How to sell your home in
Cambridgeshire.
A clear step by step guide from valuation to completion. Realistic timings, real costs, and what actually moves a sale across the finish line.
- 01
Get a free in person valuation
Book a valuation with two or three local agents. They'll walk the property, pull sold price comparables for your road, and give you a written valuation plus marketing plan. Take the realistic figure, not the inflated one; overpricing is the single biggest cause of slow sales.
More on this → - 02
Choose your agent and instruction terms
Compare fees (typically 1% to 1.8% + VAT on completion for sole agency), tie in length (8 to 16 weeks is normal), withdrawal terms, marketing inclusions, and progression. Sole agency is cheaper but limits exposure; multi agency widens the net at a higher cost.
- 03
Prepare the property
Declutter, deep clean, fix the small things buyers notice (peeling paint, broken handles, missing tiles). Stage living rooms and master bedrooms with neutral, light textures. Order the EPC if it's expired (legal requirement before marketing).
- 04
Professional photography and listing
Get the photography right first time: daylight, wide angle lens, decluttered rooms, an inviting hero shot. Floorplan, drone where useful, well written description. List on Rightmove and OnTheMarket simultaneously.
- 05
Viewings and feedback
Run accompanied viewings rather than handing over keys. After each viewing, get feedback from the buyer: interest, concerns, likely offer range. Aggregate feedback after week two is the strongest signal on pricing accuracy.
- 06
Offer, negotiation and acceptance
Your agent puts every written offer to you with the buyer's position: cash buyer, mortgage in principle, chain status, funding source. Negotiate from a position of knowledge: comparable sold prices, the property's marketing history, the buyer's leverage.
- 07
Sold Subject to Contract (STC)
Offer accepted but not legally binding. Memorandum of Sale goes to both solicitors. The buyer instructs their solicitor and orders a survey; the lender starts the mortgage valuation. Your job is to keep documents flowing: replies to enquiries, Property Information Form (TA6), Fittings and Contents Form (TA10).
- 08
Searches, survey and mortgage offer
Searches (local authority, environmental, water and drainage) take 4 to 6 weeks typically. Survey usually within 2 weeks of STC. Formal mortgage offer issued after lender's valuation. Most issues that derail sales surface here: survey downgrades, search red flags, lender criteria changes.
- 09
Exchange of contracts
Both parties sign contracts and your solicitor exchanges them by phone. The buyer pays the deposit (typically 5% to 10%). From here, the sale is legally binding, so withdrawal triggers loss of deposit.
- 10
Completion and moving day
Final transfer of funds, keys exchanged, the property is legally the buyer's. Move out by the agreed time (12pm on completion day is standard). Your solicitor settles the agent's fee, mortgage redemption and any other completion costs from the proceeds.
Selling in Brampton, Huntingdon or one of the villages?
This guide is national in scope; the steps and timings apply across England and Wales. For locally specific advice (sold comparables on your road, the right solicitor for your village, realistic asking price for current market conditions), book a free in person valuation. We'll come out within 3 to 5 working days.
The things sellers ask us most.
How long does it take to sell a house in Cambridgeshire?
From listing to completion, 12 to 18 weeks is typical for a straightforward sale in a short chain. The split: about 4 to 6 weeks from listing to accepted offer, then 8 to 12 weeks from STC to completion. Cash buyers and chain free properties complete faster; long chains, leasehold complexity or mortgage delays can stretch the timeline to 5 or 6 months.
What does it cost to sell a house in the UK?
Agent fee: 1% to 1.8% + VAT of sale price for a sole agency instruction, paid on completion. Conveyancing solicitor: £800 to £2,000 + VAT plus disbursements. EPC: £60 to £120 if expired. Optional removals and storage. No Capital Gains Tax on your main residence; CGT applies to second homes and buy to lets.
Should I sell before I buy?
If you're trading up, getting a buyer agreed for your sale before offering on your next home gives you stronger negotiating position (you're 'proceedable') and prevents being trapped in a chain you can't move. The downside is having to time the move precisely. Most Cambridgeshire sellers go to market simultaneously with searching for the next home.
How do I price my house correctly?
Pull sold price comparables for the same road or immediately surrounding streets from the Land Registry. Adjust for the specific property's condition, size and any improvements versus comparables. Take two or three agent valuations, ignoring outliers. The right price attracts viewings in the first 14 days; overpriced properties get fewer viewings and stale fast.
What can I do to sell my house faster?
Price realistically (the biggest lever), get professional photography (second biggest), make the property show ready before listing (declutter, light, neutral), keep flexibility on viewing times where you can (some evenings and Saturdays help), respond to enquiries within hours not days, and have your solicitor instructed before going under offer (saves 1 to 2 weeks of post STC delay).
What is the Property Information Form (TA6)?
A standard Law Society form you complete as seller, covering everything about the property: boundaries, disputes, alterations, services, utilities, council tax, parking, occupiers, planning notices. Your solicitor sends it to the buyer's solicitor early in the process. Honest, complete answers save weeks; vague or evasive ones invite delaying enquiries.
What happens if my buyer's chain collapses?
Your agent should know about the chain status throughout. If the chain breaks, your buyer either pulls out or, more commonly, needs time to find a new onward purchase. Most sellers give a reasonable grace period (often 2 to 4 weeks). If the gap looks longer than that, you can put the property back on the market 'subject to contract' to find a chain free buyer.
Do I have to declare problems with the property?
Yes, by law and by ethics. You sign the TA6 declaring known issues with the property (subsidence, knotweed, flood history, boundary disputes, neighbour issues that have escalated to formal complaint, planning enforcement, and so on). Misrepresentation is grounds for the buyer to rescind the sale or sue for damages after completion.
Curious what your home is worth today?
Free, no obligation valuation by an agent who walks the village high streets. We come to you, share honest market context, and write the strategy that gets your property moving.