Selling your Home Knowledge & Resources

You should instruct a lawyer/conveyancer when you are about to market your property for sale so that you are in a position to progress promptly with the conveyancing work once a buyer has been found and a sale agreed.

This will often depend on whether there is a chain and if so how many people are in the chain and their funding arrangements. For instance, a sale to a cash buyer will normally be far quicker than a sale to a buyer requiring a mortgage, particularly if they are in a long chain with others also requiring mortgage finance. Three months is the average timescale but it regularly takes longer and occasionally is shorter.

An exchange of contracts is when both buyer an seller become legally bound to sell and purchase. Completion is the date when the transaction is to complete and where the seller will need to vacate the property. Exchange of contracts takes place first and there is normally a gap of two or three weeks before completion. During this time the seller still owns the property and may stay living in it.

Most residential property is registered land and consequently the title will be held digitally at the Land Registry, we can download your title. If the property is unregistered the deeds will be held by the lender but if unmortgaged the deeds will normally be held by you or a previous lawyer who may be holding them in safe custody.

No. The stamp duty will be paid by the buyer.

If the property is your principle private residence, you do not have to pay capital gains tax on any gain. If not, you may have to pay it on any gain unless you can apply any other exemptions.

Normally you will be required to sign the sale contract and the transfer property.

If a buyer’s surveyor finds a defect with the property they may ask to have the defect remedied at the sellers expense. Alternatively, the buyer may attempt to negotiate a lower sale price to reflect the work they will be required to carry out following the completion of their purchase. The seller will need to consider and negotiate this with their agent if the request is considered reasonable.

If a buyer or seller withdraw from a sale or purchase transaction before an exchange of contracts is achieved neither party can claim their wasted costs from the other party.

If the seller decides to withdraw from a sale transaction before an exchange of contracts they will only be responsible for their own selling costs.

The completion and moving date will normally be agreed when contracts are exchanged.

Normally vacant possession will be required on the completion of your sale. Completion on the day of completion normally will occur between 9am and 2pm.

Both an exchange of contracts and completion can occur on the same day, this is referred to as a simultaneous exchange and completion. However, this does not normally work well for people in a chain or their lenders as until the actual day no one is bound to one another. Making so many arrangements on this tenuous basis is very problematic and stressful for everyone involved.

Following the completion of the sale the lawyer/conveyancer will transfer the net proceeds of sale to the seller.