month. Newspaper advertising Where appropriate, your property will feature in our high profile and professional local newspaper advertising. Selling hints and tips First impressions count if the outside doesn t look its best, then buyers will automatically assume the same about the inside. Neat and tidy paths and driveways, trimmed hedges, a mown lawn and some serious weeding does wonders. If it s summer, how about hanging baskets or tubs of colourful flowers? The front door should look inviting, touchup chipped paint and polish brass fittings. A clean canvas means people can decorate the property to their own taste. Remove clutter to make rooms feel larger. Tidying up creates space and gives the impression of a well maintained home. Make sure any minor repairs have been carried out. Did you know? Halifax Estate Agents is the largest single branded estate agency in the UK. 6

8 Step 5 How we ll manage your sale 7 Keeping you informed Our dedicated staff will guide you through the whole process they re working for you. They ll keep you informed throughout and will offer as much knowledgeable help and advice as you feel you need. For your convenience you can deal with us in the way that suits you best either by calling into a branch, over the phone or by . We ll take care of requests to view your HIP* As a seller you are legally bound to offer potential purchasers sight of your HIP. We will facilitate this for you and register the details of anyone who asks to see your HIP. We can supply details of your HIP in a number of ways whatever suits the potential buyer best this could include an online link, a printed copy (chargeable to the person requesting the copy), or simply viewing the report in our office. We ll take care of your viewings As soon as customers express an interest in your property, we ll make an appointment for them to view at a time that s convenient for you and them. If you wish, we can accompany buyers to look round your home. We ll provide you with valuable feedback We will contact people who have viewed your home to gather feedback. We ll find out whether the buyers are interested and what they thought about your property and pass on to you any relevant comments. What happens when we receive an offer? As soon as we get an offer we pass it to you promptly by phone and send written confirmation within 48 hours. While you decide whether or not to accept it, we check that potential buyers are genuinely interested in the property and they have the finance available. We also check what their current home moving situation is. If there s more than one offer then we ll advise you on the best course of action, based on our assessment of each individual buyer s circumstances and how quickly you need to move. If you wish you can ask us to invite all parties to increase their offers. As soon as you ve agreed a price with a buyer we ll mark your property as Sold Subject to Contract. It s then up to you whether or not you want us to continue marketing the property we ll advise you of any issues that may affect your decision. If we receive any further offers we ll advise you.

9 We want you to be aware In dealing with the sale of your property we may be asked to provide mortgage and general house buying and selling advice to any potential buyer. This is quite normal practice but if we give advice to buyers we will inform you, and will act in your best interests. We may also be given certain information from buyers for instance, details of their salary and personal finances on a confidential basis. This is used to help us make a recommendation to you about the ability of the buyer to proceed, but we will not be able to give you any information of a confidential nature unless the person who has provided it agrees. Did you know? Your property will also be featured on which displays 50% of all properties for sale in the UK at any one time. 8

10 Step 6 Making your sale happen As soon as you accept an offer from a buyer we ll instruct your conveyancer to progress the sale. Along with your conveyancer, we ll help you arrange exchange of contracts and set a completion date for the sale. Sorting out the legal work If you haven t already taken advantage of our HIP* and conveyancing packages, why not take advantage of our conveyancing service which takes care of all the legal work involved in your home move. It s a simple package that can save you time and ensure you avoid any delays once we ve found you a buyer. You can also use the service if you re buying a property. 9

11 Halifax Conveyancing offers: A panel of independent legal firms, which we ll put you in touch with; A fixed fee that s clear from the outset, so there ll be no surprises when it comes to the costs for the legal work*; Pre-sale conveyancing, which means we ll arrange for the legal work to be started straight away so your sale is not delayed; One of our Homemoving Advisers will be able to provide you with more information on Halifax Conveyancing just ask for details. If you wish to appoint your own conveyancer we ll work with them to ensure the same smooth progress. 24 hour sale tracking, so that you can check on your sale or purchase via the internet whenever it suits you; Regular updates by letter or phone; No sale, no fee guaranteed, so if we don t sell your home, you won t pay any conveyancing or estate agency fees*. Our Halifax conveyancer will offer you a free HIP checking service (on up to 3 properties) on your future purchase. * Please see Important information for further details. 10

