Buying & Selling Residential Property
Buying a new home or selling your old one can be complicated, but our experienced team can help you through the process. Below is a basic summary of the key stages, so you know what to expect.
What is involved when buying or selling a property?
Buying a new home or selling your old one can be complicated, but our experienced team can help you through the process. Below is a basic summary of the key stages, so you know what to expect.
1. Acceptance of Offer
If you’re buying:
- Appoint solicitors – pay money on account for searches and provide your ID documents
- Agents to provide all parties with memorandum of sale
- Apply for a mortgage if required
If you’re selling:
- Appoint solicitors and complete property information forms
- Agents to provide all parties with memorandum of sale
- Solicitors to provide contract pack to buyer’s solicitors
2. Before the Exchange
If you’re buying:
- Searches and enquiries to be concluded
- Solicitors to report to you fully
- If applicable, mortgage offer to be received by solicitors and you
- Contract to be signed
If you’re selling:
- Deal with all buyer’s enquiries and sign the contract
3. Exchange
This is when the deposit will be paid to the seller’s solicitors (10% of the purchase price), terms are agreed, and the mutually convenient completion date is agreed. The contract is now legally binding.
4. Before Completion
If you’re buying:
- Transfer and mortgage deed to be signed
- Balance funds to be sent to solicitors in time for completion
- Solicitors will draw down mortgage and make final pre-completion searches
If you’re selling:
- Transfer deed to be signed
- Solicitors will obtain final redemption statement from mortgage lender (if applicable)
5. Completion
If you’re buying:
- Balance of funds are paid to seller’s solicitors
- You are now the legal owners and keys can be collected
- Legal fees and Stamp Duty Land Tax are payable
If you’re selling:
- Vacant possession must be given (where agreed) by the time specified in the contract
- Upon receipt of funds from buyer’s solicitors the keys to the property will be released
- Any mortgage will be redeemed
- Estate agent’s and legal fees are payable
6. Following Completion
Solicitors deal with SDLT formalities and register buyer as the new owner at HM Land Registry and net proceeds of sale are paid to the seller.
Key contact
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Why choose our residential team?
- Less stress for you – our friendly, efficient lawyers work hard to achieve successful transactions
- We are used to dealing with a range of issues and regularly advise on all aspects
- You’ll be expertly guided through the legal process and kept informed by us at every stage
- Our dedicated team provides a personal conveyancing service, to meet your requirements
- One of the first firms to achieve accreditation under the Law Society Conveyancing Quality Scheme
Notable work
- In her work for high profile individuals, Melissa has acted on the purchase of London properties with sale prices in excess of £10 million.
- Assisting with a purchase of £27.5 million landed estate extending to 2,725 acre comprising Grade II* listed Hall, arable land comprising 6 farms let on a mixture of Agricultural Holdings Act tenancies and Farm Business Tenancies, woodland, commercial properties and numerous residential properties. Advised on title and tenancy issues and identified SDLT savings.
- Remortgage of a property worth in excess of £6 million in the London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, working closely with the lender to ensure release of monies in a timely manner.
- Disposal of a listed manor house and land with a value of over £4 million. Advance preparation of the title and enquiries package, and providing search results to the buyer’s solicitors, resulted in an exchange of contracts within a week of the memorandum of sale being issued. What could have been a stressful situation for the seller was kept to a minimum by careful advice and liaison with the selling agents. This ensured that any likely issues were addressed in advance of the property being brought to the market.
- Purchase of a £3 million leasehold property in Westminster with a deadline for exchange of just seven hours.
- Acquisition of a property in the Oxford area for high net worth non-resident individuals. Contracts were exchanged within a tight timescale (7 days) and finance requirements were dealt with between exchange and completion. The case settles for a value of over £10 million.
- Exchange of Contracts for the sale of a freehold property within 48 hours of instruction.
Testimonials
"Thank you so much for your hard work and patience in bringing our purchase to a successful close."
Client testimonial
"I have to thank you from the bottom of my heart for being such a super solicitor! Your respect to reply quickly to emails on all occasions, your s...
Client testimonial
"Thanks again for the work you did on my house purchase, it all went extremely smoothly and your team were brilliant, I couldn't have asked for a b...
Client testimonial
"I would like to say how much I appreciate the professionalism and diligence you have demonstrated in dealing with this case and, in my mind, the u...
Client testimonial
"I do want to thank you for the excellent way in which you managed all the professional work in connection with my move. I very much appreciated th...
Client testimonial
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Whatever your legal needs, our wide ranging expertise is here to support you and your business, so let’s start your legal journey today and get you in touch with the right lawyer to get you started.
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