Considerations When Selling & Buying A Property

The decision to sell your home and buy a new property is one of the biggest decisions you are likely to make and can be a stressful process. We have put together the following guide with important information about the process of buying and selling a property in England and Wales.

Guide to buying and selling property

1. Work out your finances

A good starting point is to get your head around your finances. You need to know what your budget is to spend on a new house and ensure that you will have sufficient funds to proceed with the purchase, plus additional costs that may be incurred, e.g. legal fees, estate agent fees, etc.

Decide on the price you would like to receive for your current home. This is generally done by obtaining multiple valuations of the property from estate agents. When deciding the price add a small percentage to it which you wish to achieve.

If you have a mortgage on your current home, you can contact your lender to find out the amount outstanding and if you would be charged any early repayment penalties for selling the property.

If you will require a mortgage to assist with the purchase of the new property, you should make contact with a mortgage broker who can help you in finding the right mortgage product for you.

If you intend to transfer or port your existing mortgage to your new property, you will need to obtain a new mortgage offer as this does not take place automatically. Your mortgage broker will be able to help you with this.

2. Prepare for the sale

Allow time to tidy, declutter, redecorate and/or carry out minor repairs to your home to help present it in the best possible condition for viewings.

Gather all necessary deeds, documents and guarantees that were given to you when you bought the property, and any paperwork for building/repair work, gas or electrical installations that were undertaken whilst you lived there. These will all be required during the sale process.

3. Instruct an estate agent

When you have prepared your property, you will want to get your current property on the market. Set aside time to research local estate agents and obtain several valuations and costs from them to ensure that the package offered is the best one for you. By obtaining at least three valuations you can smooth out any irregularities between the top and lowest price.

Instruct your estate agent to start marketing your property and ensure that they commission an Energy Performance Certificate Assessment, which is a legal requirement (unless the property is a listed building).

4. Instruct a solicitor/conveyancer

When looking at solicitors/conveyancers quotes, try to locate a firm with the conveyancing quality logo which means they that are conveyancing specialists, accredited by the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme.

Once you have instructed a solicitor/conveyancer, make them aware of any deadlines or requirements you have so that these can be passed on to all parties involved.

Provide them with the property deeds, documents, guarantees and paperwork mentioned previously in relation to the property you are selling. By providing these at the outset your conveyancer/solicitor can issue these to the buyer with the contract papers, which should reduce the number of enquiries raised.

Keep in regular contact with your solicitor/conveyancer and estate agent. Frequent, clear communication is vital to ensure a smooth and swift house sale.

Once a price for the house sale and/or purchase has been agreed, a typical transaction will take around six to eight weeks to complete. However, this is only an estimate and timescales will depend on the speed of any chain and the complexity of the title of the property.

5. Property survey and buildings insurance

With regards to the property you are buying, we would advise you to obtain an independent survey to check the state and condition of the property. If you have a mortgage, your lender will obtain a valuation but this will not give you any guarantee about the property’s condition.

You should also arrange buildings insurance to be in place from exchange of contracts for the property you are buying. Make enquiries at an early stage, not only to find the most competitive quote but also to find a policy that is most suitable to your circumstances and the property you are buying.

If you are buying a leasehold property (generally this applies to flats), it is likely that buildings insurance will be provided by the landlord.

6. Exchange of contracts

When title checks, searches, enquiries, surveys and financial arrangements are all in order, you will be ready to become legally bound to the sale and purchase. You will now be ready to start thinking about the completion (moving) date.

In readiness for this your conveyancer/solicitors will have obtained your signature for the contract. Signing the contract in advance has no legal effect – it is not until the seller and buyer exchange their duplicate signed contracts through their solicitors/conveyancers that the transaction becomes legally binding.

On exchange of contracts, you will be required to pay a deposit to the seller. If the transaction cannot complete due to the seller’s default, the buyer is entitled to their deposit back. If the buyer pulls out of the sale after exchange of contracts, they will lose the deposit paid to the seller.

It is important not to make any firm plans to move in, for delivery of items or to give notice on any rented accommodation until contracts are exchanged and the completion date is fixed.

7. Completion (moving date)

The completion date is the date on which the funds will be transferred and the keys will be given to the buyer of the property.

If the seller is vacating the new property on the day of completion and is using the sale money to buy another property, please note that there may be a delay in the keys being handed over which you will need to bear in mind, but this should not be delayed beyond mid-afternoon.

You must remove all belongings and refuse from the property but some tolerance may have to be exercised here. If you have concerns that your property or the new property will not be properly cleared, we advise making your solicitor/conveyancer aware of your concerns as soon as possible and definitely prior to the exchange of contracts to ensure that these issues can be ironed out in advance.