12 Step 7 Helping you find your next home If you re searching for your next home, check out the thousands of properties we have for sale. Either call into a branch of Halifax Estate Agents or visit our website at Finding the right home We can also help you in a number of other ways: We ll register you on our HomeFinder system Tell us the type of property you re looking for and we ll match your requirements to properties we have for sale in seconds. SMS text and messages We can send you details of properties for sale that match your requirements as soon as they come onto the market, by sending SMS text messages, s and Stop Press letters. Local Information If you re moving to an area that you re not familiar with, we can provide you with local information, such as local amenities, public transport, schools, medical services, etc. The information is available on our website when you re looking at individual properties on the site, just select Local Info and Maps. Arrange the legal work You can also use our Halifax Conveyancing service if you re buying a property. If you re selling your home and buying another, you can benefit from the full package at a competitive fee. Just ask one of our Homemoving Advisers for details. And don t forget, if you are selling through Halifax Estate Agents and using Halifax Conveyancing service we will include a free HIP checking service on your future purchase (on up to a maximum of 3 properties). 11

13 Extra value Your HomeMover Review will help you understand where we may be able to save you money and what you can afford to spend on your next property. If you would like further advice, please ask. Help even if you decide to stay put? Even if, after all, you decide not to move we can still help you get the best from your existing home with our HomeOwner Review. This gives you: A review of all your finances to see where we can help save or make you money. An idea of the different ways you can make your home s value work for you. A free, no obligation market valuation of your home. Did you know? receives more than five million visits each month. 12

14 Important Information Text messages/ s and/ or Stop Press letters. Registered potential buyers will be sent text messages, s and/or Stop Press letters (as applicable) with details of appropriate properties for sale, subject to our interpretation of their requirements and suitable property being available. Conveyancing As well as the fixed conveyancing fee plus VAT, there are other fees you have to pay to other organisations through your conveyancer, particularly on a purchase, which will vary. Examples include Stamp Duty Land Tax and Land Registry fees. We comply with the Solicitors Introduction and Referral Code published by the Law Society, and any solicitor to whom you may be referred is an independent professional from whom you will receive impartial and confidential advice. You are free to choose another solicitor. No sale, no fee guaranteed If the sale of your property does not proceed through us for any reason, you will not be charged a fee by us for the homeselling services we have provided, nor will you be charged a fee by the conveyancer acting for you for the legal services the conveyancer has provided. However, you may still have to pay disbursements if your agreement with us or the conveyancer acting for you provides for this. An example of disbursement would be promotional costs (in relation to your agreement with us). Please note that if you enter into an agreement with two different estate agents you may become liable to pay fees to both of them. Your reassurance, whether you re buying or selling Our aim is to please but we know that sometimes things go wrong. If you have a problem we want to know. A member of staff will be happy to help, either over the phone or at a branch. A copy of our complaints procedure is available on request. Complaints we cannot settle may be referred to the Financial Ombudsman Service or the Ombudsman for Estate Agents. The award winning agent Voted Best Estate Agency Chain in the Estate Agent of the Year Awards in 2005, 2006 and *Please note that Home Information Packs (HIPs) only apply to properties in England and Wales. 13

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16 It s easy to get in touch: Estate Agency Visit our branchfinder on Banking Bank Accounts Credit Cards Lost/Stolen Cards Personal Loans Mortgages Insurance Savings & Investments Share Dealing Calls from BT landlines will cost a maximum of 4p per minute plus a 6p call set-up fee. The price of calls from other telephone companies will vary. The call price is correct as at January Halifax is a division of Bank of Scotland plc. Registered in Scotland No. SC Registered Office: The Mound, Edinburgh EH1 1YZ. Halifax Estate Agents, Halifax Property Services, Hobbs & Chambers, Donald Beale, Weller Eggar, Frank Farr and Gale & Power are trading names of Halifax Estate Agencies Limited. Halifax Estate Agencies Limited Registered Office: Trinity Road, Halifax, West Yorkshire HX1 2RG. Registered in England No: / (01/08) Compliance No. 6/