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8th September 2016
Congratulations! You have just accepted an offer on your home. Selling a property can be a daunting experience. This guide will help you through the process, from offer to completion. Confused by the jargon? Our ‘jargon buster’ guide will help.
If you don’t have a solicitor in mind, talk to us about solicitors that we have worked with in the past. We are happy to suggest some companies to you who are reputable and you can trust. It’s a good idea to talk to 2 or 3 to decide which one suits you best. Remember…don’t settle for the cheapest – this may cost you in the long run with extra work, added frustrations and possible delays. Reviews are a good way of seeing what the solicitors are really like.
Once you have decided on your solicitor, you will need to formally instruct them to act for you. You will need to provide them with ID, sign their terms of business and pay some money upfront. They will not be able to start work until this is completed.
Initially you will have a number of forms to complete in relation to the property, this will cover any works you have had done, any rights of way and what you are leaving in the property in terms of fixtures and fittings. Now is the time to look out any guarantees and certificates in relation to alterations.
If you haven’t found a new home to move to, start looking and viewing now! Talk to us - we have four offices that cover the whole of Brighton & Hove and we also have links with some good agents in other parts of the UK.
If you’re having trouble finding a property in Brighton & Hove and nothing suitable is on the market, again we can help by actively leaflet dropping in that area. Don’t feel under pressure as we would have already communicated your situation to your buyer and we will manage their expectations until you find your perfect new home.
If you are moving into rented accommodation, you should now start viewing properties. It is very important that you don’t pay any deposits or sign any agreements until you have exchanged contracts, this will cause undue pressure and frustrations if your sale isn’t moving along quickly enough to meet your rental contract date.
You will have to go through a process of financial qualifications and references, which could take up to two weeks. It’s important to relay this to your solicitor and agent, as we will need to manage the rest of the chain to fit in with the required overlap.
There is usually about two weeks between exchange of contracts and completion, you may however need a little more time than this, particularly if you are moving a longer distance away.
If you are selling a property on behalf of a relative, make a start on clearing the property. Don’t panic though, as the process will take around 12 weeks to complete, start researching house clearance and charities. Be wary of any possible valuables, seek out professionals for advice. If you don’t live close to the property, we offer a key holding service to enable clearance companies or tradespeople to attend the property.
If your buyers are getting a mortgage, the lender will need to carry out a mortgage valuation. This is an important stage to the buying process, as this is where the lender will determine whether the property compares with the amount of loan that has been requested and the price they have agreed to pay.
It’s usual for the buyers to also want a more in depth survey. We will of course inform you of any requests for surveys and work with you to find the best time for these to go ahead. Should there be any issues raised from the survey, we will request evidence of this and work with you and the buyer to assess any problems, usually getting various quotes to determine the level of work needed (if any). We will continue to work for you in negotiating any costs for repairs or as a last resort, negotiating a new agreed sale price.
Your buyer will have searches carried out on the property, this will determine any scheduled works and whether there are any issues that could affect the property. The forms you filled out earlier in the sale will be sent to the buyer’s solicitor, who will use these forms to raise any enquiries. Your solicitor may refer back to you on these enquiries. It is important that you answer these questions as best you can. If you find them a bit confusing, we will be here to help guide you through them.
Once all the searches are completed, the enquiries are satisfied, and the mortgage lender has issued the formal offer of a mortgage, we are ready to exchange contracts. This is the legally binding part – but don’t worry we will be talking to you every week and you will have a bit of notice to sort out dates that work best for you and the chain. We will play an active part in this stage.
You will need to check with your removal company on the availability of the dates – this can’t be finalised until after exchange of contracts, where usually you will be required to pay the deposit. Your buyer will transfer their deposit for the purchase to their solicitor, typically 10% of the purchase price.
The solicitors will then exchange contracts and set the completion date. Our invoice will be sent to the solicitor at this stage and your solicitor will work out where all of the monies are to go. They will organise to pay off any loans/mortgages and they will settle their own account. Any funds that are needed for your onward purchase will be transferred to your seller’s solicitor along with any mortgage needed. If you are not purchasing onwards, you will have given your solicitor bank details for the money to be sent to.
It is likely that your buyers will want to re-visit the property during the sale. We will inform you of any requested visits and we will attend all visits to the property just like any viewing.
We will send you a countdown to moving guide mid-way through the sale– this will include a checklist of everyone you may need to contact. If you feel you need this earlier than scheduled, please ask us for a copy.
The buyer will almost certainly be responsible for the buildings insurance for the period between exchange and completion. You should make sure the contracts state who has to arrange this. You must also keep your own building insurance in place until completion.
We will be in contact with you before and on completion day itself, we will arrange what will happen with the hand over of any keys - this is usually around lunchtime. We will remind you about reading your meters and talk to you about re directing your post.
You will have an agreed time to vacate the property and you will have agreed to leave it clean and tidy and free from rubbish. We will phone you as soon as the sale is complete and find out when you are intending to leave the property, we will then arrange with your buyers to collect the keys from our office so that they are able to arrive after you have left ensuring that the process runs as smoothly and as stress free as possible. s into what we are today: Brighton's leading independent estate agent.