Sellers Guide

Moving home is often a stressful and nerve-wracking time for people. More often than not it is because buyers and sellers do not know what the procedure involves and are kept in the dark by their solicitors.

Here at Newmans. we believe that transparency and well-informed clients are the key to a successful solicitor-client relationship and so we have created the following step-by-step guide to help you understand and follow the process you and your solicitor will be involved in:-

SELLERS

1. Instruct your solicitor
2. Receive a client care letter from your solicitor confirming your instructions and setting out their fees and requesting any paperwork they need from you including proof of ID
3. Solicitor receives a sales memorandum from the estate agent detailing information (price etc.) about the property
4. Your solicitor will apply to Land Registry for Official Copies of your registered title and will obtain your title deeds and prepare a draft Contract to send to the buyer’s solicitor along with the HIP and any relevant paperwork provided by you
5. Your solicitor will receive “enquiries” from the buyer’s solicitor on matters arising out of the paperwork sent to them and your solicitor will liaise with you in responding to those “enquiries” as thoroughly and accurately as possible
6. Your solicitor will receive further “enquiries” and will liaise with you until all “enquiries” are satisfactorily answered
7. Your solicitor will receive the draft contract amended and once this is approved by your solicitor along with the draft Transfer Deed, he/she will report to you with the Contract and Transfer Deed to sign
8. You will sign the Contract and Transfer Deed if you are happy to proceed and will send these to your buyer’s solicitor who can now exchange Contracts
9. Exchange of Contracts. The completion date is now set
10. Your solicitor will send your signed part of the Contract to the buyer’s solicitor and will receive the buyer’s signed part of the Contract along with any deposit agreed between the buyer and seller
11. If you have a mortgage to redeem your solicitor will apply for and receive a redemption statement stating the exact amount of money you will owe to your lender to pay off your mortgage on the completion date
12. Completion. Your solicitor will receive the purchase money from the buyer’s solicitor and will authorise the estate agent to release the keys to your property
13. If you have a mortgage, your solicitor will send the redemption monies to your lender to pay off your mortgage and will send any surplus money held on your behalf in the client account back to you
14. Your solicitor will send the signed Transfer Deed plus all other title deeds to your buyer’s solicitor
15. The sale process is now complete.