Why Sell With Us?

WHY SELL WITH US?

Simpson & Marwick

The Simpson & Marwick Way is our unique approach to selling your residential property. It’s how we do all we can to achieve your goals.

Quite simply, we put you at the heart of everything we do. We give you a dedicated Valuer, Sales Negotiator and Solicitor. We listen and tailor everything to suit you and we’re right there with you offering quality, proactive advice at every stage until you’ve sold. We aim to reduce the stress of buying and selling by delivering on promises and avoiding setting false hopes and expectations.

We are a team of like-minded people who care about you and your property sale. And we have everything and everyone you might need, from start to finish under one expert roof.

Simpson & Marwick & You

I’m very proud of the team we’ve built here at Simpson & Marwick. All were hand-picked for their professionalism, local knowledge and attention to detail, no matter what the situation. As a client you’ll benefit from some of the most knowledgeable property experts in the Edinburgh and East Lothian property markets. We’re also very much a team working together on your behalf. From instruction to completion we manage your expectations and, more often than not, achieve a much better outcome than you anticipated.

Richard Loudon

Why sell with us?

No. 1 14 years in a row

What our clients say

years

No. 1 in region

We sold more property than any other agent in Edinburgh & East Lothian last year on Rightmove (over £300k, excludes new build).

1 stop shop

We offer Estate Agency, Legal Work, Property Purchasing and mortgages all under one roof.

Over430 properties sold

Last year, we sold over 434 residential properties in Edinburgh and East Lothian.

We’ve been the No.1 ESPC agent for total £’s of property over £300k sold for the last 14 years (both branches combined).

Source: ESPC

We’ve been helping people buy and sell in Edinburgh and East Lothian for over 50 years.

21 days

Our Average Selling Time in 2022, across Edinburgh and the Lothians, was 21 days.

Source: ESPC

£175k above ASP

Our Average Sale Price in Edinburgh and East Lothian in 2022 was £475,854 which is £174,806 higher than the ESPC average.

Source: ESPC

6% above HRV

On average in 2022, we achieved sale prices 6% higher than the Home Report Valuation in Edinburgh and in East Lothian.

Source: ESPC

Simpson & Marwick provide an exceptionally high standard of service, from initial consultation, to photography and marketing materials and support throughout the viewing and offer stage to completion. Their people are all friendly and very approachable and knowledgeable. Thank you all. Highly recommended!

K Bowman

Client login

24-hour access to your own, secure client portal providing up-to-date information on activity on your property.

Over £210m sold in 2022

We’ve sold over £210 million worth of residential property in the last 12 months.

One Dedicated team

Sell with us and we’ll give you a Dedicated Valuer, Sales Negotiator and Solicitor.

Purchases

Our purchase unit bought 230 new properties for our clients in 2022.

From the very beginning we knew we had made the right choice in selecting Simpson & Marwick. The whole team worked seamlessly to keep us informed from the initial enquiry, through understanding the process and the contract, and ultimately to guiding us through the viewing and bidding stages. Highly recommended.

I Moss

Our step-by-step guide

There are lots of things to think about when you decide to sell your home. Our market knowledge makes selling with Simpson & Marwick much easier. We’ll be with you from start to finish with in-house experts working on your behalf at every stage, from the initial valuation through to handing over the keys.

1 Choose Simpson & Marwick

We will get you signed up and talk you through the whole process.

2 Prepare your property for sale

We will guide you through how to best prepare your property for sale, with helpful advice and trades contacts if you need them.

3 Home Report /Marketing Materials

We will order your Home Report via the ESPC, sort out your floorplan, photos, video and brochures, and work with you to create a tailored marketing strategy for your property. We’ll do as much as possible for you but always give you the final say.

The Power of ESPC

79% of homebuyers use ESPC for their property search – espc.com receives 1.3m impressions per month.

Only solicitor agents like Simpson & Marwick have access to ESPC when it comes to sales. We target a database over 220,000 account holders through ESPC together with registered buyers on Rightmove, Zoopla, OnTheMarket and our own website.

On average new properties appear 38,206 times in search results, are viewed 2,586 times, have 65 schedules downloaded and 30 Home Report requests, all in the first 14 days.

Using a combination of ESPC historical data, our own records, local knowledge and consumer insights we’ll set the marketing price to encourage interest and viewings. Greater competition drives a higher sale price.

Lorem

of all buyers in the Lothians & Fife are from Scotland

90% Edinburgh

76% of all buyers of EH postcode properties are local to the area

8% from rest of UK 2% from overseas

4 Property goes live

The ‘For Sale’ board is up, and you immediately have all the right exposure, online and offline. We will keep you updated with interest levels and feedback on viewings, as well as negotiating offers on your behalf.

5

Legal work

Once your property is Under Offer, we can take care of the legal work right through to completion, and make sure your move is as stress-free as possible.

Selling a property | Legal process

Verbal acceptance of offer by your Sales Negotiator

Review of Title Deeds

Together with any alteration paperwork and specialist guarantees.

Qualified Acceptance sent

Your solicitor will take instruction from you on the terms of the offer and issue a formal acceptance of offer on your behalf.

