Conveyancing Solicitors

The Conveyancing Solicitors

Professional Legal Services

Shoarns Solicitors

Phone 01258 880214
Email cs@solicitor1.com

SELLING PROPERTY ADVICE NOTES

(2002/2006 Edition © Shoarns - Private - intended only for clients of Shoarns Solicitors)

These advice notes are exclusively provided for our private clients. All rights are reserved and no reproduction from them or from our internet web site for any other purpose is permitted without our permission. THE AUTHORS OF THIS WEB SITE TAKE NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR UNAUTHORISED COPYING OR USE OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS PAGE WITHOUT PERMISSION IN ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.

CONTENTS:

1. TITLE DEEDS

2. MORTGAGES

3. LEASEHOLD PROPERTIES

4. INFORMAL ARRANGEMENTS

5. FIXTURES AND FITTINGS

6. PROGRESS

7. REMOVAL ARRANGEMENTS

8. FIRE INSURANCE

9. DEPOSIT

10. DEPENDENT PURCHASE

11. BETWEEN CONTRACT AND COMPLETION

12. MONEY MATTERS GENERALLY

13. MORTGAGE REDEMPTION(S)

14. NEGOTIATING YOUR HOUSE SALE

15. WILLS

These notes are intended as practical advice for you to read and to retain to assist you during the course of your sale. We know from experience that they should answer many of the most common queries our clients have and should help smooth your path. If you are in doubt at all on any point please contact us for advice. There is a companion set of notes available for property buyers (which please request at any time if not provided).

You will find that we keep careful records of personal details on a computer database here. The accuracy of these records is vital to us and to the progress of your transaction. Please check them very carefully and let us know of errors and omissions. Try to remember to keep them up to date. If you move, of course, we will need to know where you have gone to.

As your transaction progresses we shall provide you with advice notes and reminders when important steps are reached. We can provide these earlier on request. Time has moved on enormously bringing many changes since the first edition of these notes 25 years go and we now can email instantaneously almost all letters legal forms and advice notes to those who use the internet. These notes are published on the internet on our web site with much more information besides. We are moving towards totally electronic conveyancing but it is likely to be a few years before it is achieved.

l 1. TITLE DEEDS

If a property is jointly owned on the title deeds we shall be acting for all joint owners of the property and instructions from any one of the joint owners in response to questions and the like addressed to all joint owners will bind you all. If any joint owner requires separate private advice please let us know in confidence. This has practical implications throughout the transaction e.g. correspondence will be addressed to all joint owners, advice will be to all joint owners, documents will need to be signed by all joint owners and cheques for the proceeds of sale will be paid to a joint bank account only.

We shall need your title deeds as early as possible in the transaction. If they are lodged with another Solicitor or Lender we normally will apply for them. If your current Lender is a Bank or if your deeds are with another Solicitor (not, say, a Building Society) it is a good idea to drop them a line (perhaps telephone in advance to check procedure) as soon as possible saying that we shall be acting as your Solicitors in a forthcoming sale and that they can loan us your deeds in connection with the transaction - otherwise they may waste time by writing to you for authority to release your title deeds to us.

Note that Lenders may make a charge for loaning the deeds to us as your Solicitors which is added to your mortgage Account.

l 2. MORTGAGE(S)

1. Tell us the name & address of your lender(s)

2. Let us know your Account Number(s) (sometimes called Roll Number or Mortgage Number) & branch or mortgage centre

3. Mortgage interest and penalties

Please let us know if you have a first, second or further mortgage and provide details of each.

If your mortgage is for over 90% of the sale price please tell us at an early stage.

You should continue to make your normal mortgage repayments to your present Lender right up to the day of completion. This is important to avoid complications later. Do not be worried about overpayment as your lender will calculate anything due back to you and will refund it to you following completion.

It is worth noting a catch that a few lenders charge interest up to the end of the month in which a completion takes place even if you actually complete on the 1st of the month!

Some mortgages require "penalty" longer notice periods to redeem or interest to be paid to the lender instead (fixed interest mortgages often require this). This may have a bearing on when you choose to complete. You should check this directly with your present Lender as early on as possible as missing giving notice might be expensive.

l 3. LEASEHOLD PROPERTIES

Normally Buyers will ask for copies of the following where appropriate so you may like to look them out or obtain them (from Landlords or Managing Agents) and let us have them in readiness as early as possible:

1. Service Charge or Accounts for the last three years and receipt for last payment.

2. Copy current (this years) Landlord's Insurance Schedule and Policy.

3. Last ground rent receipt.

4. Any notices or relevant communications received from your Landlord or Management Company.

We can supply a more comprehensive list of information and documentation (which can be formidable) you may need to obtain upon request.

l 4. INFORMAL ARRANGEMENTS

1. Avoid committing to writing

2. Tell us!

3. Subject to Contract

It is recommended that we are advised of all arrangements made directly between you and the Seller so that we can have them confirmed by their Solicitor in writing. Correspondence is best avoided but in any event should always be marked "Subject to Contract".

