What does the conveyancing process involve?

Buyers and sellers will hear a lot about conveyancing or the “conveyancing process”, but many may be unclear on what exactly this means.

Below, using our experience as the leading independent estate agent in the borough of Redbridge, we aim to outline what exactly the process entails.

Conveyancing, to put it simply, is the legal transfer of home ownership from the seller to the buyer.

The process starts when a buyer submits an offer and comes to a halt when the seller officially hands over the keys.

To begin with, your estate agent will negotiate with the buyer to obtain an appropriate, realistic offer.

When this offer has been accepted by you, the seller, everything gets going.

It is then your job to employ the services of a solicitor or conveyancer to conduct the conveyancing process on your behalf.

Choosing the right solicitor/conveyancer

To avoid any needless delays, it's a good idea to pick your solicitor or conveyancer at the same time you pick your estate agent.

A bit of advance planning and research will help to get the ball rolling without any hiccups.

In many cases, an agent will have links with a solicitor’s firm or a conveyancing company that they can recommend to you.

Question time

Once you’ve made your decision and the conveyancing process is ready to begin, you will be required to complete a range of comprehensive questionnaires about your property, including the TA 6, the TA 10 and the TA 13.

This will also show what you plan to include with the sale (for example, fixtures and fittings, furniture, appliances, etc).

Taking this information, your conveyancer will then draw up a draft contract, which will in turn be sent to the buyer for approval.

There will need to be agreement between you and your buyer about things like the date of completion (this is usually 1-4 weeks after the exchange of contracts).

Also, if a buyer’s survey flags up anything untoward – e.g. significant damp or roof problems – then there may need to be negotiations between you and your buyer over who will mend this.

If this isn’t agreed upon, there may even have to be renegotiations on the sale price. 

 

You must also put plans in place to pay off your mortgage. In order to do this you need to request a redemption figure from your mortgage lender. This is how much you will pay upon completion of the sale.

Exchanging contracts

You and your buyer will already have arranged a time and date to exchange. When this comes around, solicitors/conveyancers from both sides will then exchange the contracts on your behalf.

Exchanging contracts is something that should be treated with the utmost seriousness – once you’re in, you’re in.

Once you’ve exchanged, you have entered a legally binding contract to sell your property.

If you withdraw post-exchange, your buyer can sue. On the other hand, exchanging contracts offers sellers protection, too.

If the buyer suddenly pulls out and doesn’t see the sale through to completion, you will still probably be able to keep their deposit.

It’s also important to mention that, once contracts have been exchanged, you will be unable to accept any offers from other interested parties. 

The waiting game

Unfortunately, completion doesn’t happen overnight and there is often a gap between when you exchange on the contract and when the home is no longer yours.

This gap could be one week, a month or – in some cases – even longer.  Delays and complications, for a variety of reasons, can occur.  

Remember, you still own the home until completion. In other words, the home still legally belongs to you and you are under no obligation to move out right after the contracts have been exchanged.

Nevertheless, it’s probably wise to start preparing with plenty of time to spare. As anyone who has moved home will tell you, packing in a hurry is a recipe for disaster.

You should receive the buyer’s deposit immediately after exchange. It’s normally between 5-15% of the agreed sale price, but it can be much higher.

So, assuming you have sold a home for £300,000, you would receive a deposit of £30,000 once contracts have been exchanged. 

Handing over the keys

The conveyancing process ends, as we said before, when you hand over the keys to your buyers (in reality, you’re more likely to be handing them to your estate agent who will then hand them to the buyer on your behalf).

Upon completion you will get the outstanding balance of your sale price and your conveyancer will hand over legal documents to the buyer, in doing so confirming ownership.

Any outstanding mortgage on the property will then be paid off from the profits of the sale.

After all this, it is then time to pay your estate agent and conveyancer for the work they have done to bring the sale to completion.

As you can see, conveyancing can be quite a confusing and complicated business. That’s why choosing the right estate agent – one who knows the inner workings of the property market inside out – can help to guide you through everything in a calm and unflustered manner.

At Sandra Davidson, we provide exactly that. Our experienced and knowledgeable estate agents will work closely with you, and your conveyancer, to ensure you get the best possible price for your home.

To find out more please contact us on: 0208 551 0211. For a free online instant valuation of your property, click here.   

How to make the most of a spare room when selling your home

When it comes to selling your home, it’s wise to make use of every room. The spare room, however, is too often ignored or locked way – instead of being utilised to the max, it is unloved and neglected.

With a bit of innovation and clever use of space, the spare room can be turned into something special. It can be even turned into a place that could form a major part of your sales pitch.

The spare room is likely to be one of the smallest rooms in the property you’re looking to sell. But, as the famous old saying goes, all the best things come in small packages.

Below, borrowing from our experience as the leading independent estate agent in the borough of Redbridge, we take a look at a few possible uses for your spare room.

