A Guide to Selling Property
Selling your property can be a confusing time which is why we have devised this step by step guide to explain the stages of your transaction.
Stage 1 - Sale Agreed
1. Once you instruct us we will send you two sets of documents to complete and send back to us.
SET 1
Standard legal documentation required in all residential transactions in England & Wales.
Sellers Property Information form – protocol documentation informing the buyer of the property details to your knowledge.
Sellers Leasehold Information form (If leasehold) – as above but regarding the leasehold matters.
Fixtures and Fittings form – document that describes what you are including and excluding from the sale e.g. curtains.
Additional Enquiries (standard form of pre-empted enquiries) – there are a number of standard enquiries that all conveyancers raise on behalf of the purchaser. By initially including these we will are able to expedite your transaction.
Overriding Interest Form – this is a declaration from you whether or not you are aware of any other persons having any other right or interest over all or part of your property e.g. shared driveway entrance.
Utility Questionnaire – a list of the energy suppliers to your property e.g. gas supplier
SET 2
Documentation we are legally obligated to obtain from you in order to act on your behalf.
Form of Authority - this authorises us to act on your behalf – we can not act for you without it.
Client Questionnaire – contains various personal details in order for us to carry out your transaction e.g. mortgage reference number.
I.D. Documentation – proof of your address and photo identification.
2. Whilst we wait for the above one of our conveyancers will obtain your title deeds and Land Registry title documents. We will also ask you to give us any original guarantees or other documents not held with your title deeds e.g. lease, damp and timber reports, planning consents for alterations and extensions etc.
3. We will then send you the;
Contract – this is the agreement of sale but it is not binding until exchange. We send this at the outset to avoid a last minute rush.
Transfer form – is an agreement by the saler to transfer the legal and equitable interest in the property to the buyer. This is not binding until exchange.
4. The draft contract and Land Registry title documents will be sent to the buyer's conveyancer, who will then carry out various searches (this can take up to four weeks). The buyer's conveyancer will raise enquiries with us that we will need you to answer. If a leasehold property enquiries and a fee will need to be sent to the freeholder/managing agent.
5. Whilst enquiries are being replied to we will obtain a mortgage redemption statement from your lender informing us of the sum we are to send them on completion to pay off your existing mortgage.
Once all enquiries have been answered in full we can prepare for exchange.
Stage 2 - Exchange of Contracts
6. Once everything is agreed (including completion date) and the contract is signed by both parties we can proceed to exchange contracts. Once we have exchanged the sale becomes legally binding.
7. We will request for an up to date mortgage redemption figure and prepare the final accounts..
8. If this is a leasehold property we will apportion the ground rent, service charges, insurance, etc and include this into your financial statement.
Stage 3 - Completion
9. On the completion date we will receive the sum of the sale price, redeem your mortgage, pay of any arrears (if leasehold), deduct our bill and disbursements and send the balance to you. We then send the title deeds and signed transfer to the buyer's conveyancers.
10. If you have a related purchase we will not send the balance to you, we use the proceeds of the sale towards your related purchase.
The national average timescale for conveyancing is between 9-10 weeks. Conveyancing for simple purchase transactions can take just 4-6 weeks but a more complicated transaction can take longer to complete. Here’s a guide to the national average conveyancing timescales
Type Average Timescale
Purchase 8-10 weeks
Sale 8-10 weeks
Purchase leasehold 10-12 weeks
Sale leasehold 10-12 weeks