The
Legal Process
Many people
incorrectly believe that an estate agent is involved in the legal
side of selling your house. Estate agents have no legal
qualifications. Whether you are selling with or without an estate
agent, you will still need a solicitor to carry out the conveyancing
for you.
Most firms of solicitors offer a conveyancing service. Although
all solicitors can legally do conveyancing, it is wise to choose
a solicitor who has experience in this field
Before making a choice of
solicitors, you should find out the possible cost. It is important
to contact more than one solicitor as there is no set scale of
fees for conveyancing.
You should:-
- check whether the figure quoted is
a fixed fee or if it will vary if more work is required
- check that the figure includes expenses
and VAT and get a breakdown of these costs
- determine if there are charges
if the sale falls through before contracts are exchanged.
Exchange of contracts
When contracts are exchanged, the
buyer may wish to visit the house, for example, to get an estimate
for building work. However, you should not allow any work to be
done by the buyer before the completion date.
You should inform the electric company and phone company that
you are leaving and ask for final readings to be made of the meters
on completion day. You should also inform the Rate Collection
Agency responsible for rates collection.
If the buyer is paying a deposit, this will be paid to your solicitor
at exchange of contracts. The solicitor will hold this deposit
until completion.
Completion
The completion date is the
day you hand over the keys
Your solicitor will receive the rest of the purchase price from
the buyer and will pass this, together with the deposit, to you.
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