Freehold or Leasehold Sale (with or without Finance)

FAQs


What is involved in a typical case?
  • The work you have instructed us to carry out is a sale of residential property.
  • Obtaining a completed Property Information Form, Fittings and Contents Form and Leasehold Information Form (if applicable) from you.
  • Preparing a draft Contract for the sale.
  • Obtaining any title documents or supporting property documents held by any Lender.
  • Preparing a title pack for the sale, to include all title documents necessary for a deduction of your title and any superior title. We will need you to supply us with all information that you hold and we will need your co-operation in obtaining all documents from other parties who may hold them, such as Managing Agents, Landlords, Local Authority Departments, Lenders and Land Registry.
  • Replying to the Buyer’s pre-contract enquiries. Please note that this will require extensive co-operation from you and any Managing Agent/Landlord for the property, being the parties with the actual knowledge of the property.
  • Negotiating with your authority any necessary retention of monies. For example, this may be required for balancing Service Charge. • Negotiating the form of Contract with the Buyer’s solicitor.
  • Obtaining your signature to the agreed Contract.
  • Obtaining your instructions to proceed to exchange of Contracts and agree a completion date.
  • Exchange Contracts with the Buyer’s solicitors and agreeing the completion date.
  • Obtaining all necessary financial statements and invoices to prepare a completion statement for your approval.
  • Agreeing any apportionment of Ground Rent and/or Service Charge with the Buyer’s solicitors.
  • Arranging your signature to any completion documents including the Transfer Deed.
  • Receiving the Buyer’s completion monies and reporting completion to you.
  • Redeeming any mortgage on the property and obtaining the necessary release forms from your Lender for transmission to the buyer’s solicitors.
  • Making any other payments to third parties on your behalf in accordance with the agreed completion statement.
  • Remitting to you the net proceeds of sale.
  • Assisting with any post-completion queries from the Buyer’s solicitors in respect of the Buyer’s registration of ownership at Land Registry.

Despite our efforts to ensure that our role is clear, clients sometimes make incorrect assumptions about what we are and are not going to do for them. To help avoid any such misunderstanding, we bring to your attention the fact that that we are not providing you with any advice on any of the following:

  • VAT or other tax issues
  • asset valuation advice
  • property agency advice

When necessary, we will, in consultation with you obtain such additional advice as is required from appropriately qualified third parties.

What assumptions have we made?

It is important for you to appreciate that the information provided above is based on a number of assumptions, including:

  • You will provide us with a full set of documents evidencing your title to the property, together with all supporting documents such as leases.
  • You will enlist for us the support of your other professional advisers where required.
  • The buyer is advised competently and instructs its solicitor on the same timescales as set out above.
  • The buyer has available finance for the purchase.
  • The property is in good order, ready for sale with good and marketable title.
  • There will be no need to obtain any consent to the transfer from the superior landlord or any party with the benefit of a restriction over the property.

If any of these key assumptions are incorrect or change over time, we will need to provide you with a revised scope of work, revised timetable and revised fee estimate.

How much would a typical case cost?

For a detailed quote, please use our Conveyancing Estimate.

What would we have to pay to others on your behalf?

“Disbursements” is a rather old-fashioned word to describe all the fees and taxes we have to pay other organisations on your behalf as part of the house-buying process.

We have tried to include all the major items of expenditure that we anticipate you will incur during the transaction in our e-quote estimate.

Sometimes however matters can arise which mean that extra costs are incurred.

For a detailed quote, please use our Conveyancing Estimate.

How long would a typical case take?

On the information that we have at the present time, we estimate the work outlined above will be completed in 8 – 10 weeks.

Note:

  • Estimated time frames run from when we provide the draft Contract to the Buyer’s solicitors
  • These time frames are our best estimates only as there are many aspects of this matter over which we have little or no control.
Who would be handling my case?

Once we fully understand your needs, we will assign your case to the most appropriate member of our team. All work done by the team is ultimately supervised by the Team Leader or one of the other partners in the team. The lawyers in our team are supported by paralegals and other assistants to ensure that your case is handled efficiently and cost-effectively.