Financial Resource

book removals, clear your house and book time off work.

TIP 14 – How long is the chain? If you accept an offer, is your Buyer also selling, and are buyers buying too, and so on. How far does the chain go like this? The same if you are buying, how many people above your Seller is it? The longer it is, the slower your move will be, as people all start at different times, have different needs and certainly will have differing quality in their conveyancers. The Estate Agent should normally advise you of this, and often they will advise a seller against accepting an offer if the chain is too long (and therefore potentially could collapse).

TIP 15 – Book your survey early enough. You should always consider having a survey carried out as the law is clear that the Seller has no liability for the state and condition of the property, or the utility services supplying it (e.g  gas, electrical and drainage). Your surveyor can discuss with you the type of survey to have carried out.

We can recommend a local qualified chartered surveyor to you – as many surveyors are not suitably qualified and mistakes and oversights do occur by choosing badly.

TIP 16 – Negotiating a price reduction. By having your survey early enough, this can reveal structural or cosmetic defects that you were not aware of at the time you made your offer, and which may be costly enough that you consider only a price reduction is suitable to enable you to move forward. If such items are revealed then obtain quotations for the works and present them to the Estate Agent as part of your request for a price reduction.

TIP 17 – Agree dates with your Buyer/Seller. Failing to agree a timescale as a condition of accepting/making an offer can slow down a transaction as no one knows how promptly to act. Often your Estate Agent will settle dates at the start, but otherwise, you should make sure you make it known what move date you are after. Otherwise, even your own Solicitor will not prioritise the legal work if they are not focused on your preferred date. But remember, make it clear that whilst you want a specific move date, you are still after an early exchange – as many people/conveyancers will think they can leave everything close to that move date – but exchange is the goal, as at that point you know that no one can back out.

TIP 18 – House contents. When you buy a house, your Solicitor will receive a list of items that will be left at the property and those that will be removed – conveyancers refer to this as the ‘Fittings and Contents Form’. Often you want to see this before you complete a similar form on your sale. As part of your offer on a house, you may want to make it conditional on certain items being included in the price (e.g carpets and curtains, or certain white goods). Agree this as early as possible and make sure the agreed items are shown on the Fittings and Contents Form. If not, give your Solicitor a list of the missing items as soon as possible, and certainly before an exchange of contracts.

PREPARING FOR EXCHANGE

TIP 19 – Payment of your deposit. When you buy a property, your Solicitor will need to pay a 10% deposit on exchange of contracts. You will need to send him that money as you approach exchange. But how do you do that? Your Solicitor will tell you. Almost always, the Buyer will send their Solicitor a same day bank transfer because that is the quickest and most efficient method. However, there are some conveyancers whose clients will send a personal cheque, and it is the conveyancer who is often to blame for not explaining that this will then slow the whole chain down by up to 6 working days while the cheque clears. There is nothing more frustrating than being ready to exchange only to hear that your buyer gave their solicitor a personal cheque and we all now have to wait on our hands while the cheque clears!

TIP 20 – Buildings Insurance. A seller should always maintain their insurance right up to the date of Completion, as you never know if the buyer may fail to proceed, even after an exchange of contracts. As for a buyer, when to insure is governed by the wording of the contract. Generally, if the seller has a related purchase of their own, they will place the onus on the buyer to insure from exchange. Why? Because they cannot permit a buyer to back out after exchange if the house has been damaged, because they will have already contracted to buy another property which if the buyer withdraws would mean they could not complete and buy on their purchase. A disaster for them. So, the result is that the buyer will be obliged to insure from exchange. If the seller does not have a related sale, then there is no good reason for why the buyer should insure at exchange, and instead they should insure at completion.

The problem is that many conveyancers do not appreciate the above logic, and so most just tell the buyer to exchange from exchange. That is bad law and suggests that your conveyancer does not appreciate what they are doing. What else are they missing on your behalf too?

TIP 21 – Life insurance. You should always ensure that you have life insurance in place when you buy with a mortgage and you have dependents, as how will they keep up the mortgage if you die. Death is not age related after all. Most Lenders do not insist on you taking it out, but that is irrelevant as to whether you should have it. Life insurance is now very competitively priced in the market place.

We can recommend a very good Independent Financial Adviser who can advise in this area.

TIP 22 – Make a Will. Again, Wills are not age related, as death can occur at any age. It is alarming how few people consider a Will when either selling or buying  property, yet when holding property as tenants in common, by definition, you should have a Will or your plans could be frustrated. Who is to get the house when you die, and remember, Wills do not just direct what happens to your finances on death. They can be used to appoint a guardian for your children.

We have a specialist team of lawyers who are highly regarded for expert caring advice at competitively priced charges.

TIP 23 – Do you have a pension? You are thinking about buying a property for retirement, but do you have a suitable pension to guarantee a quality lifestyle when you are living there?

We have a specialist team of lawyers who can fully advise you in this area, and who work with some highly regarded pension advisers.

PREPARING FOR COMPLETION

TIP 24 – What time on the day will you complete? The time you must vacate your house is usually by 2pm, though typically it is around noon. Vacating means clearing it completely of those items that do not form part of the sale – and all people too! Your Buyer needs to move in, so by vacating at noon, they have time to then move in, during working hours – if they are relying on professional removers. Your Solicitor can advise you on the time to vacate.

TIP 25 – Read the meters. On the day of completion, read your utility meters and phone through the readings so your final bill can be sent to your new address. The same for Council Tax and any other outgoings related to your ownership of your house. If you are selling, cancel your house buildings and contents insurance once your Solicitor confirms that completion has taken place. .

TIP 26 – Do I get a copy of my deeds? Many conveyancers will tell you that there are no such thing as deeds when land is registered. This is wrong. While it is true that registered land is evidenced now by only a photocopy of the Land Registry’s centrally held computer records, deeds have as a result taken on a wider meaning, and now they include the lease, planning consents, new build warranty, building control certificates, share certificates, management accounts, and company documents. The list goes on. What a conveyancer means when they say there are no deeds anymore is that they plan to close their file and more than likely destroy all these documents which can only create a delay and expense when you come to sell.

At Trethowans, you will receive a copy of the registered title and plan, and you will be given the option to take possession of all the above documents, or have us retain them for safe-keeping. This will gather them together and keep them safe for a more efficient home move when you come to sell.

COMPLETION DAY

TIP 27 – Has your Solicitor obtained all the required money a day early? On the day of completion, you don’t want your Solicitor calling to say “sorry, you cannot move in as I have not received your mortgage money yet”. With mortgage companies not guaranteeing the release of mortgage money by any particular time on the day of release, efficient solicitors make sure they arrange for receipt of the mortgage monies a day before Completion – so they are ready to press ‘send’ first thing. Of course if you are relying on your sale proceeds, we all hope the buyer’s lawyer does the same thing!

TIP 28 – Be patient. Money passes between solicitors by bank transfer. No bank can guarantee transmission by a certain timescale and on busy days (such as Friday) money can take a little while to transmit. The normal completion time is noon, but it can be by 9.30am or it can be after 2pm. Your Solicitor should explain this to you in the days leading up to Completion.

TIP 29 – The loft and/or garage is not clear. If you notice clutter in either as part of your original viewings,

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