Why does the legal process of selling your property take so long?
Whenever you talk to anyone about moving house, you'll almost always be met by a dramatic sigh and a sense of general despair.
Moving house can be so stressful.
An emotional rollercoaster.
It almost puts you off moving altogether!
In the beginning, you feel as if the most important thing in the world is to get an offer for your house.
But really, that's only the halfway point!
When you drill down into it further, many issues arise after accepting the offer.
There's so much to do after this stage, and it's jam-packed with potential problems.
But don't despair!
With a little bit of knowledge about the process and good communication, you should sail through the legal process without a hitch and get ready to move into your lovely new home!
The first thing that you need to know is how to legally sell a property and what that legal process entails.
What tasks need to be accomplished to get to the point of completion for your sale?
The process is generally the same for every sale - only occasionally will something crop up that is a little unusual and will need a little extra work.
Even the strangest things that crop up in a legal transaction can be dealt with.
So, assuming that both the buyer and seller have already instructed a solicitor, the first task is for the seller to complete the property information forms. This is a lengthy document with tons of questions about the property. Without this, the process can not get started, so it's best to get these forms back as quickly as possible. One good tip is to complete the forms before accepting an offer so that your sale is ready and you have a head start.
Whilst the seller is doing this, the buyer must apply for any mortgage funding that they might need. This can be another lengthy process as there are meetings and many forms to complete. But again, if the buyer can get ahead with this wherever possible, it will undoubtedly speed up the process.
After this stage, the process is in the hands of the solicitors and the local authority. The buyer will usually need searches from the local authority, taking 4 weeks or more. If the buyer is proactive, they can pay for and authorise the solicitor to request these from the local authority to prevent delays.
Allowing access to the property for the survey is another way to speed up the transaction. The buyer will not be able to receive a mortgage offer until the survey has been done. If the seller doesn't allow access to the surveyor for a few weeks, this will cause another delay. Being flexible with surveyor access will definitely speed things up.
Then there is lots of to-ing and fro-ing between the solicitors, raising and answering questions. Unfortunately, there isn't much that can be done to speed this part of the process up. You have to be patient, but you could call your solicitor for regular updates to ensure that your file hasn't been missed or forgotten.
Until finally, you can discuss completion dates!
This stage has the potential to cause problems.
It can make or break a transaction, right at the final hurdle.
The very best advice here is:
- Don't agree on a specific completion date until everything is in place and your solicitors can complete on that date. The last thing you want is to have everything set up for completion, only to find out that it isn't going ahead at the last minute. What a nightmare to have a half-filled removal van on the driveway, only to unload it all again and unpack your belongings in your 'old' house.
- Be realistic when setting a deadline. If you push things too fast, there is more chance of everything falling apart. It simply can't go through without dotting every 'i' and crossing every 't'. Try to be patient.
- Communicate your needs and thoughts with the other side. If you've got a holiday booked or are unable to move because of a family commitment, tell everyone so that they're not trying to complete it at that time.
It sounds obvious to communicate with the other side and not get your hopes up or be too invested in moving on a specific day or timescale. Still, when you're trying to pack your home up and schedule your life around a move, it can be tempting to set a date. Just be aware that the date is never concrete until the paperwork is all in place, and the only person that can tell you that is your solicitor.
All in all, there are lots of moving parts with a property sale.
It requires many people to be on the same page and at the same timescale.
And this is exaggerated if you are moving in a chain. Several connected strangers are all trying to move house on the same day. They're relying upon each other to keep the sale going. It only takes one person in the deal to change their minds or be declined for the mortgage funds for the whole thing to fall apart.
Really, until the contracts are exchanged, the sale is permanently teetering on the brink of collapse.
No wonder it can feel so fraught with stress and tension.
But, if you and you're buyer/seller committed, and everyone has been financially verified, there's no reason you shouldn't have a smooth, straightforward sale.
And the linchpin to every sale transaction is the estate agent!
Progression management is vital, and your estate agent needs to have robust systems to ensure that they can hold sales together.
If you have any questions about the property sale process, get in touch with our expert team today.