First, you need to work out your affordability to sell up and move. If you’re still within your existing mortgage term, you should check whether you'll face any early repayment charges for breaking the deal or any fees to take it with you to a new property - a process known as porting. If you’re planning to move to a more expensive property, you should find out how much you can borrow and which lender will offer you the best deal. This, along with stamp duty and all the other costs of selling a house, can really add up - so it pays to do the maths early on. It's well worth getting expert advice and we can put you in touch with a friendly mortgage broker so you can find out exactly how much you could borrow for your next home.

The next step is to spruce up your property so it's ready for photos and viewings. Make sure your property is tidy and free from clutter. This will give potential buyers a blank canvas to imagine how they would use the space. It should also look good from the outside. Mow the lawn, pull out the weeds and clean the windows. We are happy to give our opinion on what you do or don't need to do.

Setting the right asking price for your home is crucial. Too high and you'll risk putting people off and too low and you might end up selling for much less than you could have got. We are happy to help you research how much your house is worth based on recent local market activity, just invite us round for a chat.

While we are here to advise you, it's entirely up to you what asking price you set for your property. However, there can be a big difference between the valuations you receive, it can be hard to know what to do. Some estate agents have been found to overvalue properties in order to win business. It can be tempting to choose the firm claiming they can get you thousands more for your home, but setting an unrealistic asking price can waste time and put buyers off even viewing a property.

Conveyancing - the legal process of transferring a property from one person to another - is far from the most exciting part of moving house, but it's important that you find a solicitor or licensed conveyancer to take care of this vital job. If you've got one in place before you accept an offer, this can help speed things up and also demonstrates to the buyer that you're organised and serious about selling. We can help by arranging a free quote from a friendly solicitor or conveyancer.

We will inform you as soon as any offers are made. If you receive multiple offers, we can do some digging into each bidder's situation, as there are more factors to take into consideration than simply how much each party is offering.

Buyers will often offer less than the asking price, meaning you need to weigh up whether it's worth negotiating - either refusing the offer in the hope that they'll increase it, or suggesting a compromise price. We are here to guide you through the process.

Although it's worth registering with estate agents and setting up alerts on property portals before you've accepted an offer, it's safest to start house-hunting in earnest once your own property is under offer (SSTC). This will place you in a better position if you find a home that multiple people are interested in. It also avoids the heartache of falling in love with a property but having it snatched from under your nose by someone who's ready to move. Buying Guide tab

Exchanging contracts is a key milestone when you're selling your house, as it's the moment when your buyer pays a deposit and things become legally binding. If you're buying another property, make sure you have buildings insurance in place from this date onwards. The day you complete is the moment you've been working towards, when you'll have finally sold your home. You'll need to move all your belongings out promptly and drop your key at the estate agent's, ready for them to give to your buyer. If you're buying a property too, it's easiest if you can complete your purchase on the same day as you complete your sale - that way you can move all your belongings from A to B without needing to put them in storage.