Tell us of any special arrangements as they will not be binding unless they are agreed in writing with the Seller's Solicitors or, better still, are in the contract.

l 5. FIXTURES AND FITTINGS

You will normally be asked before exchange of contracts to say which fixtures and fittings you intend to remove from your property. This is often done with a checklist which we can supply.

l 6. PROGRESS

1. Keeping you advised

2. Signing and exchanging contracts

We shall try to keep you advised on progress and you may rest assured that if any serious problem comes to our attention during the course of the transaction you will be notified immediately. Please feel free to contact us at any time about the current position but try not to expect unreasonable time scales. Bear in mind there are hundreds of individual steps on both sides (multiplied by the number of transactions in a chain) to be attended to - most, you will be relieved to hear, you will never have to concern yourself with as they are dealt with for all involved by lawyers, but you may find the table at the end useful as a guide to the sequence of events in an average transaction.

If your Buyer is obtaining a mortgage please let us know if there appears to be an undue delay in his mortgage valuer calling to see your property.

Selling a property is usually a two stage process and when everyone is ready you will be asked to sign the Contract (sometimes referred to as an Agreement) for your Sale - the final Transfer to your Buyer is later upon the completion date agreed in this Contract. Lawyers call the final sale and removal date "completing".

l 7. REMOVAL ARRANGEMENTS

1. When to arrange

2. Time of completion

3. Keys

4. Vacant possession

It is a term of your contract that you give vacant possession of the property upon completion day before a certain time between 12 and 2PM usually.

Removal arrangements should only be made firm after exchange of contracts when the completion date has been fixed. You can "pencil" them in before with your removers.

It is not possible to be specific about time of completion on a completion day. Every endeavour should be made to try to achieve this as early as possible on the day completion. Please do not hand over the keys of your property to your Buyer before checking with us that he has paid for the property! Generally speaking it is a good idea to ring in to us a day or two before completion and around midday on the day of completion. This helps us as client's moving often seem to have their phones disconnected just when we need to speak to them!

If keys are to be left with any estate agent or anyone else (with labels of course) please ensure we are notified of their whereabouts.

l 8. FIRE INSURANCE

1. Insurance between exchange of contracts and completion

2. Insurance arranged by Lender

This is a complicated area but as a rule we recommend that insurance is always maintained by Sellers until actual completion.

If you have a mortgage you should instruct your Lenders to cancel insurance following completion as sometimes this is not automatic. At the same time tell them your new address in case they need to contact you.

l 9. DEPOSIT

1. Reduced Deposits

2. Use on simultaneous Purchase

It is usual or "customary", upon exchange of Contracts, for a deposit of 10% of the purchase price to be paid to a Sellers Solicitor.

Occasionally (and this is becoming more and more common) a reduced deposit e.g. 5% may be offered especially by first time buyers, if there is a chain or by Buyers obtaining a mortgage for a high percentage of the purchase price. Obviously there is an increased risk of loss to you in the event of your Buyer defaulting because the security is less but it may be expedient to accept a reduced deposit if offered. We do not recommend less than 5%.

The deposit itself is normally held by us as Stakeholders during the time between exchange of contracts and completion but it is usually available for or towards your deposit in the case of a contemporaneous purchase of residential property.

l 10. DEPENDENT PURCHASE

If you are also buying a property we shall ensure (unless instructed otherwise) that the two exchanges of contracts are simultaneous and that the same date is fixed for completion of both transactions.

l 11. BETWEEN EXCHANGE OF CONTRACTS AND COMPLETION

1. Completion date

2. Conveyancing work

Exchange of contracts is when your Buyer is formally bound to buy your property. They will normally have paid a 10% deposit (or occasionally less) to us to be held by us as your Solicitors as security for completing their purchase.

There is no fixed rule as to how long after exchange of Contracts a fixed completion date shall be, but a date between ten and twenty-eight days is normally feasible

We shall act as your agent in exchanging Contracts on your behalf when we have your instructions to proceed to do so. We shall naturally obtain your instructions on agreeing the completion date with you beforehand. There may have to be certain"give and take" between the parties to achieve a compromise date.

Confusion sometimes arises over the distinction between signing the paper contract (as a matter of practical convenience beforehand) and formal legal exchange of contracts by us as your agents with your Buyers at the appropriate time - only when the latter has taken place will "contracts be exchanged" and all parties bound and committed.

Do not please allow your Buyers to have keys or unaccompanied access without our permission. We can provide a"Key Undertaking" upon request.

