Selling a house

The conveyancing process involved in both buying and selling a house can be complicated.

Every property transaction begins with a seller ‘agreeing’ a sale with a buyer. At this stage, in England and Wales, there is no binding contract between the seller and the buyer. The law requires a binding contract to be in writing. Until then, either party can still walk away.

We have split the process in to small steps to help you understand what is involved in the conveyancing process and in what order this will happen.

Selling a House - Process

STEP 1 - Instruct a solicitor to act on your behalf
- - To begin the process, you will provide initial instructions to a Solicitor or Conveyancer to act for you. Instructions should normally be confirmed to you in writing, together with written information relating to the costs of the matter.
  - We will then ask you to provide proof of your identity and ask you to complete various forms relating to the property you are selling.
STEP 2 - Prepare draft sale contract and supporting documentation
- - We will obtain official copies from HM Land Registry, prepare a draft sale contract and send this to the buyer’s Solicitor along with various property forms completed by you and any other relevant documents.
  - If you have a mortgage on the property, we will contact your mortgage provider to request a statement showing how much money is outstanding to redeem your mortgage.
STEP 3 - Enquiries
- - The buyer’s Solicitor will review the documents sent by us.
  - In the event the buyer’s Solicitor have any queries about the property, they will contact us and we may refer to you in order to respond to their enquiries.
  - This can be a lengthy process depending on the number of enquiries raised.
STEP 4 - Sign paperwork
- - Once the buyer’s Solicitor is satisfied with our response you can then sign relevant paperwork.
  - We will discuss a completion date (i.e. moving date) with all parties involved.
STEP 5 - Exchange of contracts
- - Written contracts will formally be ‘’exchanged’’ – both parties will be legally committed to the transaction.
  - The buyer’s deposit (usually 10% of the purchase price) will be paid to us and the completion date (i.e. moving date) is set.
STEP 6 - Completion date (moving date)
- The buyer’s solicitor will transfer the remaining money to us.
  
  Once received:
  - We will pay your existing mortgage; and
  - You are required to leave the keys with the estate agents (or otherwise as agreed); and
  - All the agreed costs of acting in your sale will be settled; and
  - The remaining sale of proceeds will be sent to you.