We have noticed in recent months there has been an increase in the importance of legal kerb appeal. If you are looking to connect with buyers, we will help you use legal kerb appeal to sell your home.

What is legal kerb appeal?

Legal kerb appeal, in the words of Chris Salmon, who is a co-founder and Director of Quittance Legal Services, is; “Simply, legal kerb appeal is the strengths of the property when considered from a legal perspective. Legal kerb appeal could also involve proactively addressing any potential legal issues before a buyer is found.”

In an interview conducted on the Property Road website, Chris was asked about what vendors should look to do to ensure they are ready to sell their home in the near future.

Chris responded by saying; “If you are on or are thinking of going on the market, we’re pushing the concept of ‘legal kerb appeal’. Sellers will be entering a buyers market, and must do everything they can to improve their chances not only of finding a buyer, but also completing the sale.”

He continued by saying; “For example, if the property has a roof terrace without planning permission, the buyer’s solicitor will pick this up. Instead, the seller’s solicitor can identify a suitable indemnity policy and offer it as part of the sale. This proactive approach will reassure buyers and avoid delays later in the process.”

How will the housing market move forward?

Chris was also asked about what he thinks will happen in the property market when the industry moves forward. He said; “The consensus is that the pent-up demand that emerged shortly after the 2019 election will gradually resume. It’s very likely that in-progress transactions will suffer a logjam as capacity challenged property services firms struggle to fulfil a rush of requests for searches, surveys and managing agent information. We anticipate significant delays for up to a few months after the lockdown eases.”

Steps in managing legal kerb appeal

With so many sources discussing the importance of legal kerb appeal, most vendors will be keen to incorporate it into their sales process. Here is a list of steps you should follow in managing legal kerb appeal before and during the sales process:

• Complete all property transaction forms

• Anticipate which problems are likely to occur, and resolve them

• Involve external parties and management agents as quickly as possible

• Collate all documents as early as possible

• Start the process of recovering or replacing missing documents as early as possible

• Agents, vendors and legal professionals should work together to find solutions

The earlier you start, the better

As with most things in life, and certainly as with many things in the sales process, the faster you start, the better. When it comes to legal kerb appeal, the sooner you start to put things in order, the better for you.

We know many people have questions and queries right now, and we are here to help as best we can. Please get in touch with Austin Property Services if there is anything, we can assist you with.