Getting started with the paperwork.

Most property these days is registered and we will need to obtain an Official Copy of Register of Title and the Title plan which shows the boundaries of the property from the Land Registry. We apply for those documents electronically. We will need to know the details of your mortgage, if you have one, including the account number. We can then contact the lender to request information needed to pay off your mortgage on completion (redemption figure).

Unregistered?

If your property is unregistered we need to obtain the title deeds. If the property is mortgaged, the lender will usually have them and we will need their details, including the mortgage account number, so that we can ask the lender to send them to us. However, if there is no mortgage, or sometimes if a mortgage has been repaid, then you probably hold the title deeds. We will need those documents as soon as possible because we cannot prepare the Contract without them. No records in respect of the property will be held by the Land registry. If you believe that the property is unregistered and the title deeds have been lost, then it will be a lengthy and time consuming process and you should contact us at the earliest possible opportunity for advice in dealing with this.

Property information

You will need to complete a number of questionnaires relating to the property, together with a list setting out details of the fixtures, fittings and contents which are included in the sale. These forms must be completed fully and as accurately as possible because any incorrect information could lead to the buyer claiming compensation for misrepresentation.

The contract pack

When we have the property information forms and land registry entries, or deeds, we will prepare a Contract and send copies of all the relevant documents to your buyer's solicitor so that they can investigate your legal title to the property. The more information you can provide us with early in the process the better. The next step is for the buyers’ solicitors to look over the papers and raise any additional relevant enquiries. When we receive those we will refer to you for any further information we need. Around this time we will ask you to sign the contract. You are not committed to the sale until you authorise us to “exchange Contracts”. At this stage we are getting all of the paperwork ready.

Exchange of contracts

When the buyers and their solicitor are satisfied that with all of the information, you will need to agree a date for completion, i.e. moving house. When that has been agreed we will check with you that you are happy to proceed and, assuming that you are, we will then proceed to exchange contracts. That step is usually carried out by telephone. When contracts have been exchanged you will be bound by the contract and the terms of the contract cannot be changed. If after contracts have been exchanged, either party tries to cancel or delay the agreed arrangements, then the other party will have the right to sue for damages.

Getting ready to complete

Before or after exchange, the buyer's solicitors will forward a form TR1 to us. This is the document that formally passes ownership of the property from you to the buyer. It must be signed and returned to us prior to completion because we cannot complete without it. We will also get a final repayment figure from your lender (if you have a mortgage), so that we can pay off your mortgage on the day of completion.

Completion

We cannot guarantee what time actual completion will take place on the day of completion, but you should aim to vacate the property by around midday. You need to drop the keys to your estate agent, who will keep them until we inform them that we have received the money and that the sale has completed. We will then account to you for the net proceeds of the sale (i.e. the money due to you after redemption of any mortgage/s and other sale related costs and expenses), or forward the money on as necessary if you have a related purchase.