Your Sale The conveyancing process explained
We are committed to ensuring your conveyancing transaction runs as smooth as possible. This information booklet is designed to provide general advice to you on the different stages of a sale transaction with check lists for you to use. It is important that you read through this booklet carefully and let us know if you have any questions.
Preparation Once you have agreed a sale of your property, the Estate Agents will provide us with details of the agreed sale price, the buyers and their solicitors. Check the agents have correctly given your sale details, if not, then speak to the agents to send out revised details to all parties.
Client Instruction Form, Legal Costs Quotation and Terms of Business We will send the above to you at the beginning of the transaction. Please complete the Client Instruction Form with all the information requested. It is important that you provide all the correct account numbers for all mortgages and loans secured against the property to avoid delays in obtaining redemption statements which shows the amount owing. Please let us know if there are any adult occupiers at the property as they will be required to sign the Contract to confirm they will leave the property on the day of completion. When you sign the Client Instruction Form it is your authority for us to act for you and confirms you have read and understood our Legal Costs Quotation and Terms of Business. We are required by law to verify each clients’ identity. We will also ask you supply suitable identification. We will ask you for money on account to so we can obtain copy of your legal title from the Land Registry for us to prepare sale Contract Papers.
Property Information Form and Fixtures and Fittings The above forms will also be sent to you at the outset. With regards to the Property Information Form it is important that you answer the questions fully as your under an obligation to disclose any information that is within your knowledge. A Buyer may take you to court if you give false information. If information changes during the transaction you must let us know straightaway. To avoid any delays please, when you send the Property Information Form to us, you enclose any guarantees, planning permission, building regulation certificates, installations certificates, etc for any works carried out at the property. The originals will passed to buyer’s lawyer upon completion.
The Fixtures and Fittings Form details what is included, excluded or for sale separately. Please let us know if this changes during the transaction. The form is part of the contract to the Buyer. If your property is Leasehold we will also send to you a Leasehold Information Form. Again please complete and let us have information you may have received from the Landlord such as demands, receipts, accounts, correspondence, etc since you have owned the property. Your buyer’s lawyer will raise enquiries which only a Landlord/Management Company can answer. They usually charge for dealing with such enquiries, and can be quite slow. Therefore please provide current contact details so we contact them as early on in the transaction as we can.
Finances We suggest that at the outset you sit down and estimate the likely sale costs including payment of mortgages, estate agents fees, legal costs, etc. If the costs are higher than what you are selling for, please let us know immediately and let us know how you will cover any shortfall.
Preparation Checklist Have you:
Returned completed Client Instruction Form
Photocopy Identification
Supplied all mortgage account numbers
If property is Leasehold, provide up to date contact details for Landlord/Management Company
eturned completed Property Information R Form and Fixtures and Fittings
upplied monies on account to enable us S to obtain copy legal title from Land Registry
upplied details of adult person living at the S property who is not registered as an owner
Before Exchange of Contracts This is when most of the legal work is done. Once we receive from you the completed documentation referred to in the Preparation Stage, we are in a position to issue contract papers to the buyer’s lawyer and also report to you on the contract. The contract papers will consist of a contract between you and the buyer, copy of the legal title, transfer and the property information form and fixtures and fittings which you have completed.
Contract
Mortgages/Secured Loans
The contract is sometimes called the agreement. It will detail the property you are selling, the agreed price and other various terms and conditions that are standard. It will not become legally binding until the contract is exchanged. You cannot re-negotiate the terms of your sale and you have to move on the date set as the completion date.
We will obtain settlement figures from any lenders and provide you with a copy. You must check for any errors by the lender such as penalties for early repayment of the mortgage/secured loan. You must tell us if you think the statement is wrong. You must ensure you continue payments on your mortgage and any other secured loans until the completion day. Any overpayments will be refunded by your Lender.
If you do not complete on the date set then the contract will be breached and interest will be payable on the outstanding purchase monies. The buyer’s lawyers may also serve notice to complete to bring about specific performance of the contact requiring completion to take place within 10 days, they will usually charge a legal fee for this. Claims for other losses incurred could also potentially be sought by the Buyers. We will send the contract to you at the outset for your signature, which we will hold on file until you give us your authority to exchange contracts.
Legal Title If the property is registered, we will apply to the Land Registry to obtain a copy of the legal title. If the property is unregistered, we will need to wait for the title deeds to be forwarded to us either by your Mortgage Lender, or if there is no mortgage the original title deeds and documents to the property, from you. We will send to you a plan of the property and ask that you confirm that the boundaries are correct.
Transfer The Transfer again details the property and the agreed price. This is signed by you and the Buyer and the buyer’s lawyers will send it to the Land Registry following completion to register the buyer’s ownership.
Property Information Form and Fixtures and Fittings We will send the completed Forms along with copies of any relevant papers you have sent to us. Please let us know immediately if you wish to change any of the information contained in the Forms.
Mortgages/secured loans cannot be transferred to new properties even if you are staying with the same lender. You will need to make a new mortgage application.
