Selling a Home
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Selling a home involves a number of legal and administrative steps. Our experienced conveyancing solicitors will guide you through the process, helping to ensure your transaction progresses as smoothly and efficiently as possible.
The Process of Selling a Home
Step 1
Once a buyer has been found and a sale price agreed, you will need to formally instruct your chosen solicitor.
You will need to complete a pack of forms which your solicitor will provide you with and pass them any guarantees/reports you have for work at the property. If the works involved obtaining planning permission and or buildings regulations approval, you should hand these documents to your solicitor along with any landowner’s consent which you may have had to obtain to comply with restrictions in your title deeds.
Step 2
Your solicitor will obtain your title deeds and / or copies of them from the land registry (if the property is registered) and will also obtain a redemption (settlement) figure from your lender to give them an idea how much is currently owing to your lender (if applicable).
If your property is leasehold, your solicitor will need the Lease and will also contact your freeholder or management company (if applicable) to obtain certain information. This information will include buildings insurance, copies of the last 3 years’ service charge figures, details of the current service charges payable, whether there are any arrears and indication of whether any large expenditure is anticipated in the next few years.
Step 3
Your solicitor will draft the contract and compile a contract pack which will be sent to the buyer’s solicitor.
Step 4
Your buyer’s solicitor will raise searches against the property.
After reviewing the contract papers, the buyer’s solicitor may also raise enquiries for you to respond to. If your property is leasehold, the buyer’s solicitor may also have some enquiries for the landlord or management company to deal with.
The buyer’s solicitor will also await receipt of the buyer’s mortgage offer (if applicable) which will confirm that adequate mortgage monies will be available to complete the buyer’s purchase of your property.
Once the buyer’s solicitor has received satisfactory searches, replies to enquiries and a mortgage offer, or, if the buyer is a cash buyer, evidence of the buyer’s source of funds, a target completion date will be negotiated between you and the buyer (and the rest of the chain if applicable).
Step 5
You will then meet with your solicitor to go through the sale contract and sign it in readiness for exchange of contracts.
You may also sign a Transfer Deed at this stage, which is the document which the buyer’s solicitor will send to the Land Registry following completion, so that the title to the property may be transferred from you to the new owner.
Step 6 “Exchange of Contracts”
Your solicitor and the buyer’s solicitor will perform an exchange of contracts over the telephone, which will create a legally binding contract and fix the completion date.
The signed contracts will then be swapped by the solicitors with the buyer’s solicitor paying the agreed deposit to your solicitor to be held until completion takes place.
Step 7
Your solicitor will obtain an up to date redemption statement (if applicable) from your lender, if the initial statement is no longer valid.
They will also obtain a commission account from your estate agent if you have one. They will then prepare a completion statement indicating how the sale proceeds are to be paid out.
Step 8 “Completion”
The buyer’s solicitor will forward the rest of the sale proceeds to your solicitor.
From the proceeds, your solicitor will deduct the legal fees, pay off the mortgage (where applicable) and pay the estate agent if you have one. Any money left over will be forwarded to you. Please note that if the property you sell is not your main residence, you may be liable to pay Capital Gains Tax to the Revenue. Please refer to the Inland Revenue link below or seek advice from a financial adviser for further details in this respect.
If you are buying a property simultaneously, your solicitor will send sufficient monies to the solicitor acting for your seller to complete that matter.
Step 9
If you have not already done so, you must deliver all the property keys to the agent (if you have one) by no later than 1pm as the buyer will now be entitled to collect the keys to their new home.
Step 10
Your solicitor will send the Transfer Deed and any title deeds to the property to the buyer’s solicitor.
For further information you can read our full guide to selling your home.
If you are considering selling a property and would like advice on the procedure and costs involved Wolferstans would be happy to help you.