At the outset we will need to collect £150 from you to cover the cost of pre-exchange searches, such as the local authority search which requires upfront payment. Prior to completion you will have to pay the balance of all monies due. If you are only selling a property you will not need to pay any money in advance. Costs will be paid from the sale proceeds on completion.
If for any reason your mortgage offer is declined or delayed or it contains any conditions you cannot comply with, the money may not be available when required. Therefore it would be very unwise to exchange contracts without a mortgage offer and you would be strongly advised not to do so.
The average length of time to reach completion is 4-6 weeks. However we will always strive to reach the deadline you are working towards. There are a variety of factors which can affect timescales in completing a transaction and we cannot offer any guarantees of completion date.
Funds are sent to clients on the day of completion either in the form of a cheque by first class post or telegraphic transfer into your nominated account (subject to normal fee).
Most couples who are married or in a stable relationship purchase as joint tenants. The alternative is to hold the property as tenants in common. This means that you can hold the property in percentages.
You will have to pay for all of the disbursements that we have incurred on your behalf, plus a contribution towards our legal fees. To protect you, from the expenses relating to our legal fees, in the event of the transaction falling through you can apply to join our 'No Completion, No Fee' scheme at a cost of £25 plus VAT, at the time you instruct us to act on your behalf.
We will carry out a local search, drainage search and environmental search on your behalf. In addition, depending on where your property is located it may be necessary to carry out a Mining search.
If you are applying for a mortgage, your lender will carry out a mortgage valuation. This is not a structural survey and cannot be relied upon as an accurate assessment of the property's true condition. Your mortgage lender will only assess the property to ensure they can recover the value of the mortgage advanced to you.
For this reason we advise that our clients have an independent survey carried out which is separate to the lenders mortgage valuation.
It is entirely up to you whether you choose to carry out an additional survey.
Unless the buildings insurance is arranged by your lender or is a leasehold property and the insurance is dealt with by the freeholder you must arrange buildings insurance from exchange of contracts as the property will be at your risk throughout this time. Your mortgage valuation/survey will usually have a suggested minimum amount of cover in their report.
You should liaise with the seller regarding the collection of keys. It is common practice for the seller to leave the keys with their estate agent. The agent will be authorised to release them to you once the seller's solicitors have received the balance of monies from us.
Yes, this is the usual procedure. If you are buying and selling a property your buyers deposit can usually be used in connection with your purchase. If you are just buying the amount of deposit will usually depend upon the size of your mortgage.
