Need to sell 2-bed house to upgrade to a 3+bed house, what to do first?

[babycat]

Want to try to move before DC2 is born in August. Starting to declutter & got a few jobs to do to make the house more presentable/acceptable but a bit unsure of the process (we're in England). This was our first house & was a new build 12 years ago. Do we get house valued first, then see what mortgage we can get, then put it on the market & start looking for a new place? Do we get several estate agents to value or just choose one? What fees can we expect to pay the estate agent? What about these HIPs, do we have to have one? Any other tips/ advice re moving house would e gratefuly received too. TIA

Bumping for you.

You need to have a valuation first at very least - see an EA and they can advise on latest Hips rules. Best deals will be struck once you are under offer and "proceedable", few offers would be accepted otherwise. atm mortgage deals are quite limited unless you have a large deposit and/or equity in your current house so you need to see where you stand to assess it realistically.

Get it valued by 3 estate agents at least and then look around the estate agents to see what similar houses are selling for, once you have it on the market go and see an financial advisor who will tell you what you can borrow.
Negotiate on fees with the agents, these are tough times everything is up for negotiation.
Yes you'll need a HIP's and a solicitor - again ask around get recommendations for this and quotes, some will be better value than others.
Get all the little jobs done and decluttering before the agent comes around, you need to get your skates on for it to be on the market for March and hopefully moved for August.
Good luck.

I second what Sorrento said. I sold my flat in November and despite what agents say NEGOTIATE HARD on any fees. If they are not willing to bargain then go to someone else! Also I managed to get the agents to cover the cost of the HIP so really try and get them to cover as much as you possibly can. With the solicitor make sure they are giving you as much information as possible - sometimes you get a quote that says it will be £x + VAT and disbursements. Get them to give you a very accurate breakdown of what they expect the disbursements to be as they should have a good idea, these will mostly be for the searches and they should know the cost.

Sounds like a really good idea to do a bit of decluttering. Depending on the state of the house a coat of paint can really work wonders in terms of giving the house an edge. It is sometimes worth looking at similar properties selling for a similar price in your area so you can see what you are up against as there may be little presentation tips that you can pick up and in this market you cannot over-estimate how important top presentation is.

Thanks everyone, especially PuzzleRocks for bumping my post again . Need to get my bum in gear & try to motivate DH, who doesn't want to rush (he's been saying that for 3-4 years now!). Need to get broken fence fixed as has been propped up for nearly 2 years now, replace the stair carpet which the cat has shredded, smarten the bathroom up, maybe the kitchen & clean & tidy up everywhere. Place is a bit shabby to be honest. I'm not the best when it comes to housework & I've got fed up with this place being so small. House is in a good location & one a few doors away sold after only about a month of being on the market. Quite a few nearby have been bought to let. So fingers crossed for us.