Guide to Selling a House
Selling your home can feel like a lot to manage. This guide explains the main steps in the process, what we will do for you, and what we may need from you along the way.
· Your first steps: contact us once you have agreed a sale.
· Tell your estate agent: let them know we are acting for you and give them our contact details so they can issue the memorandum of sale.
1: Getting started
We will send you our engagement letter, Terms and Conditions of Business, and sale questionnaires. These documents explain how we will work with you and help us collect the information we need to begin your sale.
We will also ask you for proof of identity and address.
You will be asked to complete a Property Information Form and a Fixtures, Fittings and Contents Form. These tell the buyer important details about the property and what is included in the sale.
Please also provide any property documents you hold, such as guarantees, planning permissions, building regulation certificates, service records, or other paperwork relevant to the sale.
We will ask you for funds on account for initial costs, such as obtaining copy Official Copies of the Land Register and Plan.
We will obtain the title information for your property from HM Land Registry. If your property is unregistered, we will ask you where the original deeds and documents are held so we can request them.
Our onboarding team will guide you through this step. You can complete onboarding electronically, by post, or, where needed, through a face-to-face identity check.
Completing this early helps avoid delays later in the transaction.
Your legal team will still be available if you have any legal questions during onboarding.
2: Preparing the sale papers
We will then prepare and send the contract pack for the buyer’s solicitor. This usually includes the draft contract, title documents, and the forms and documents you have provided.
The buyer’s solicitor will review the contract pack and may raise questions. We will work through these with you and keep you updated on progress.
3: Mortgages and financial charges
If there is a mortgage or other financial charge registered against the property, we will request a provisional redemption statement. This tells us how much needs to be repaid on completition
4: Exchanging contracts
When the buyer’s solicitor is satisfied with the papers and enquiries, we will discuss possible exchange and completion dates with you. We will also make sure you have signed the contract before exchange.
Exchange of contracts is the point when the sale becomes legally binding. After exchange, you and the buyer are both committed to complete on the agreed completion date.
We will not exchange contracts until you have confirmed you are happy to proceed and everything needed for exchange is in place.
5: Completion
Before completion, we will prepare for the transfer of ownership to the buyer. We will ask you to sign the transfer deed and we will obtain final figures from your lender or any other secured charge holder.
We will also send you a completion statement showing the expected sale proceeds, deductions, and the amount due back to you after completion.
On the completion date, the buyer’s solicitor sends us the purchase money. Once we receive the funds, completion takes place and the buyer can collect the keys.
We will use the sale proceeds to repay any mortgage or secured charges and settle agreed fees. We will then send the remaining balance to you, unless it is needed for a related purchase.
We will contact you once completion has happened. You should then arrange for the keys and any agreed items to be handed over through the estate agent or directly with the buyer.
Client checklist: what we need from you
To help keep your sale moving, please provide the following as early as possible:
- Signed engagement letter and completed onboarding information.
- Proof of identity and proof of address.
- Completed sale questionnaires, including the Property Information Form and Fixtures, Fittings and Contents Form.
- Any property documents you hold, such as guarantees, planning permissions, building regulation certificates, certificates for works, service records, or warranties.
- Details of any mortgage or secured loan registered against the property.
- Funds on account for initial costs, if requested.
- Signed contract and transfer deed when we send them to you.
- Your preferred bank details for any sale proceeds due back to you.
- Arrangements for handing over keys and any agreed items on completion.