Frequently Asked Questions

- Stamp duty thresholds have changed in recent years. Up to £175,000, no duty is payable. From £175,001 to £250,000, duty is payable at 1% of the contract price. From £250,001 to £500,000, duty is payable at 3% of the contract price and above this, duty is paid at 4%.

- The same as any estate agent, our fees are charged via invoice to your solicitor at the completion of the sale. There are no fees whatsoever until this point. Our fee will be charged only upon completion.

- If you know that you will need to take out a mortgage of some description in order to buy then it surely makes sense to seek financial advice at an early stage. Once you have provisionally arranged for the requisite mortgage funds to be made available to you it is a good idea to obtain a mortgage certificate from the lender. This can then be used to prove to a seller or agent that you have available to you the necessary funds to finance your purchase.

- If you have a solicitor who you know can work quickly and efficiently where conveyancing of properties is concerned then certainly carry on using that firm. However, if you have any doubts then feel free to call on our advice and we will confidently recommend one of our excellent local solicitors.

- Yes, we can arrange for a HIP to be provided about your home. The nature of Home Information Packs (HIPs) and the timetable for their introduction has changed considerably since they were first proposed. For the latest update, check the Government's Home Information Pack FAQ.

- Yes, each office is fully equipped with the latest digital camera equipment and we produce professional and accurate floorplans of your property.

- Over 85% of potential buyers start looking for property via the internet. 90% of these potential buyers look at more than one property portal to find a home. That’s why we will advertise your property on major property portals including Rightmove.

- Yes, we provide a high quality corrugated polypropylene For Sale sign, however it is not a stipulation and should you prefer you do not need to have one.

- Yes, we are able to advise on all aspects of presenting your property for sale, our knowledge is based on both current trends and many years of experience of what buyers are looking for in a new home.

- We will liaise between buyer and seller to find a mutually convienient date and time. Should there be significant interest in your property you may prefer to arrange an Open House viewing where all interested parties view on a publicised date and time.

- We will, where possible, be available to accompany a viewing so you don't have to worry about meeting prospective purchasers. It may be that you would prefer to take any children or pets out of the house to leave purchasers uninterrupted time to view your home.

- We will of course contact you regularly to keep you posted on developments with your sale. You can also log on to the "my Prospect" section of this website where you can see its progress.

- We will market your property until it is sold or until you ask us to take it off the market.

- We will let you know of all offers by phone and in writing. If the price isn’t right then we’ll do everything we can to negotiate a price you’re happy with.

- We inform solicitors and establish whether there is any buyer chain involved from the interested party. Exchange of contracts will take place immediately and a deposit of normally 10% is taken, as your solicitor will have prepared the contract ready for signing. We will write to all concerned parties with confirmation of the sale and help you in any way that we can with getting the sale through to completion.

- There are many factors governing this. In a simple property transaction, i.e. where there is no chain, and where a survey does not reveal anything untoward, the average period of time between an offer being accepted and contracts being exchanged is 4 to 6 weeks, with completion taking place some 4 weeks thereafter. It can take less, of course, and it can take a lot longer - it all depends on the circumstances, and the level of cooperation between the parties involved.

- The sale of any property is governed by four principal factors namely the price, the agent, the market and the property itself. Assuming that all of these factors are in order, your property should sell. However, in the unlikely event of our being unable to sell a property, it may be withdrawn from our register, without charge.

- There are different types of survey available. There is a very brief type of survey (referred to in a mortgage application as a ‘mortgage valuation’). This, essentially, is limited to a brief inspection of the property for any obvious faults and provides an assessment of its value. The Homebuyer's report will go into more detail and will provide a fairly extensive report with appropriate summaries and valuation. The full structural survey and valuation is an in-depth report that looks at the fabric of the property as well as its overall condition and will make appropriate recommendations and suggest a valuation.

We have links with associated firms that are able to provide this essential, professional service. Many buyers are happy to rely on the survey or valuation report carried out in their mortgage application. However, for the cautious, or where there is no mortgage involved, and subject to the age and condition of the property involved, choosing one of these reports should provide the required amount of information.

- Many people ask 'Why do I have to use an estate agent?'… but the skills of an estate agent and the benefits our service provides are often underestimated. The vast majority of sales are conducted by estate agents, whose responsibility is to market a property at the most appropriate price in the circumstances.

Your property will reach the widest possible market, as opposed to the fairly limited market that a private sale reaches. A professional estate agent will always negotiate the best possible price on the best terms for a client and, although much is made of the charges made by an estate agent, charges in the UK are at a generally much lower rate than in mainland Europe. Also, the level of service and attention is generally of a very high standard. Using an estate agent, therefore, can maximise results.

- Yes, we offer a full service every day of the week including Sundays. In addition, we are open on Bank Holidays.

- We take our customer's privacy very seriously. All of our data is stored on secure servers with the latest and highest levels of encryption. We do not pass any information onto third parties and we will not share your information with potential buyers or sellers without your permission.

- At Prospect we take the quality of service very seriously, that's why we are proud to be members of the main regulatory governing bodies for Estate Agents in the UK. This means greater peace of mind and a higher standard of service for consumers who will be able to complain to an independent industry body if they are not happy with the service they have received or the way they have been treated.