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How long will it take?
If the property is empty and the buyer does not require
a mortgage, a sale or purchase can all be completed in
a few days but this is very unusual.
However it is more likely that a mortgage will be required
and there will be a chain of transactions and if that
is the case it will usually take 4-6
weeks to exchange contracts and then another 2-4 weeks
between exchange of contracts and completion making a
total of 6-10 weeks from start to finish.
We always do all that we can to progress your transaction
as quickly as
possible but we cannot offer any guarantee about this
and you should not
believe anyone else that does! |
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How soon do I need
to pay any money?
Usually if you are purchasing a property your solicitor
will ask you for
approximately £125.00 at the beginning to cover
the search fees that will
be paid out on your behalf. The balance of the price and
the solicitors
costs etc will be payable shortly before completion unless
you are
borrowing more than 90% of the purchase price in which
case it may be
required prior to exchange of contracts (see also "How
much deposit
must I pay").
If you are just selling you will not need to pay any money
in advance.
The costs and agents fees will be paid out from the sale
proceeds on
completion before any balance is sent to you. |
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Do I need a survey?
If you are obtaining a mortgage a valuer will inspect
the property on
behalf of the lender. Although his report will give you
an indication as
to whether he thinks the property is worth the amount
that you have asked
to borrow you will probably not be able to rely on it
if things go wrong.
For an extra fee you will usually be offered the option
to arrange for the
same valuer to carry out a more detailed "Home Buyers
Report". This can
be relied upon by you so if at a later date you find a
problem that is not
mentioned in the report you will have some redress against
the valuer.
If the property is quite old and you are particularly
concerned about its
condition you can obtain a full structural survey report
which is even
more detailed.
Always remember the golden rule is "let the buyer
beware" so (provided
you have not been misled) you will be liable for any problems
that you
discover after exchange of contracts. |
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How much deposit will
I need?
It is normal for a deposit to be paid on exchange of contracts.
Although
many people think 10% is required that is often untrue.
If you are
buying and selling we can usually use your buyers deposit
in connection
with your purchase so you will not have to find anything.
If you are just buying the amount of the deposit will
usually depend upon
the size of your mortgage (if any). If it is less than
90% then you will
usually need to find 10% but if you are borrowing more
than this we can
often persuade the seller to accept whatever amount you
are putting in or
even just the amount of our costs and disbursements only
if you are
borrowing 100%. |
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What searches do you
carry out and why?
There are five main types of search that can be carried
out and the buyers
solicitor will decide which of these are necessary in
any particular case:-
Local Authority Search
This reveals details of the planning history for the property
and whether
the Council are aware of any breaches of planning, also
any proposals for
new roads or traffic schemes, tree preservation orders,
conservation areas
and any other matters within the Council's control that
may affect the
property.
Drainage Search
This will show whether or not the surface and/or foul
water drains run
into a public or private sewer.
Land Registry Search
This is carried out just before completion in order to
find out if there
are new mortgages registered against the property that
have not previously
been disclosed. If there are then the buyers solicitor
will obviously
require confirmation that these will be repaid.
Land Charges Search
If you are obtaining a mortgage the lender will ask your
solicitor to
carry out a search to make sure that are you are not bankrupt
! Quite
often this search will show an entry against someone else
with a similar
name. If so you will be asked to sign a copy of the result
to confirm that
it does not relate to you.
Environmental Search
It has more recently been recommended that the buyers
solicitor should
also carry out an environmental search to see if there
are any landfill or
waste disposal sites in the area, if the property has
been built on an old
industrial site and whether there are any risks from contaminated
land,
toxic emissions, flooding, subsidence etc. |
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Can I exchange contracts
before I receive my mortgage offer?
If for any reason the mortgage offer is declined or delayed
or it contains
any conditions that you cannot comply with the money may
not be available
when required so it would be extremely dangerous to exchange
contracts
without it and any competent solicitor would strongly
advise you not to
do so.
