Guide To Selling A Property

Upon your file being opened and receipt of clear ID checks and money on account, we will send to you the following documents for you to complete, sign and return to us:

• Seller’s Questionnaire, 
• Seller’s Property Information Form, 
• Seller’s Leasehold Information Form (if applicable) 
• Fittings and Contents Form
• Conservatory Questionnaire (if applicable)

All the forms, apart from the Seller’s Questionnaire which is for our file and information, will be sent to the Buyer’s solicitor for review as part of the pre contract package. 

We will liaise with any estate agents and correspond with the Buyer’s solicitors. 

If you have a mortgage, we will write to the Lender requesting an up-to-date redemption statement and the deeds. If you have any deeds, warranties or certificates relating to the property you are selling including, Planning permissions, party wall documents, Building Regulations Compliance Certificates, Gas Safety Compliance Certificates, Electrical installation certificates, Fensa Certificates, you should let us have these at the outset of your matter.   We will obtain from HM Land Registry an up to date copy of the Title Deeds and Filed Plan in any event.

If the Property you are selling is Leasehold, we will also obtain from HM Land Registry a copy of the Lease, freehold title and title plan but if you have the original Lease, please let us have it.   

We will also contact the Managing Agent/Landlord and/or Management Company for a pre-sales pack and let you know of any fees payable to them in this respect.

Once we have the pre-sales pack, we will send this to your buyer’s Solicitors along with a draft Contract and accompanying documentation, if this has not already been sent to them.  If the pre-sales pack is not available quickly then it will be sent on once received.

Your Buyer’s solicitors will then raise any enquiries as they see fit and we will then take your instructions on these and prepare any replies.

Once all enquiries have been dealt with satisfactorily  and the draft Contract approved, we will ask you to attend the office to sign it.. 

Exchange of Contracts 

On exchange of Contracts, your sale of the property becomes legally binding and you must complete the sale on the agreed completion date (i.e. moving day). If you do not do so, you will be liable to forfeit the deposit paid on exchange and pay damages (payment for their losses)  to the buyer.

We will not exchange contracts on the sale of your property prior to obtaining your authority to do so and agreeing a date for completion to take place. 

After exchange we will request an up-to-date Redemption Statement from your mortgage lender (if applicable). On receipt of this, we will send you a copy of the redemption statement (if applicable), our invoice and a full Statement of Account showing the amount due to you on completion.  We will also ask you to confirm the bank details into which this should be paid on completion.  Please note that payment cannot be made to a third party.

The buyer’s Solicitor will provide us with a draft Transfer and once we have approved it, we will ask you to sign it and return it to us prior to completion taking place.  We must be holding your original signed Transfer by the time of completion.

Completion 

On the day of completion you will move out of the property taking all of your belongings with you save for any that you have agreed to leave at the property for the buyer. You are required to vacate the property by the contractual completion time which is usually 2.00pm, unless the time has been amended in the Contract.  Prior to leaving the property, you should take meter readings of your own and notify them to your provider(s).

On the day of completion, the buyer’s Solicitors will send to us the funds required to complete their purchase of the property and once we receive it,  we will confirm completion to the buyer’s Solicitors and let you and the Estate Agents know.  You will then need to provide the Estate Agents with all keys to the property so that they can be released to your buyer.  Completion  usually takes place around lunchtime on the day although sometimes it may be later.

Where you have a mortgage, we will redeem it (by Telegraphic Transfer usually) and pay any balance to you.  If you are also buying a Property the balance will be put towards that purchase accordingly . 

Post Completion 

We will send the Transfer Deed signed by you together with any Title Deeds and documents  to the buyer’s Solicitors and write to your Mortgage lender (if applicable) sending them the necessary form for them to complete confirming that the Charge has been paid off in full. Once we receive confirmation from the your lender that the mortgage has been discharged, we will forward this to the buyers Solicitors.

This Guide is intended as a general reference aid only. If you have any questions regarding any stage of the process regarding your individual matter, please speak to us directly.