Home office

The work at home revolution has gained many new members in recent years, with advanced technology and faster internet speeds making it a viable option for many. As such, a home office will have a great deal of appeal to would-be buyers.

Converting your spare room into a comfortable and relaxing work environment won’t take much time or money. All you need is a good-quality office chair and desk, as well as enough shelf space for books, files and folders to be stored. Pot plants and well-chosen lamps will also help to create a happy workspace.

Home gym

These are all the rage at the minute, as people start to take fitness and health more seriously. A home gym would probably appeal most to young professionals eager to keep in shape, but a wide range of buyers could be enticed by the opportunity to carry out a workout in their own home.

Before you worry about the cost implications of all this, we’re not advocating the creation of a state-of-the art gymnasium with all the up to the minute equipment. Second-hand gym equipment is often in just as good a working order and can be sourced for fairly reasonable prices. Dumbbells, exercise mats and other cheaper gym accessories can also help to successfully convert your spare room into a fully functioning home gym.

Children's playroom

If your target demographic is families with kids, or young professionals who are thinking of having children soon, then this could be a way of turning your spare room into something useful for them.

Children tend to have a lot of toys – and these all need to be put somewhere so the house doesn’t become too cluttered. A spare room is the perfect location for that. It is also somewhere for kids to amuse themselves in a child-friendly environment.

Making sure the décor and furniture in the room is catered towards children – and keeping the room light and airy throughout – will help you to produce a space that could have significant appeal to certain prospective buyers.

Extra bedroom

This is arguably the most obvious choice, but also the one that could bring with it the most rewards.

It could, with a bit of clever planning and use of space, turn a one bedroom home into a two bedroom one, or a two bedroom into a three bedroom. This could make all the difference when it comes to the asking price you set.

Also, some buyers may want to use this extra room to house lodgers, which is often seen as a fantastic way of bringing in a decent second income. This is even more so the case since George Osborne increased the tax-free Rent-a-Room limit from £4,250 to £7,500.

An extra bedroom is also a fairly simple modification to make. Giving the walls a fresh lick of paint and then installing a bed, wardrobe and chest of drawers will help to complete a handy little transformation. 

If you would like more information about making the most of your spare room, or selling your home in the areas we operate in, please get in touch with Sandra Davidson on 0208 551 0211.

To find out how much your property could be worth in the current marketplace, check out our instant online valuation tool.

How to make your property stand out from the crowd

How to make your property stand out from the crowd

When selling your home, one of the main objectives is to ensure your property stands out from the crowd and is seen above the competition. But how do you go about achieving this?

Using our experience and knowledge as a leading independent estate agent in the borough of Redbridge, we have come up with a list of top tips on how to make your property more attractive to buyers...

Keep it neutral

Yes, kooky, quirky décor and loud colour schemes will appeal to some, but they are likely to deter many more. When it comes to selling your home, you don’t want to narrow your pool of potential buyers in any way, so neutral, low-key colours (white, cream, pale blues and greens) are the way forward.

Bright orange walls might make your house stand out from the crowd, but for the all the wrong reasons. You want your house to stand out because would-be buyers can visualise themselves living there, you don’t want buyers to be turned away at the first hurdle.

Maintain, maintain, maintain

A well-maintained, aesthetically pleasing home will, of course, be more attractive to would-be buyers than one that is falling into disrepair. But this is an area where sellers might get a little complacent, thinking they can get away with a bit of wear and tear without visitors noticing.

Prospective buyers, however, will be eagle-eyed and on the lookout for every little thing when it comes to viewings. Don’t give them a reason to be turned off.

It doesn’t take much to make your home look nice – plump up the cushions, give the property a thorough once over, ensure all fixtures and fittings are in fine working order and carry out all those little DIY tasks that have been sitting on the backburner for the last few months. It could make all the difference.

Also, keep the outside of your home looking spick and span (no clogged gutters, overgrowing gardens or untidy driveways), as this will be the first thing prospective buyers will see. And, as the famous old saying goes, first impressions are everything.

Utilise the portals

The power of the portals – in particular Rightmove and Zoopla – can’t be underestimated. The vast majority of people now head online when it comes to browsing for property. As a result, you need a significant presence on these websites if you want to reach the widest possible audience.

Working with an estate agent that can provide you with nice-looking, well-worded, engaging ads that will appeal to potential buyers is key. 

Get the pictures right

If you want your property to stand out from the crowd, you need to give buyers something to be wowed by. They will respond best to visual images – because we all do – but these images need to be of the highest-quality.

Poorly-taken, grainy photos from a camera phone will simply not cut the mustard. Instead, professional shots showing off your home at its very best should be used.

At Sandra Davidson Estate Agents we are well aware that selling a home can be a stressful experience and we aim to take that pressure away by being with every step of the way throughout the sales process. To get in contact with us, please call: 0208 551 0211.

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