House Selling process

Getting Started...

Choose a Solicitor/Conveyancer

Once the sale has been agreed and an acceptable purchase price confirmed between both parties, you will need to instruct the services of your chosen solicitor or conveyancer. This is imperative, as no sale can formally get underway until a solicitor or conveyancer has been appointed.

When instructing a solicitor or conveyancer, choose someone you feel comfortable talking to, as they will be your main source of legal updates throughout the conveyancing period, right up until completion.

Through Stevens and Carter, we are pleased to recommend a solicitor or conveyancer who we know and trust to provide a good quality service.

Step Two

Instruct Solicitors

On a sale, your solicitor or conveyancer will request the deeds to your property from their place of safekeeping. This is generally completed online, unless the property is unregistered and hard copy documents are required. They will then prepare draft contracts to send to your purchaser’s solicitor. They will also issue fixtures and fittings forms, along with leasehold information where required, so that enquiries from the purchaser’s solicitor or conveyancer can be answered correctly.

On a purchase, your solicitor or conveyancer will usually request payment for a local search, which is essential for most property purchases. This will be applied for directly to the appropriate council body once the draft contracts have been received from the seller’s solicitor or conveyancer.

We will, of course, closely monitor the sale of your property and help keep the process moving. However, some legal updates will need to come directly from your solicitor or conveyancer, so they should usually be your first point of contact for detailed legal information.

Step Three

Mortgage Application

On any purchase that requires mortgage funding, the buyer will need to submit a mortgage application to their chosen lender. At this stage, the purchaser may be granted an AIP (Agreement in Principle), which confirms that the mortgage is agreed in principle, subject to the necessary credit checks and referencing.

It is imperative that the mortgage application is submitted as soon as possible to avoid unnecessary delays. We are pleased to provide access to specialist mortgage advice through local independent brokers.

Step Four

Survey

When the mortgage company has approved the initial mortgage application, they will instruct the services of a Chartered Surveyor to assess the condition and value of the property.

On most occasions, the lender or Building Society will contact us to arrange access to the property, and we will coordinate the surveyor’s inspection.

Most lenders or Building Societies will instruct a standard mortgage valuation. A more detailed homebuyer survey may also be obtained at the purchaser’s discretion.

Step Five

Specialist Reports

Following the survey, specialist reports may be requested by the surveyor, particularly on older properties, regardless of their general condition. These may include timber and damp reports, electrical reports, roof reports, drainage reports, structural surveys, sulphate reports, tree reports and gas checks.

These reports often identify points that can be resolved with minimal work. Once copies of the reports are received, we will liaise with all parties to help keep the sale progressing.

Step Six

Mortgage Offer

Once the survey has been returned to the lender or Building Society, and all credit checks and referencing have been confirmed as satisfactory, a formal mortgage offer will be issued. This will be sent to the purchaser and to their solicitor or conveyancer.

Step Seven

Signing of Contracts

Once the solicitors or conveyancers have received all the information they require before exchange of contracts, both sellers and purchasers are generally asked to sign the contract in readiness for exchange.

Step Eight

Exchange of Contracts

Once all parties in the chain have signed the contract, mortgage offers have been received, replies to enquiries have been answered, local searches have been received and deposit monies have cleared, the solicitors or conveyancers can arrange a formal exchange of contracts.

All purchasers should discuss the proposed completion date with their solicitor or conveyancer, who will then liaise with the other solicitors or conveyancers in the chain to agree a suitable date.

A telephone call then takes place between the solicitors or conveyancers in the chain to confirm a legal completion date that is satisfactory to each of their clients. Exchange then takes place. At this stage, all parties are legally bound to complete the transaction on the date specified.

And Finally...

Legal Completion

This is the final stage and the day that all parties in the chain move. Keys will only be released when the transferred funds have reached the seller’s solicitor. This is usually after 12 noon and can sometimes be late in the afternoon. As agents, we often hold keys to the property prior to completion and can only release them once the solicitors give us the go-ahead.

If you are selling a property through us, please bring a set of keys into the office at exchange of contracts, ready for completion.