• General Resources
• Location Guides

• Overview
• Selling Costs
• Property Value
• Estate Agents
• Preparing Your Commercial Property for Sale
• Viewings
• For Sale Boards
• Offers
• Surveys
• Solicitors
• Exchange and Completion

Currell Commercial’s step-by-step guide to selling your commercial property in London is designed to take you through the selling process. If you have any questions about any of the steps, please give us a ring or come into our Commercial office at 309 Upper Street, Islington, London N1, and our staff will be happy to assist you.

Whether you want to sell office space, retail premises, an investment or land, there a number of costs that you will need to consider, including:

• Estate Agent Fees
  Currell Commercial offer very competitive rates to help you sell your commercial property. Standard fees can be anything from 1% to 3%, but you may find them higher or negotiate them lower.
• Solicitor Fees
  It is likely that your solicitor will offer you a fixed fee, for their conveyance services. But if a sale becomes more complicated or takes longer than previously thought, they are likely to charge you additional sums.
• Mortgage Redemption Fee
  If you pay off your mortgage early, some lenders will charge you a redemption fee. It is the same if you move property and your mortgage is not transferable, and you may well find yourself liable to pay more. It’s a good idea to check with your lender or broker.
• Mortgage Arrangement Fees
  If you already have a mortgage, or if yours is not transferable, your lender may charge you to arrange a new mortgage for your new commercial property.
• Capital Gains Tax
  If you are selling an investment property, you should consult your financial advisor to establish what taxes are applicable.
• Removal Firm
  Whether you’re moving to another part of London or to another country, you will have to pay someone to move the belongings that you do not sell to the new owner. Removal firms in London can be found online or in the Yellow Pages. It is a good idea to ring a few firms to get the best quote.

How much your commercial property is worth is subject to a range of market forces. Factors include:

• Commercial Property Prices – of recently properties sold in your road and the surrounding area
• Market trends
• Availability of similar properties
• The condition of your property – and any additional features it offer (garden, parking, etc).

Currell Commercial can value your property, but this does not oblige you to sell through us. Or we will happily to visit your commercial property to provide you with an estimated property valuation, based on current condition of your property and comparable sales in the area.

Whichever estate agent you choose to sell your commercial property with, they are required to:

• Create details and advertisements to promote your commercial property
• Show your commercial property in their window displays, on their website and in whatever online and offline media that they use
• Conduct viewings
• Pass on to you all offers that they receive (whatever they may be)
• Monitor and progress the sale with the other relevant professionals (surveyors, mortgage lenders/brokers, solicitors, etc)
• Always to act in your best interest.

It is important to make the most of your commercial property to sell it. Commercial property for sale should be presented in the most uncluttered way possible, to appeal to the broadest audience possible.  Therefore, it is advisable to tidy up and clean, whether you are selling an office or industrial unit.

Things to consider when you have potential buyers coming to view your commercial property:

• Exterior – keep your office door and entrance clean. If you have a front garden, trim the hedges, clear the pathways and remove any dead plants
• Tidy up – if you still have people working when the viewers come round, make sure they know to keep the place tidy
• Touches – flowers and plants  can make an office seem brighter
• Windows – keep each room well ventilated
• Temperature – make sure it’s the right temperature for the time of year
• Greetings – if you are conducting the viewing yourself, always be friendly and willing to ask any question honestly
• Agents – if the agent is conducting the viewing, say hello then leave them to it. They will find you if they cannot answer any questions themselves.

A number of applicants contact us as a result of seeing one of our boards. If want to sell your commercial property in London, we recommend that you allow us to put up a For Sale board wherever possible.

Any offers you receive to buy your commercial property should go through your estate agents, who are legally obliged to tell you about it. You are not obliged to accept the offer, however. Before you accept the offer, consider:

• Both the financial value of the offer and the position of the buyer
• Whether your potential purchaser buying with cash or a mortgage
• Whether your potential purchaser has a place to sell or they are in rented accommodation.

When you receive an offer for your London commercial property, you can accept or reject it, or negotiate to find a middle ground that you and the purchaser are happy with.

If you accept the offer, it is up to your estate agent to seal the deal by gathering the buyer’s solicitor and mortgage broker/lender’s details to move the sale forward.

Remember, an offer is not legally binding, so until contracts are exchanged your buyers could change their minds. Therefore, remember to stay in contact with your buyers to keep the sale moving in the right direction.

If the buyer of your commercial property has a mortgage, then the lender may get their surveyor to conduct a valuation survey, which can take anything from half an hour to a couple of hours. The buyer may also wish to get a more detailed survey done too. As a general rule, the older the commercial property is, the more detailed this survey should be. Such a survey can take many hours, and may require the surveyor to go into basements, roof areas and use all manner of equipment to evaluate the condition of your commercial property.

When selling your commercial property, your solicitor will be there to guide you through the mountain of paperwork that you are required to read, and help you to finalise your property. The role of your solicitor is also to:

• Answer your questions
• Negotiate contracts
• Hold deposit monies
• Effect an exchange
• Complete and confirm that transferred monies have been received.

You are paying your solicitors to provide you with a professional service, so if you have any questions feel free to ask them. Do, however, be aware that excessive questioning can sometimes result in an increase in fees for time spent with you.

Choosing the right solicitor in advance can help save you valuable time, money and, in some cases, the sale of your property itself. If you instruct your solicitor at the same time as you put your property on the market, they can apply for the title deeds at an early stage, thus avoiding delays should the agent receive an offer. Also return any necessary documents to your solicitor promptly, and stay as actively involved in the procedure as possible to keep the process moving forward.

Exchange occurs when contracts are signed by both buyer and seller, the buyer pays the deposit and a completion date is agreed.

Completion occurs when all outstanding legal elements of the sale are completed and the mortgage lender’s funds have been transferred to your solicitor. Your solicitor will contact you when this happens, and all you need do is to hand over your commercial property keys to the estate agent to give to the new owner.

If you have any questions, please contact Currell Commercial property agents in London. Whether you need to sell office space, a shop or an industrial unit, we can help sell your property quickly and easily. Or for more information, please give us a ring or pop into our Commercial office at 309 Upper Street, Islington, London N1, and our staff will be happy to assist you.