We shall act as your agent in exchanging Contracts on your behalf when we have your instructions to proceed to do so. We shall naturally obtain your instructions on the completion day proposed in your contract beforehand.

l 12. MONEY MATTERS GENERALLY

1. Sale proceeds

2. Estate Agents fees

If we have funds we can pay your Estate Agents from the sale proceeds just after completion. It assists us to know in advance the commission rate that you have agreed with your estate agent.

Within a day or so following completion you will be sent a Statement of Account and a Solicitors Client Account cheque for the net proceeds of sale (if appropriate). As a facility to clients we can normally arrange to send funds to your personal Bank Account by one single Bank Transfer. If you would like the net proceeds of sale remitted by Bank Transfer to your personal Bank Account instead of receiving a cheque payable to all the sellers following completion we can arrange for this to be done but we will need the signed written instructions beforehand of all the sellers. We will need your Account details comprising Account Number, Account Name, Account Title, Bank Branch Address and Sort Code (you might just like to send a cheque book paying in slip to us with your signed instructions). A few Bank Accounts, especially Building Society type Investment Accounts and Internet Accounts do not permit Bank CHAPS Bank Transfers directly into them. They can often be identified by unusual Account numbers. If in doubt it would be wise to check with your Bank.

Occasionally it may be necessary to make a retention from the net proceeds of sale of your property if you have a mortgage which has been redeemed until your Lender issues a final receipt. This is because Lenders differ in their efficiency in acknowledging funds and often seem to need some time to sort out all the debits credits and clearance of funds to your loan account and are slow to acknowledge and issue their receipt (a few very inefficient ones can take weeks). If there is an Estate Agent involved who is due commission payment of their invoice this may also be delayed until we receive your Lenders final receipt. We hope you will appreciate that, to facilitate your completion, this Firm gives an undertaking to your Buyers Solicitors, for which we are personally liable, to discharge, to the last penny, your existing mortgage and we need to be sure your lenders will not be requiring further funds from us. Overpayment often occurs and if due will be made to you.

l 13. MORTGAGE REDEMPTION(S)

Any mortgage(s) upon property must be paid off by us upon completion day. We will obtain a redemption statement from your lender.

l 14. NEGOTIATING YOUR HOUSE SALE

1. Negotiating with Buyers

2. Establishing your Buyers position to proceed

Skilful negotiation is not for the faint hearted but can make a great deal of difference to the outcome of a transaction especially in terms of the price you eventually receive. Here are a few pointers to help you:-

(a) Try not to negotiate directly with a buyer. If you have an estate agent use him! Do not make instant decisions.

(b) Haggling over the price often results in confrontation or deadlock and very likely bad feeling which will linger for the rest of the transaction. If a prospective Buyer makes a counter offer try to remain amicable. It is entirely reasonable ask him how he came by the figure. This should give you time to think. If it is based upon a comparable property nearby all well and good but if he has just knocked 10% of the asking price turn it down or offer some lesser concession!

(c) It may be that you can make concessions as counter offers which are not just cash off the asking price e.g. including some loose furniture or garden equipment, offering to take the property off the market or choice of completion dates. Bear in mind that sometimes agreeing to a price provided completion takes place before the end of a month will save you a months mortgage interest or your Buyer a months rent.

It is important to establish if a Buyer is serious and is actually in a position to proceed. Check:-

(a) Is there a dependant sale and if so exactly what stage has this reached? As your estate agent to check with the Buyers estate agent.

(b) Will the Buyer need a Mortgage? If so have they approached a Lender or Broker to get an offer in principle? Buyers often try to gain an advantage by saying they are "cash buyers" and later switch to obtaining loan finance.

(c) What is the Buyer's time scale.

(d) Is there a chain of transactions? If so check (a) (b) and (c) for each link to the start. Again ask your estate agent to check down the chain to the start - you are paying him to do this for you.

l 15. WILLS

You are reminded that upon completion of your sale it may be advisable for you to make a Will or to consider any necessary revisions to an existing Will that you may have already made. We shall be pleased to advise and prepare a new Will for you as you wish. A short Client Questionnaire needs to be completed so we can prepare a will or wills for you. The legal costs involved are extremely modest and as a special offer my usual fees for preparing clients wills are reduced substantially if wills are prepared for you during the course of your conveyancing transaction.

We hope these notes assist you in your transaction. we have tried to make them straightforward and practical and we hope we have avoided giving the impression you have been given a crash course in Conveyancing law!

The most important matter to remember however is that if in any doubt you should ask as every sale is different.

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These advice notes are exclusively provided for our private clients. All rights are reserved and no reproduction from them or from our internet web site for any other purpose is permitted without our permission. THE AUTHORS OF THIS WEB SITE ACCEPT NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR UNAUTHORISED COPYING OR USE OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS PAGE WITHOUT PERMISSION IN ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.