| Moving house made easier |
|
||
Buying or selling your home is a complicated business, but the experts at Hegarty LLP Solicitors are here to help by answering ten common questions about the process 1. Why does it take so long to move? Buying or selling a property is a large transaction that requires a good deal of preparation. As well as the buyer, buyer’s conveyancer, seller and seller’s conveyancer you have the estate agent, local council, mortgage provider, HM Land Registry and HM Revenue & Customs involved in the process. When you are buying a property, your conveyancer will have the bulk of the work to do prior to exchange of contracts which is why it may seem to take a long time before you reach that stage. When selling a property, your conveyancer’s tasks will be fairly equally split into pre-exchange, exchange and post-exchange. The length of the chain can make an impact on how long your transaction will take as all parties in the chain will need to exchange at the same time. The transaction can only proceed as quickly as the slowest person in the chain. It can be frustrating, but it’s important that all the steps are taken and often your solicitor’s progress will be subject to receipt of some paperwork or answers from a third party. If you’d like to know more, Hegarty LLP provides a Guide to Conveyancing. 2. What do ‘exchange’ and ‘completion’ actually mean? Exchange of contracts is the stage at which the buyer pays the deposit on the house and contracts are exchanged by both parties. This is the point at which the sale or purchase becomes legally binding and financial penalties can be significant should either party subsequently withdraw. Completion is the date that the buyer’s conveyancer sends the balance of the funds to the seller’s conveyancer, pays the Stamp Duty and the buyer collects the keys from the agent and can move in. 3. Do I need a survey? There are three types of survey: a basic valuation survey which is arranged by the mortgage lender to ensure the property is accurately valued and suitable for their lending purposes (this is to protect the lender and is not an in-depth survey). However, as your home is one of the largest purchases you will make, it is sensible to ensure its condition is checked properly for potential problems by an expert so although it’s not obligatory, we recommend that you commission the second type Home Buyers survey yourself. The third is a structural survey which is a comprehensive report usually recommended for older properties. 4. How much do you charge? Why are legal fees so expensive? The price varies according to the value of the property. The higher the value of the house, the greater risk involved in the sale or purchase. Our current fee for the purchase of a property valued at £180,000 is £500 for our service plus £100 if there is a mortgage on the property (for acting for your mortgage lender). In addition, there are costs payable to us for expenses which are paid to third parties – these include searches and official registration fees and vary according to the property. However, most don’t exceed £250. In addition, you have to pay HM Revenue & Customs the Stamp Duty Land Tax which is currently £1,800 for a property of this value. These third party monies (which solicitors call disbursements) are payable to us as we are responsible for transferring all monies to the appropriate organisations upon instruction of the surveys and completion of the transaction. Some people consider conveyancing fees to be expensive, but there is a large volume of work involved. Remember, the fee you pay doesn’t just cover the time invested in carrying out this work, it covers the expertise of your conveyancer. A property transaction that goes wrong can be costly. 5. Why do I have to use a solicitor? The use of a conveyancer is in your best interests due to the risks involved in buying and selling properties as it protects the house buyer and seller. It is also necessary to use a professional to prevent money laundering. Not all conveyancers are solicitors: some are Licensed Conveyancers (who hold a specific qualification in conveyancing), or legal executives. Your conveyancer will have specialist training and experience which enables them to notice the implications of a contract and the impact on you and to follow the necessary steps to keep the procedure as smooth as possible. 6. Do I need a HIP? Yes, you need a HIP to market your property if you are selling through an estate agent. Your HIP must include up to date searches, so if a HIP has been created for a property and it has been on the market for a period of time, it must be updated 7. I’ve agreed with the seller the moving date. Can I book removals? We wouldn’t recommend it! You can’t move into the property until completion, even if it is sitting empty. If you book removals and the move in date changes, you may have to pay a fee to change the booking. 8. Why can’t I complete on a Saturday? Completion takes place on the day that the remaining funds are deposited in the accounts of the house seller, HMRC etc. Banks are not open on weekends, so completion can only take place in the week. 9. Do we have to come in to the office to sign/exchange/complete? You will need to meet your conveyancer at the beginning of the transaction. This is for identification purposes (money laundering prevention) as well as an opportunity to talk about the property transaction. When you sign the Transfer Deed and Mortgage Deed your signature will need to be witnessed. However, this can be any responsible adult who is not related to you, and doesn’t require a special trip to the office. 10. Why do I have to pay monies on account/ Why do I have to pay a deposit? a) Monies on account We ask for monies on account at the beginning of the transaction to cover the cost of the searches. These are the third party payments that need to be paid when the searches are submitted. The searches are commissioned as soon as we receive cleared funds. b) Deposit On all conveyancing transactions, the terms of the contract state that the buyer must pay a deposit to the seller upon completion. Under contract law, you cannot create a contract without consideration; in conveyancing, the consideration is the deposit and remaining purchase price. Although the contract states 10% is payable, it is quite common for a five per cent deposit to be paid (or less). The buyer’s conveyancer will obtain the deposit from their client and hand this to the seller’s conveyancer. Alternatively, if there isn’t much time between exchange and completion, the buyer’s conveyancer will keep hold of the deposit on behalf of the seller’s conveyancer. On completion, the deposit amount is deducted from the purchase price. • Hegarty LLP Solicitors 48 Broadway, Peterborough PE1 1YW Tel: 346333 - 10 Ironmonger St, Stamford PE9 1PL Tel: 01780 752066 - www.hegarty.co.uk 
|
| Like this? Share it with others: | ||
|