Provisional Completion Statement We will prepare a provisional completion statement once we receive settlement figures and details of any estate agent fees. The statement will set out the sale price and deduct all sale costs and will reveal if there are any proceeds to go back to you. Please note that the figure will be an approximate amount as we will need to obtain further updated figures once exchange has taken place and a completion date has been agreed. Please note that it is company policy that any net proceeds of sale will be sent to the named owners, not to third parties. If you have any questions in this regard, please let us know immediately. Please check the figures on the completion statement and let us know if they are incorrect. We will pay the Estate Agents fees from your sale proceeds unless you instruct us not to. You must therefore ensure the correct fee is charged by the agents as we will use the figure on the invoice received from them. If you are selling a Leasehold property please make sure you that you continue to pay Ground Rent and Service Charge as demanded by the Landlord.
Buyer’s Lawyer Before the buyer’s lawyers can exchange there are various steps they need to deal with such as:• Raising Additional Enquiries on Contract Papers We will reply to the enquiries, but there may be some which will need to be referred to you as we do not have personal knowledge of the property. We will clearly explain what you need to do and be on hand if you need.
• Requesting Searches Searches are made of Local Authority, Water Authority and Environment Agency. • Checking Buyer’s Mortgage Offer If a Buyer requires a Mortgage their lawyers must satisfy all conditions on the Offer and report to the Buyer and request a deposit. Any deposit received by the Buyer must be cleared funds. Therefore if a Buyer sent the deposit by cheque or their monies are held in an account on which notice is required, exchange cannot take place until the funds are cleared. • Review Search Results and Replies to Enquiries Buyer’s lawyer will not proceed until they are satisfied that any enquiries they raise on the search results are satisfied or to the enquiries they raised on the legal title. Each party in the chain will need to complete the legal process as set out above. Some parties will be ready to exchange sooner than others depending upon when they agreed their sale/purchase. We do not have any control relating to the other parties but we will do our best to ensure we reach exchange as soon as possible.
Pre-exchange checklist Have you:
Returned signed Contract
hecked the settlement figures provide by C your existing Lenders
Checked provisional completion statements
Replied to all enquiries
Returned signed Transfer onfirmed that the plan to the Property C is correct
et us have instructions for payment of net L proceeds of sale
rovided all original guarantees, planning P permission, installation certificates, building regulation completion certificates
Exchange of Contracts Exchange of contracts is when the sale becomes legally binding for both the buyer and seller. Both buyer and seller must complete on the agreed completion date at the agreed price. If the buyer decides not to proceed after exchange they risk forfeiting the deposit and possibly incurring other costs for damages. We will require express authority from all clients to exchange contracts and will contact you on the day to obtain your permission. Once exchange has taken place, we will contact you to confirm exchange has taken place and will also inform the Estate Agents and request an up to date settlement figure from your Lender(s). Once we receive these figures we will prepare a final completion statement for your information showing the net proceeds of sale to be paid. Although exchange has taken place, please make sure that you continue to keep up your buildings insurance payments, mortgage payments and if you are selling a leasehold property, any ground rent/service charge payments demands during the time between exchange and completion.
Exchange checklist Have you:
Arranged removals
rovided a full set of house keys to the P Estate Agent, if applicable
Informed your utility providers rranged for meter readings to be taken A on day of completion
Completion Completion is the day when you must move from the property and the buyers will be passed to the keys to move in. You should clear the property by 1pm. It is important you leave the property in a good condition, and that you have left all items as set out in the Fixtures and Fittings list you completed at the outset. Also ensure that unwanted items and rubbish are also cleared. Once we receive the money from the buyer’s lawyers legal completion will take place and we will authorise the Estate Agent to release the keys to the buyer.
Completion checklist Have you:
We will pay all sums due to your Lender(s), Estate Agents – where applicable – and our Legal costs.
rovided final meter readings to all utility P providers
rovided all keys to the Estate Agent, P if applicable
The balance proceeds of sale we be sent to you as you have instructed.
leared property of unwanted items/rubbish C from the property
Cancelled your buildings insurance
If completion is delayed due to your failure to move out you will be responsible for any associated costs and compensation claimed by the buyers. This could be substantial including the deposit and further costs. If the Buyer’s delay completion you can claim compensation.
ancelled direct debits to Lenders and if C applicable Landlord/Management Company
Timescales
Standard of Work
As you will note the above process involves not only you and the buyer but also third parties, and therefore it is difficult to provide an exact timescale for any conveyancing transaction.
All our property lawyers strive to provide a customer focussed legal service to the highest possible standard. If you are unhappy about any aspect of the work carried out then please tell your property lawyer.
We will work our hardest to get your transaction through as quickly and as smoothly as possible.
If the property lawyer fails to resolve any issues, please raise the matter with Susan King, Operations Director, Simply Conveyancing in writing or via email at: sking@simply conveyancing.co.uk If your issue is still unresolved then you are able to refer your matter to the Legal Ombudsman. We refer you to our terms and conditions setting out their contact details and timescales.
