Jargon-free answers to the questions that plague you when you decide to sell your house.
You’ve decided to sell your house.
You’ve NO idea how to get started with selling a house in Kolkata.
Suddenly, your mind is flooded with questions.
Before you find a slightly comprehensive answer for one question, another one pops up…
… And not knowing the answers can be frustrating.
That’s why we’ve answered the 3 questions that every house owner asks before they sell their house.
1. How to arrive at a proper selling price for our house that is “X” years old?
Go on Google and type “houses for sale in Tollygunge” or the area your house is located in.
Look at all the online listings on sites Housing, MagicBricks, 99 Acres, Sulekha, etc. and note down the following details:
- Sq-ft area of the house: This should be close to your house’s sq-ft area. For eg, if your house is 2000 sq-ft, 1800-2200 sq-ft is a close comparison.
- Age of the property
- Selling rate of the house
- Pros that are listed. For ex, close to metro, schools, bus stations, etc
- When the ad was posted
This will give you an idea of approximate sq-ft rates in the locality and how certain features let house-owners set a price greater than the avg. market price.
You’ll also have a rough idea of how the age of the property affects the selling rate in the area.
If you see houses that remain unsold after a month of posting the ad, go through the pictures and corresponding ads.
Once you’ve gone through a few ads, you’ll figure out why the houses remain unsold. This will also help you pinpoint desirable features that buyers are looking for when buying a house.
Once you see the average prices of houses similar to your houses, you can settle on a price that’s 10%-20% higher than normal. This way, you will get satisfactory returns on your property.
Often, the buying price of a property is different from the price listed on websites. To get an idea of what the buying prices are like in Kolkata, visit Makaan’s Property Price and Trends calculator
For example, if the rate in Dum Dum is Rs.1600/sq-ft, you can set your rate 10% higher so that you get the market rate of Rs.1600/sq-ft while negotiating with your buyer.
This is only a general way of arriving at an approximate price for your house. There are other factors that make it more or less desirable in the eyes of the buyer.
If you want a complete market analysis to come up with the best price for your house, you’ll be better off hiring a real estate agent. Modern Properties can help you with this.
2. What documents do I need to sell my house?
You’ll need the following documents to sell your house:
No Objection Certificates (NOCs): These certificates provide permission for the purchase of a property. They’re provided by various authorities and banks (if you bought your home on loan).
Letter of Allotment: This letter says that this property was allotted to you from the relevant authority or society.
Previous Sales Deed: A sales deed is a document used to transfer the ownership rights of the property to another person.
You must have the previous owner’s original sales deed while you’re selling your house. This makes it easy to trace the ownership of the house.
Sanctioned Plan: This is the approved building plan of your house and occupation certificate issued by relevant authority.
The occupation certificate is proof that your house was constructed under safety codes and laws. It deems your house fit for living in.
For Kolkata, The Kolkata Municipal Corporation sanctions building plans and the New Town Kolkata Development Authority issues the occupancy certificate.
Encumbrance Certificate: This is to certify that your property is free of disputes.
Sales Deed: Once you’ve found a buyer, you’ll agree to sell your house after agreeing to certain conditions.
The seller executes the sales deed and this legal document will transfer the ownership rights to the buyer.
Having all the documents also helps your house fetch a higher rate in the market. You might want to take legal advice and contact realtors for help on this part.
There is a detailed list of documents and formats for sale of property in West Bengal here.
3. How do I SELL my house?
Here’s how you go about selling your house:
- Decide on the price for the house: You can do this yourself using the steps in #1 or get a realtor to do this for you. Modern Properties can help you with this.
If you’ve chosen to work with a realtor you’ll have to sign an agreement with them to decide on their commissions and advertising costs for your property. - Decide how you want to sell your house: You can sell it via an auction, set a fixed selling date and ask prospects to come up with the best offer or set an asking price.
The asking price is simply the rate at which you decide to sell your house. Setting an asking price is the least intimidating way and brings more prospects, according to us. - Prepare the Vendor’s Statement and Contract of Sale: Legally, a seller is supposed to be as transparent as possible about the details of the property before selling it.
A Vendor’s statement tells the potential buyer all the things they must know about the property before they decide to buy it. For example, all the cons of buying your house like mortgage, outstanding payments, etc.
After the Vendor’s statement is prepared, the Contract of Sale is prepared.
This is an agreement between the buyer and seller where the seller (you) agree to transfer the ownership of the property for a certain sum of money in the future.
This is different from a Sales Deed which is an immediate transfer of the rights of ownership. - Advertise your Property: You post ads to attract as many buyers as you can to your property. If you’ve got a realtor working on your behalf, they will take care of this process.
- Negotiate with Buyers: Once you’ve shown potential buyers your property and zeroed in on a buyer, it’s time to start negotiations on the price. The buyer will pay you a deposit after the negotiations are complete.
Again, your real estate agent will help you negotiate with the buyers. - Under Contract: Once the negotiations are done, the buyer and seller sign a contract of sale.
At this point, the house goes under contract i.e. the sale is not finalised yet and will be finalised if all the legal and financial requirements are met on the day of sale.
Lawyers and Banks from both sides work out these requirements so that they can be fulfilled before the house is sold. - Sales Deed/Agreement: On the agreed day, the seller transfers the rights of ownership of their property to the buyer when the buyer pays the remaining sum of money to the seller.
Important: Consider all the offers you’ve got for your house and then make an informed decision. DON’T jump at the first offer you get!
Conclusion:
Once you’ve decided to sell your house, you want to know how much you should price your house at, the documents required and the entire sales process.
Here are the answers to the questions you’ve been asking yourself.
- You can arrive at a selling price by going through the buying rates and selling prices of houses with a similar sq-ft as your house. You can also hire realtors in Kolkata to help you decide a price after they do a Competitive Market Analysis (CMA).
- You need to have your documents in order before you sell your house. These documents include: NOCs, letters of allotment, Previous sales deeds, sanction plans & occupancy certificates, encumbrance certificates, and sales deeds.
- The process of selling a house starts by deciding on a selling price for your house. You then decide how you want to sell your house.
Next, come the Vendor’s Statement and Contract of Sale.
Once you’ve prepared these documents, you advertise the house and negotiate with potential buyers. The buyer deposits a token amount.
At this point, the buyer and seller sign a contract in which the buyer agrees to transfer ownership of the house if the remaining amount is paid within the stipulated time.
Lastly, the buyer pays the remaining amount of money on the agreed date to take ownership of the house.
Have more questions about selling a home in Kolkata?
Leave them in the comments below or contact Modern Properties right away!
We’ve helped home-owners sell their homes in Kolkata for handsome returns even if they’re not from here, for about 19 years now!
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