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Your conveyancing guide
to buying
Buying your home
Buying a property is likely to be the biggest investment you'll
ever make so, naturally, you'll want things to run smoothly.There
are three main stages to buying a property:
| 1. |
Preliminaries |
| 2. |
Exchanging
contracts |
| 3. |
Completion |
N.B. The procedure may be different in Scotland,
please ask us for details.
1. Preliminaries
When you have decided on the property you want to buy and your
verbal offer has been accepted, this is the time to instruct a
solicitor. At this stage don't write to the sellers or their agents
and don't pay them any money or you may be committing yourself
to buying before you're ready.
Contract -
Your solicitor will contact the seller's solicitor to obtain the
contract papers, liaise with them and sort out any queries that
might arise.
Enquiries -
Your solicitor will raise a number of enquiries on the property.
The seller will provide your solicitor with a
list of the items included in the sale (e.g. carpets, curtains,
garden shed etc) which will be checked with you and can then be
included in the contract.
We will also establish that no-one else is living
in the property other than the sellers.
Your solicitor will ask the seller's solicitors
to confirm that they will move out upon completion of the purchase.
Searches -
All the necessary searches will be carried out, including Local
Authority Searches and local planning checks relating to your
property. The search will reveal a variety of things about the
property such as whether the roads are adopted and whether the
local authority has made an improvement grant which must be repaid
Survey -
As part of your mortgage application a Valuation Survey will be
carried out. Because the information obtained form this is limited
and, as the sellers are not obliged to point out any defects,
it may be advisable for a more detailed survey of the property
is undertaken.
Repairs -
If the property is in need of repair you may be required to undertake
this as a condition of your mortgage offer. You could be asked
to carry out the repairs within a specified time after receiving
your mortgage advance or the building society may hold either
part or all of the advance until the work is carried out to their
satisfaction. It may be necessary to contact the estate agents
about a possible reduction in the purchase price to reflect the
cost of the work and access needed to the property for repairs
to be done.
Mortgage problems -
Although your mortgage application will be dealt with as swiftly
as possible, delays can sometimes be experienced.
Once the preliminary stages are complete - searches
and surveys carried out, mortgage offer confirmed, negotiations
completed and approved contracts drawn up - contracts can be exchanged.
2. Exchanging contracts
Both you and the seller will have been sent copies of the contract.
Once these have been signed, contracts will be exchanged with
the seller's solicitor along with a deposit for the property you're
buying (usually 10% of the purchase price).
Deposit - I
f you are selling one property and buying another your solicitor
can usually use the sale deposit of one property for the purchase
deposit of the other . Obviously, if you are trading up you may
need to provide more money or get the seller to agree to a smaller
deposit. If you're a first time buyer you may need to borrow to
cover the deposit.
Completion date - When
contacts are exchanged, the completion date is also agreed. This
is the day when the balance of the purchase money is paid and
the property becomes yours. Completion is generally 4 weeks after
the exchange of contacts but this can be changed if all parties
agree. It is also possible that you will become involved in a
'chain' where the sellers cannot move until the property they
are buying is vacated.
Insurance -
You will be required to insure your new property. Unless insurance
has been arranged by your lender you must make certain that a
policy is in place by the time contracts are exchanged.
Between exchange and completion day the your solicitor
will finalise the paperwork, mortgage deeds, etc. If any documents
are sent to your be sure to sign and return them promptly to help
the process go smoothly. You should also use this time to make
arrangements for the transfer of utilities (gas, electricity,
water and telephone).
3. Completion
The day you've been waiting for has arrived! Your solicitor will
deliver the money to the seller's solicitors and collect title
deeds and documents.
This is when the property becomes legally yours
- all you need to do is pick up the keys! While you're busy settling
in to your new property your solicitor will sort out the Stamp
Duty and register the fact that the property is yours with the
Land Registry.
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