Guide
Selling a property in Bermuda
Getting the place ready, getting it seen, and getting it across the line — who does each part and where to find them.
It's a map of who does what, not advice on price, tax or law. Your agent and your lawyer are the people for those, and anything about buyer eligibility or duty is on gov.bm, not here.
Getting it ready
The stretch where you decide what's worth doing. The rule of thumb every agent will give you: fix what's broken, clean and paint what's tired, and don't renovate — you won't get it back.
Talk to an agent first, before you spend anything
Who: A licensed real estate agent.
Not to sign — to walk through with someone who sells houses in your parish every month and hears what buyers say when they leave. They'll tell you which of the jobs below matter for your place and which don't. Speak to more than one; how they'd market it and what they'd list it at tells you a lot.
Know what a buyer's survey will find
Who: A land surveyor if boundaries are unclear; a structural engineer or building surveyor for anything you already suspect.
In Bermuda a serious buyer's lawyer will want the boundaries clear and a serious buyer will have the roof, tank and structure looked at. If you know there's a question — a wall that's always been ambiguous, a crack you've been watching — find out before they do. A problem you disclose is a negotiation; one they discover is a lost buyer.
Fix what's actually broken
Who: Roofer, plumber, electrician, handyman — whichever the fault belongs to.
A leaking roof, a tank that needs cleaning, a panel with a story, the sash windows that don't open. Buyers price a fault at what it would cost them to fix, plus their fear that there's more. You'll usually spend less fixing it than you'd concede.
Paint, and the outside
Who: A painter for the walls; a landscaper for the yard; a pressure-wash for the roof and walls.
This is the money that comes back. A Bermuda house is judged from the road — the roof white, the walls fresh, the yard cut and the hedge square — and inside, walls in a neutral colour a buyer can imagine over. It's the cheapest way to make a house look looked-after, which is the thing buyers are really assessing.
Clear it and clean it
Who: A cleaner for a proper deep clean; movers or a handyman with a van for what's leaving.
Half the furniture, all the clutter, everything off the kitchen counters. Then a deep clean — grout, windows, inside the oven. Rooms look bigger empty and cleaner than they are. If you're already living elsewhere, consider whether an interior designer staging the main rooms is worth it for your price bracket; ask the agent.
Getting it seen
Short phase, but the photos are the listing — most buyers decide whether to view from their phone.
Photograph it properly
Who: A photographer who shoots property — many agencies bring their own; ask.
Shot on a bright day, after the clean, with the lights on and the cars off the drive. If your agent's photos are phone photos, it's worth paying for a proper set yourself. Drone shots earn their keep for waterfront and anything with a view.
Keep it show-ready
Who: A regular cleaner and the landscaper on a schedule while it's on the market.
A house that's on the market for two months needs to look on day sixty like it did on day one. Fortnightly clean, the yard on a schedule, and the pool — if there is one — kept clear; a green pool in a listing photo costs more than a year of pool service.
Getting it across the line
Once there's an offer, the work is mostly the professionals' — yours is to answer questions quickly.
Your lawyer
Who: A Bermuda lawyer who does conveyancing.
In Bermuda a property sale goes through lawyers on both sides — the agreement, the title, the searches, completion. Instruct yours as soon as you accept an offer, not when the buyer's lawyer starts asking questions. Ask early what documents they'll want from you so you aren't hunting for a planning approval from 2009 the week before completion.
Insurance and the numbers
Who: Your insurer, and an accountant if the sale has tax consequences for you.
Tell your insurer the completion date so cover moves cleanly. If you're a landlord, a non-resident, or the sale sits inside a business or a trust, have an accountant look at it before you sign, not after.
Handover
Who: Movers, a cleaner, and a locksmith if you want to hand over a rekeyed set.
Out by the date in the agreement, cleaned, keys and manuals left. Then it's the buyer's turn — the moving guide is theirs now.
Need three trades this month?
Post the job once — painter, cleaner, landscaper — with your parish and dates, and businesses in each trade can come to you. Free, no account needed.