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Is there anything I
can do to save paying stamp duty?
Yes possibly.
If the purchase price is just above the stamp duty limits
(£60,000.00,
£250,000.00 and £500,000.00) and the sale
includes some fixtures and
fittings eg. carpets, curtains, cooker, fridge, freezer
you may be able to
legitimately apportion part of the price towards the fixtures
and the duty
will then be payable on the amount of the price agreed
for the property
only.
For example - If the agreed sale price is £258,000.00
and there are no
fixtures the stamp duty payable will be £7740 but
if there are fixtures
worth £9,000.00 the duty is only £2490 because
up to £250,000.00 the
level of stamp duty is only 1% but above £250,000.00
it is 3%.
If you want to "split" the price in this way
you must remember to tell
your solicitor before exchange of contracts. |
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When do I need to arrange
buildings insurance?
Unless the building insurance is being arranged by your
lender or it is a
leasehold property and the insurance is dealt with by
the freeholder you
must arrange buildings insurance from exchange of contracts
as the
property will be at your risk from that time.
The amount of cover should be the estimated cost of re-building
the
property if it burns to the ground which is not necessarily
the same as
the current market value. If you had a survey or you are
obtaining a
mortgage your surveyor or the lenders valuer will usually
have
suggested a minimum amount of cover in their report. |
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What do we need to
know if we are buying in joint names?
Most couples who are married or in a stable relationship
purchase as
"joint tenants" which means that upon the death
of one or other of them
that persons half share will automatically pass to the
other.
The alternative is to hold the property as "tenants
in common" which means
that each persons half share is treated as being separate
so that upon the
death of one or other of them his or her share will not
automatically go
to the other but to whoever it has been left to in the
deceased persons
will or, if there is no will, to his or her next of kin.
If you are putting unequal amounts into the property the
person who is
paying the larger amount can and often should be protected
by a "trust
deed" which sets out your respective shares so that
in the event of any
dispute or upon the death of one or other of you in the
future your
original intentions will be clearly recorded. Once you
have considered
the above options and/or if you require further advice
you should tell
your solicitor so that he or she can make sure that your
wishes are
carried out. |
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What happens with the
keys?
These are usually left with the estate agents (if any)
and the buyer
collects them once the money has been paid over on the
day of completion.
If there are no estate agents (or this is not convenient)
then the seller
will hand them direct to the buyer.
Either way it is important that arrangements are made
in advance to
prevent the possibility of the buyer having to wait outside
with the
removal van!
Although your solicitor will always try to ensure that
everything is finalised as early as possible on the day
of completion - and usually this is dealt with by mid-day
- there can sometimes be a delay if, for example, your
solicitor is still waiting for the mortgage monies to
arrive or there is a particularly long chain. If this
happens please don't panic or become upset because
your solicitor will invariably resolve the problem by
early afternoon
- if not sooner ! |
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When will I get my
money?
If you are just selling or there is a surplus due back
to you after the
completion of your sale and purchase your solicitor will
always try to send this to you on the day of completion
or, at the very latest on the next working day.
Payment is usually made by cheque but for larger amounts
your solicitor can transfer the money direct to your bank
if you request this in advance and provide them with your
account details. There may be an additional bank transfer
fee for this. |
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Why should I use easier2move?
Because we offer a nationwide service at competitive fixed
fees and we
guarantee no hidden extras and no sale (or purchase) no
fee.
We keep you regularly updated by email and by text messages
to your mobile phone and as everything is dealt with by
post there is no need for you to take time of work for
any meetings.
We now supply our services to some of the very largest
on-line
organisations eg. BT internet, Fish4, Assertahome, Freeserve,
House.co.uk (British Gas), Moving Improving (Alliance
& Leicester Plc),
and many others.
Finally because an increasingly large proportion of our
clients are now
introduced to us by personal recommendation from friends
or family who
have themselves been delighted with our services (see
"what our clients
say" under the "useful information" section
above). |
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