Initial Paperwork
We ask you to sign an initial letter of instruction and provide copies of your identification. This is the first part of the process.
Draft Paperwork
Early on in the process we will usually receive the draft contract paperwork from the seller’s solicitor. The paperwork includes deeds, draft contract, property information and contents forms. It is our job to check this paperwork for any problems, errors and important information and we do this by raising legal enquiries. At this time we raise our legal enquiries and send them to the seller’s solicitor. Please remember though that once we start this stage should the transaction fall through we shall have to charge for the work carried out. If you do not want us to start this process then please let us know.
Searches
At the initial stages of the conveyancing process you will have paid for your search fees upfront. We normally submit the requested searches once we have received the draft paperwork from the seller’s solicitor as we need a plan to order your searches. If you would like to delay the request for the searches for any reason please let us know as once we have ordered them your search fees are non-refundable.
Mortgage (Ignore if buying with cash)
If you are buying the property with a mortgage you will have been communicating with the mortgage lender or via a financial advisor to apply for a mortgage. You will go through the application process which will usually involve credit checks, employment checks, survey and offer. Once the mortgage company is happy with the information and the property survey they will issue a mortgage offer both to you and to us. It is important to note that we are neither authorised nor qualified to help you with the application until the mortgage offer is released. Therefore it is important for either you or your advisor to progress things as best you can. Once your offer is issued it is then our job to check through it and ensure the matter can proceed. We must suggest that you consult an independent surveyor for advice relating to valuations and surveys.
Enquiries and Reporting to you
We shall now collect the search results, replies to our legal enquiries and the mortgage offer and check everything is in order. Please remember that the replies to the questions and checks may seem unnecessary to you when you are desperate to move, however they are crucial to ensure you are buying a property without a problem, and importantly we have a duty to protect your mortgage lender (if you have one) from lending money on a property with issues outstanding. Once we have everything in from the relevant parties we shall send you all the paperwork to sign and copies of all the documentation.
Exchange
In order to get ready to exchange we will need to get you to sign the paperwork and arrange all necessary funding. Once you have signed the paperwork and we have all necessary information from the seller’s solicitor we can request your money from your mortgage company and from you. Once we have any balance of money from you and confirmation from your mortgage company that they will release funds to us we shall be in a position to exchange. (Subject to any chain involved)
Exchange of contracts will take place between each parties solicitor and usually will take place over the telephone. The process means that the contract is now legal and binding upon all parties and means that it almost impossible for any party to pull out. (Or at least without serious and expensive consequences) During the exchange the purchase price is confirmed and the completion date is set. Once the exchange has taken place the completion date cannot be changed. There is no set period between exchange and completion but in an ideal world a couple of weeks would allow all parties an adequate time period to organise themselves for the big day.
Completion
The big day has arrived and the removal van is fully loaded. On the day we have to transfer monies between the banks and of course this sometimes can take a little while. As soon as the transfers have taken place and the monies are in the right place you will be informed that the keys should be passed over to the Estate Agent. We try to keep you informed throughout the day of each stage to hopefully ensure you feel secure in the knowledge that everything is being done as quickly as physically possible.
Moving to your new home should be an exciting time and we hope that by keeping you informed we can help you through the process. Remember this is only a guide and each transaction is different and your experience maybe slightly different depending upon your individual circumstance.
