Five steps to buying and selling a house

Step 1

Have your property valued

The best way to sell a house and buy another is to make sure you have your current one valued before you start looking for your next one – this will ensure you have a better understanding of what your budget is.

You could use an estate agent or a free online service, such as Zoopla or Property Price Advice, but be aware these are only estimated prices and it’s always a good idea to get a few quotes so you can compare. For more information, take a look at our guide to getting your home valued.

Step 2

Work out your finances

Once your existing home has been valued, you can begin to work out how much you’ll have to put towards your new home. The government’s Money Advice Service has an in-depth guide that looks into the costs of buying and selling a house, which can help give you a clearer picture of what’s involved – from paying for removals to the solicitors’ fees for buying and selling a house. Now’s also a good time to look at our ten tips to make sure you’re mortgage ready.

Step 3

Put your house on the market

Selling your home often feels like the hardest part of this journey, but the right estate agent should be able to support you through the whole process. A lot of people want to know how long it takes to sell and buy a house. The short answer is this can differ by area and by the type of place you’re selling – your estate agent should be able to give you a good idea, though. 

Once your home is on the market, it can be worth taking a bit of time to make it really appealing to potential buyers. Does the garden need sprucing up? Could you repaint a room to give it a new lease of life? Can you rearrange any furniture to make the rooms feel bigger? A few little touches can go a long way in securing a sale.

You might start to come across quite a lot of technical language at this point which can be confusing, so we’ve put together an explanation of some of the key terms and phrases you might hear in our house-moving glossary.

Step 4

Find your dream home

Whether you’re downsizing or looking for a bigger place, this is the exciting part where you get to view properties that could be your new home. Once you’ve found the one for you, you’ll usually work with an estate agent and a solicitor to make your offer and complete all the paperwork required. 

If you’re buying a David Wilson home, you can simply reserve the property and have it taken off the market. You can find more about our process in our home buying guide.

Step 5

Sell your existing property

You’re now at the final stage of selling and buying a house, and one step closer to moving into your new property. Your estate agent should be setting up viewings and will let you know when any offers come in. Again, you’ll work with your estate agent and a solicitor to make sure your sale all goes through smoothly. 

Because we know that selling and buying a house at the same time can be stressful, if you buy one of our homes, we have some schemes that can help make your move hassle-free.

Part Exchange

We could be your guaranteed buyer and could buy your existing home at a fair price with no estate agent fees and no chain – so you can move into your new David Wilson home quicker. You can find more information here

Movemaker

Once you’ve found your new David Wilson home, we’ll recommend a trusted estate agent to value and sell your existing property – we could even cover their fees. Find out more here.

Part Exchange Xtra

We could recommend an estate agent to handle everything for you, and even pay their fees. And if your home doesn’t sell, we could be your guaranteed buyer. Find out more here.

To start searching for next home, take a look at our current developments here.