There are rumbles of a revival in the housing market with inflation down and an expectation that the Bank of England will soon make a base rate cut. That’s been enough encouragement for high street lenders to drop their mortgage rates.
But with the house sale process averaging around 12 weeks, and unexpected setbacks often adding eight weeks or more to the process, motivated home movers are being encouraged to get organised before they kickstart any sale or purchase.
The factors that can affect getting a sale over the line swiftly often start with lost or mislaid paperwork, or failing to get financial matters and in-principle mortgage offers sorted before starting the process. Once underway, delays are frequently caused by slow mortgage valuations and surveys, or local searches to identify any planning matters that affect the property.
And the longer the chain of buyers and sellers, the more likelihood of delays amongst all the different players.
For those who are selling after many decades in the family home, the bumps in the road are often due to changes that have taken place in terms of how title deeds are held, and the sort of information required when going through the sales process.
The top tips to get yourself ready for the sale and purchase process are follows:
- Instruct a lawyer when you put your house on the market or, if you have nothing to sell, when you start your house search
- Look out all the conveyancing paperwork from when you bought the property including any paper documents needed to prove your ownership and the title to the property
- Check you have all the other necessary documents needed to complete the legal paperwork, including:
- Planning permission and building regulations for any works carried out by you or previous owners
- Installer and product certificates for any gas, oil or electrical works and for windows
- If the property is leasehold, request an up-to-date management pack
- When you receive an offer, check if the buyer is well prepared with legal and financial matters in place before accepting, or give a deadline for arrangements to be made before you accept
- Every source of funds must be validated and sources checked. If a deposit or capital contribution is being gifted or loaned to you or your buyer by anyone, make sure this is cleared through the necessary money laundering process well in advance.
- Keep a calendar check on the validity of your mortgage offer and other time-sensitive components, and apply for any necessary extensions in good time
- Ask about holidays from everyone in the chain and those of their lawyers, to enable forward planning to avoid last minute derailments
For more and how we can help you, please contact Residential Property Partner Javed Ahmed by calling 01562 820181 or by emailing javed.ahmed@mfgsolicitors.com
Web site content note: This is not legal advice; it is intended to provide information of general interest about current legal issues.
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