Step 1
Put an offer in for the property of your choice on the Archers Gate equipment once you have ensured that your mortgage offer and savings will cover the full amount. The offer is then accepted by the vendor(s).
Step 2
Your solicitor will request various contractual information from the vendor’s solicitor. At this point the vendor will draw your solicitor’s attention to any fixtures or chattels that are included in the purchase price.
Step 3
Your solicitor will proceed to complete all pre-contractual searches for the property, such as a Local Authority Search and Official Copies search at the Land Registry. Any problems raised will then be reported back to you with solutions proposed by your solicitor. In the meanwhile, an independent survey of the property should also be conducted.
Step 4
Your bank/building society will send a copy of your formal mortgage to your solicitor who will also receive a draft copy of the contract of sale from vendor’s solicitor and any prior price negotiations on fixtures, chattels and search results will be reflected in this first draft of the contract.
Step 5
You will be shown the final version of the contract by your solicitor to ensure that you are happy with all the provisions and, once this is agreed upon, a date for exchange can be set (a formal process completed between the two conveyancing solicitors).
Step 6
As risk passes from the seller to the buyer upon exchange, you should arrange insurance to cover the property between exchange and completion. Exchange of contracts will then take place between the two solicitors and the deposit money (which should be held by your solicitor on your behalf) is paid to the vendor at which point the contract becomes legally binding.
Step 7
Both parties should agree upon a date for completion of the sale. Your solicitor will request the remaining mortgage monies from your lender and hold these in the firm’s client account ready for transfer. In the meanwhile they will draft the final purchase deed ready to send to seller’s solicitor.
Step 8
Your solicitor will conduct pre-completion searches, lodge a freeze on the Official Copies for the property and submit some requisitions on title to the vendor’s solicitor such as how and where you pick up the keys to the property. The vendor’s solicitor will provide this information together with a completion statement indicating the outstanding amount on the sale.
Step 9
Your solicitor will forward you a completion statement indicating how much money you owe before the sale can be completed, which will include any costs incurred by the solicitor (disbursements), the solicitor’s fees, any deposit money paid, mortgage money received, Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) owed and registration fee. You will then have a set period of time to pay the outstanding costs in order for completion to take place at which point the mortgage deed will be dated accordingly.
Step 10
Completion takes place between the two solicitors and the keys are handed over. Your solicitor sends the funds needed to complete the purchase and the seller’s solicitor will use the money to discharge any outstanding mortgage owed on the property. This ensures that you do not take the property subject to a legal charge i.e. the seller’s mortgage. The property is now legally yours and you can set about moving in!
Don’t forget that we offer an exclusive 10% discount off our conveyancing costs whenever you buy a house or flat at Archers Gate