The Conveyancing Process for a Sale

We understand that selling and/or buying your home is one of the most stressful times of your life. This article will set out the different stages of the conveyancing process for a typical sale transaction. 

What happens after you instruct us to handle the sale of your property?

We will send you our initial engagement letter along with the Property Information and Fittings and Contents Forms, which you will complete and return to us. 

We will obtain copies of your title register form the Land Registry. Alternatively, we will obtain the deeds from yourself if the property is unregistered.  

A draft contract is prepared by us and is sent to the buyers’ solicitors along with the Property Information and Fittings and Contents Forms previously filled out by yourself. 

The buyers’ solicitors will check and raise any pre-contract enquiries. 

We will answer these enquiries, asking you for any replies that require your input. 

The buyer’s solicitor will confirm if they are happy or not with the replies. 

Once all queries have been answered, a completion date will then be agreed between yourself and the buyer. 

Contracts are then formally exchanged making completion legally binding on all parties. Neither you nor the buyer can pull out without incurring a financial penalty. 

On completion day, you will vacate the property and arrange for the estate agent to hand over the keys to the buyer. If there is no estate agent involved, it is your responsibility to get the keys to the buyer. 

We will pay the estate agent’s invoice and repay any amount owing to the mortgage lender. 

We will deduct our fees from the sale proceeds and send the remaining money to your account. Alternatively, the proceeds can be utilised in connection with your purchase (if any). 

The length of time a sale transaction will take to complete can depend on several different factors. These can include whether there is a chain, what timescales the buyers are working towards or if the title to the property you are selling is complex. 

Unfortunately, there are sometimes delays that can occur which are beyond our control. We estimate that it will take approximately 12 – 16 weeks to complete on a freehold sale whereas leasehold sales (which can be more complicated) can take 14 – 18 weeks.