We understand that whether you are moving home or buying your first home, buying and/or selling your property can be a stressful and daunting time. With our expertise and wealth of experience we will work hard to ensure that your transaction proceeds as smoothly as possible.

STAGE 1 – Getting Started
Once you have formally confirmed your instructions to us by signing the relevant documentation and provided us with evidence of your personal identification and money on account of costs and disbursements, we will make contact with the relevant parties such as the buyer’s solicitors, estate agents, mortgage lender etc. on your behalf.

STAGE 2 – Agreement
We obtain and check the contract, title and supporting documentation sent to us by the seller’s solicitors to make sure there are no problems at the outset. At the same time we will make searches such as the Local Authority Search, the relevant water company, holders of environmental information and The Coal Authority if necessary. These searches will tell us, among other things, whether the local authority have given planning permissions or improvement grants, for example, which affect the property; whether the property drains to a publicly maintained sewer and how much of the drainage system is the liability of the householder; whether a claim for mining subsidence affecting the property has ever been made. If you are having a mortgage, the lender will always insist that these searches are carried out. We check the details of the offer of your new mortgage to ensure that all the lender’s conditions are met, insurances will be in place when required etc and then meet with you to report on the transaction, obtain deposit funds and have you sign all the necessary documentation. The deposit is usually 10% of the purchase price, though it may be possible to arrange for a reduced deposit to be payable. Please note, we will ask you to let us have your deposit electronically to ensure that all monies used are cleared funds. This will also ensure that exchange takes place swiftly.

STAGE 3 – Exchange
We will agree a completion date with you, your seller and your seller’s solicitors and then exchange contracts. (Completion is the day the property becomes yours and you can move in)Exchange of contracts is when the agreement between you and the seller becomes legally binding. Until contracts are exchanged, either party can withdraw from the transaction.Between exchange of contracts and completion we prepare the Deed which transfers the property into your name, have you sign it in readiness, if not signed already, raise pre-completion enquiries of the seller’s solicitors, make the necessary last minute searches of the Land Registry and Land Charges Department, and apply for your mortgage advance. We will prepare a completion statement and obtain any balance monies required from you. This is so we are sure everything is in place for completion. All monies will need to be with us, by way of cleared funds, on the last working day before the completion date.

STAGE 4 – Completion
On the day of completion, all you have to do is move in to your new home and we will take care of everything else. We will receive the monies from your mortgage lender and pay them over to your seller’s solicitors, submit the Stamp Duty Land Transaction return and make the appropriate payments of any monies due.

STAGE 5 – Finishing Touches
Following completion, we will obtain the necessary Certificate from H M Revenue & Customs to enable us to register your ownership and mortgage of the property with The Land Registry. Once registered we will send it to you for safekeeping.

Please refer to our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) section if you need further information, or contact our offices.