How to get Move Ready before you list

Most people decide to sell months before they ring an agent. That gap is the most valuable time in the whole move, and almost nobody uses it. Here is how to, without spending anything and without a solicitor.

Step one: find out what the public record already says

Before you write anything down, see what is already known about your home. The EPC register will show your energy rating and when it expires. HM Land Registry holds your title. The Environment Agency publishes flood risk. Ofcom publishes broadband and mobile coverage by address. Your council’s planning portal lists applications. Together these answer a surprising share of what a buyer will ask, and they tell you early if something needs sorting, such as an EPC that has lapsed.

Step two: answer the questions while you have time

The Property Information Form (TA6) runs to dozens of questions: boundaries, disputes, notices, alterations, guarantees, services, occupiers, insurance claims. Answered under pressure mid sale, people guess and the guesses cause problems. Answered on a quiet evening, you can check the paperwork, ask your neighbour about the fence, and get it right. The questions are the same either way; only the stress is different.

Step three: gather the documents you already have

You will need the title register, the EPC, and then whatever applies to your home: planning and building regulations sign off for any work, FENSA certificates for windows, a Gas Safe certificate for the boiler, guarantees for a roof or damp proofing, the lease and service charge statements if leasehold. Most of these are in a drawer or an email somewhere. Finding them now, rather than in week six of a sale, is the single biggest thing you can do to keep a sale together.

• If you cannot find a building regulations completion certificate, your council’s building control team can usually confirm whether one was issued.
• FENSA certificates can be reissued by FENSA for a small fee if the installer registered the work.
• The title register costs £7 from HM Land Registry and takes a minute.

Step four: deal with anything that would surprise a buyer

An extension with no sign off, a boundary that does not match the plan, a flat with a short lease, a knotweed treatment plan: none of these need stop a sale, but every one of them will if it turns up late. Found early, each has a known fix, whether that is an indemnity policy, a regularisation certificate, a lease extension started now, or simply an honest line in the pack. Disclosed late, the same thing is a renegotiation or a withdrawal.

Step five: get your number

Being ready is not a feeling, it is a state you can measure: have the questions been answered, are the required documents in, has anything been left for later. A single score makes that visible, to you and to anyone you choose to show it to. It also tells you exactly what to do next, which is what most sellers are missing.

Step six: choose your agent and conveyancer from strength

An agent valuing a home whose owner can hand over the material information on the spot will list it faster and price it with more confidence. A conveyancer receiving a complete pack on day one starts drafting rather than chasing. You are the same seller either way; the difference is whether you arrive with the work done.