The Buying & Selling Process

The Buying and Selling Process made simple

Outlined below is an easy to understand guide to buying and selling property, commonly called 'conveyancing' which explains some initial considerations followed by an informative guide to the conveyancing process. A typical process has five stages which are detailed here in an easy to understand and straightforward manner. Prior to the purchase of a property it is important that you instruct a solicitor to act on your behalf and to have any funding arrangements such as a mortgage in place.

Before Contract of a Freehold Sale or Purchase

The estate agent will send a memorandum of sale setting out details of the transaction to the solicitors for both parties. The seller's solicitor will prepare the pre-contract package to be sent to the buyers solicitor consisting of;-

Draft Contract stating the details of the property being sold and the terms under which it is to be sold
Official Copies of the seller's title to the property from the Land Registry
Copy of planning permissions, if applicable and other relevant documents
Seller's replies to the seller's property information form and a completed fixtures, fittings and contents form

Once the buyer's solicitor has received this documentation the necessary searches will be carried out. The draft contract will then be approved/ amended between the solicitors. The buyer's solicitor will in addition check any mortgage offer received by the buyer. The contract is then signed by both parties. The buyer is required to have his deposit money available and normally this is 10% of the price.

Either party at this stage may withdraw from the transaction even if the contract has been signed. Both the buyer and seller should bear this in mind when making any arrangements about the move.

Exchange of Contracts

The agreement between the buyer and the seller only becomes binding when the contracts that they have signed are exchanged and once this has happened neither party can withdraw without incurring serious financial penalties. All the terms agreed between the buyer and the seller are contained in the contract including the date when completion will take place. The completion date is the final date by which the seller must vacate the property. There is usually a period of time (10-14 days) between exchange and completion to enable the solicitors to deal with the legal formalities and for the buyer's solicitor to finalise the mortgage.

It is not possible for either the buyer or the seller to change any of the terms of the transaction at this stage unless both are in agreement.

Before Completion

The buyer's and seller's solicitor will liaise regarding the details of the completion such as how much money is required to complete and who holds the keys to the property. The buyer's solicitor will prepare and send the draft transfer deed to the seller's solicitor for approval. The seller then signs the transfer deed to enable legal ownership of the property to be transferred to the buyer and in certain circumstances the buyer will also sign. The buyer's solicitor will make sure that the buyer has sufficient funds to complete the purchase and final checks against the title of the property and against the buyer are carried out.

Completion

The buyer's solicitor will usually send the requisite money to the seller's solicitor by way of a Bank Transfer. Once received the seller's solicitor will notify the buyer's solicitor and the estate agent to authorise the release of the keys to the buyer and both parties are notified that completion has taken place. Completion usually takes place by early afternoon around 1pm and it is necessary to vacate the property by this time to allow for the new owners to move in unless agreed otherwise by both parties. However it is important for both the buyer and the seller to check with the solicitors what time has been agreed for completion.

After Completion

On completion the seller's solicitor is required to discharge any existing mortgage on the property. The seller's lender will notify the Land Registry direct that the mortgage has been repaid. The buyer's solicitor attends to the payment of stamp duty land tax (if applicable) and will then register the property at HM Land Registry. The above is only an outline of the procedure relating to the sale/purchase of a freehold property the title of which is registered at the Land Registry which applies to the majority of freehold properties. If the title is unregistered a slightly different procedure applies. If the property is a leasehold property (which is the case with most flats) then the buyer's solicitor will be required to carry out a considerable amount of additional work details of which we would be pleased to advise upon. Please note that the above is just a guide. We are happy to advise on your individual sale or purchase. Please contact one of our helpful teams listed below.

For more infomation please contact one of the following:

Name	Position	Office
John D. Brindley LLB	Partner	Exeter
Tim Underhill	Senior Solicitor	Exeter
Clare Trevelyan Thomas LLB Hons	Partner	Crediton
Stephen Govier TEP	Senior Solicitor	Budleigh Salterton
Sheila Woodland	Licensed Conveyancer	Budleigh Salterton
Charles Marshall MA Hons	Solicitor	Exeter
Wendy Sandford	Licensed Conveyancer	Crediton