Property > Selling Property

We hope that the following brief outline of the legal side of a sale will be of assistance to you. Obviously, your own sale may be slightly different so if you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact us.

On your instruction

Once you instruct us to act for you, we will write to you with 2 forms:

a) Property Information Form and

b) List of Fixtures, Fittings and Contents

The Fixtures and Fittings List will need to be completed and returned to us as it will form part of the Contract, making it legally binding on you. It is therefore important to ensure it is correctly completed. Should it need to be altered following, for instance, the sale price being reduced, or for any other reason, you must inform us at the earliest opportunity so that the list can be amended.

On receipt of your title deeds

We will obtain up-to-date copies of the registers of your title from HM Land Registry. The cost of this varies between £5.00 and £15.00 according to the number of documents that need to be obtained and this will be charged to you. We will draft the Contract and then send it to your purchaser's solicitors in duplicate who will approve it and return one copy which we will then have signed by you.

Please ensure that if you have had your property altered in any way that you provide us with the originals of the relevant copy of the planning/building regulation approvals and any guarantees (if these are in your possession) so that these can be passed on to the purchaser's solicitors.

Exchange of contracts

Once the purchaser's solicitors are ready to exchange, they will suggest a completion date which we will check with you. Once agreement has been reached, we will be able to proceed to exchange of contracts. It is on exchange of contracts that the completion date becomes binding and you are committed to the sale. It is not advisable to book your removals or make other arrangements until such time as exchange of contracts has taken place, as suggested completion dates can be subjected to change.

On completion

It will be necessary for all mortgages on a property to be repaid on completion. Please provide details of any Second Charges including Secured Loans of which you are aware. Following exchange, we will obtain redemption figures in respect of all mortgages on the property and will attend to repayment of these on your behalf on completion. You should not cancel your direct debits or standing orders relating to mortgage payments until such time as exchange has taken place and payment should be maintained up to the date of completion.

If you are selling your property through a firm of Estate Agents, they will be notified of exchange and will send their account to us prior to completion. A copy of this, together with our own account, will be forwarded to you for your approval.

Final arrangements

You should make arrangements to have the meters read etc up to the date of completion and also notify us of what arrangements you are making to hand over the keys. These can be left with the selling agents so that we can authorise the agents to release them, once we have received the purchase monies on the day of completion. This will leave you free to move out rather than having to wait for the purchaser to arrive to collect the keys. Alternatively, you can hand the keys over direct once we have confirmed to you that the monies have been received.

The purchaser will be entitled to vacant possession on the day of completion having paid the purchase monies so you must be able to vacate by that date, including clearing rubbish and unwanted articles from the property.

You will then be sent a completion statement showing the financial side of the sale together with our receipted account and any proceeds of sale due to you.

If you have any life policies assigned to a Building Society or Bank in connection with the mortgage, these policies will be re-assigned and then forwarded on to you at your new address.