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Establish the value of your current property

Mortgage Arrangement Fees

Select an estate agent

Arranging an EPC Certificate

Preparing your property - to maximise its saleability and/or price

Conducting viewings

Negotiating the deal

Completing contracts



Summary of the legal process

In summary, the overall legal process to exchange and complete contracts with your buyer generally takes the following steps:

  1. Terms are agreed between Seller and Buyer and both parties instruct their conveyancer to work for them.

  2. The Seller’s conveyancer obtains the Seller’s title deed and prepares the draft Contract for the Buyer’s conveyancer to approve

  3. The Seller’s conveyancer send to the Buyers conveyancer the draft Contract together with rest of the documentation needed to form the overall contractual package.

  4. The Buyer’s conveyancer reviews the detailed terms of the Contract, does the Searches and reviews the results, confirms that there is a Mortgage Offer in place, and also checks the readiness of any dependent sale (in the same chain) to proceed.

  5. Contracts are then signed and exchanged at which time a Completion Date is agreed between both parties.

  6. The Transfer Deed is prepared by the Buyer’s conveyancer and approved by the Seller’s conveyancer, and then signed in readiness for the Completion Date.

  7. The Buyer’s conveyancer obtains the funds for the purchase from the Buyer – either directly, or though the sale of his/her previous property – and the lender (if there is a Mortgage)

  8. On the Completion Date the Buyer’s conveyancer sends the required funds to the Seller’s conveyancer (on behalf of the Seller). When receipt of these funds is confirmed by the Sellers conveyancer, the purchase is deemed compete and the Buyer can take legal occupation.

  9. The Buyer’s conveyancer pays any Stamp Duty due, and registers the Buyer as the new owner of the property at the Land Registry

Our advice: The time it takes to progress through this stage is dependent on various factors – but the entire process could take at least 6-8 weeks. However, to speed up the process from your end, we recommend you instruct legal representation prior to finding a buyer as there are various things they can do well in advance, and hence save time later. This includes calling for your title deeds office copy entries and various other documents – all of which can take some time to get hold of. Its worth completing various documents in advance – such as the “Sellers Property Information Form” and “Fixture Fittings and Contents” declaration – as these will also help speed up things later.

Surveys

In parallel to the legal process, one of more surveys may be commissioned on your property. If the Buyer requires a Mortgage their lender will make arrangements for a very basic survey (known as a Valuation) to provide assurances that it’s worth the price being offered for it. In addition to this, the Buyer may also commission a more comprehensive survey – which will assess in more detail the condition of the property and make appropriate recommendations.

Please contact us for any further information, advice or help you may need to help you with buying your next home.

Get in touch

You are always welcome at our branch where are property experts will be happy to help you with any property enquires