Contract Conclusion received

Also referred to as the Conclusion of Missives. A binding contract now exists.

Disposition

Client login

You’ll have 24-hour access to your own, secure client portal providing up-to-date information on your property’s activity.

A new title deed transferring the property to the purchasers is signed by you.

Settlement

Date of entry on which the purchase price is paid, the mortgage is repaid and the keys are handed over.

Purchasing

Quality, proactive advice when offering for a property is as important, if not even more important, than great estate agency.

Buying in Edinburgh and East Lothian is now more competitive and complex than ever. Instructing a solicitor, who can explain the intricacies of the market and its dynamics at the very start of the process, can make all the difference when it comes to securing a property. It will also impact the enjoyment of your purchase and sale experience.

Having someone to answer questions like “can I buy before I sell?” or “can I fund the purchase with other funds, bridging loan or family money?” is critical. So is having a ‘Plan B’ e.g. one that turns you into a credible buyer when sellers only want to sell to someone who doesn’t need to sell their own property. These can really change the success rate of an offer.

Promoting you as an attractive, credible buyer to the seller of the property you want to buy is crucial to the likelihood of success –very few solicitors do that well.

Proactive, experienced and well-structured advice on offering tactics, including the level at which to pitch your offer at a closing date, is essential.

It goes without saying that we deal with the missives (contract) and title transfer efficiently and swiftly. But it is our guidance through the offering process and the tactics we can provide that really make the difference to you.

Our dedicated property purchase unit is here to help you every step of the way.

What to ask your Estate Agent and why

Are you with the ESPC?

Did you know that 76% of buyers of EH postcode properties are local to the area and that 79% of buyers use the ESPC for their property search? Combine that with a database of over 220,000 registered buyers, a George Street showroom and it’s a marketing opportunity that must not be missed.

Will I get a single point of contact from Start to Finish?

There’s nothing worse than being passed from pillar to post but it’s also important to have an expert working on your behalf at each (very unique!) stage of the process from the initial valuation to the date the keys are handed over. With Simpson & Marwick you will have a specialist working with you every step of the way. Our valuers specialise in the valuation and marketing stage, our negotiators in achieving the best price for you and our solicitors guide you through the legal process. Your initial contact will always remain available to you.

Where do you advertise my property?

Make sure you are on the most important websites – the ESPC and Rightmove. Compared to other websites these get the most hits in the local area. You will be advertised on Zoopla and onthemarket.com as well. We can also put you in The Scotsman and The Times newspapers if you wish.

Whilst the majority of buyers now find their new property via websites, many rely on email alerts which let them know as soon as new properties that match their requirements go live. The ESPC have over 110,000 registered buyers receiving email alerts as soon as new properties hit the market and we also have our own database of buyers.

Why should I choose you and not an online agent or fixed fee agent?

The most important thing is how much money you have in your pocket at the end of the process. Ask yourself why they might be cheaper? Is a fixed fee agent who takes payment up front really going to be striving to get you the best price or sell your property as quickly as you would hope? How much will you have to do yourselves? How experienced are they? Also be aware of hidden costs, they may not charge commission but other costs often end up higher. Ultimately if we get you a few percent more from your house sale then you’ll end up being better off in the long run. Like many things in life, you get what you pay for.

Do I get charged commission on Marketing Materials?

Some agents (not us!) add mark-ups to their home reports and marketing prices as a way to earn more money from you. Make sure you choose an agent who has preferential supplier rates and passes these savings directly on to you. Also using high quality suppliers – make sure the Home Report supplier is approved by all major lenders and you are getting high quality professional photos/floorplans/videos.

Is your property website mobile friendly?

Over 70% of users who have visited our website in the last year came from a mobile device or tablet. Our website simpsonmarwick.com is mobile friendly which means visitors have an improved browsing experience. What’s more, our website focuses on properties within Edinburgh and the Lothians so it’s easy to find what you are looking for – search by postcode, address or area and we’ll find properties that match.

Are you open 7 days a week?

This question is slightly misleading. It should really be ‘Will I be able to contact anyone significant 7 days a week and progress my sale’ to which the answer will, in many cases be, ‘No’. The reality is that some agents use ‘open 7 days a week’ to try to attract more customers when in fact very little can be done on your property at the weekend, other than viewings, as no other solicitor firms are open. We are open 6 days a week and most of our properties have an open viewing on a Sunday.

Can you handle the legal aspect of my sale and purchase?

By using a solicitor agent, one firm can handle the entire process for you –the estate agency and legal work involved with selling your existing house and the legal work for your purchase. All under one roof, dealing with the same team for the entire transaction. This can also be hugely beneficial if you are trying to co-ordinate dates of entry for your sale and purchase.

What we offer

• Dedicated local sales team

• Excellent communication throughout the sale process

• Premium marketing materials

• Bespoke marketing strategy

• Open 6 days a week

• 24/7 access to your own client login

• Property matching to active buyers

• Tactical advice and strategy to achieve the best outcome

• Private/discreet sales option

• Boosted social media visibility

• Property videos (created with social media in mind)

• Drone videos

• FREE VALUATION – contact us today for a Free Valuation, Market Appraisal and Sales Strategy