Accepting an offer

Once you have found a buyer and accepted an offer, you can formally instruct your solicitor and inform your estate agent that you have done so. The Estate Agent will send what is called a ‘Memorandum of Sale’ to your solicitor.

The Memorandum of Sale provides details relating to the transaction and allows both sets of solicitors to contact each other to acknowledge their instruction.

At this point, you should expect your solicitor to send out all of the initial documentation for you to read through, sign and return. This will include documents such as the property information form, which will ask you things about the property’s boundaries, insurances and environmental information.

If there is anything you do not know, your solicitor can assist you throughout the process.

Once you return all your initial paperwork, your solicitor will send a draft contract to the buyer’s solicitor so they can raise any initial enquiries.

The next steps of selling your home

Once we have sent the draft contract to the buyer’s solicitor, it is perfectly normal for there to be a period where we just have to wait. Your solicitor essentially cannot do anything on your file until the buyer’s solicitors have sent over their enquires. They may not send their enquiries until they have received the results from their local authority searches.

If you have held a mortgage on the property, then your solicitor will also need to get in touch with the lender to obtain a preliminary statement for it to be repaid.

Answering enquiries

The buyer’s solicitors will raise enquiries on the property you are selling based on the contract that has been sent over and the information that they have acquired through various local authority searches and survey/valuation reports.

Essentially enquiries are just a set of questions that the buyer or the buyer’s solicitor wants answering before they are happy to sign the contract. Enquires may not all be raised at once due to information being made available at different times to the buyer’s solicitor.

Completion day and moving out

As soon as the buyer's solicitors' have satisfied all their enquiries, your solicitor would expect to receive the contract and the transfer form back from them.  When the contract and transfer are agreed upon and all relevant parties are happy, you will be invited to sign the contract and transfer, along with any other relevant documentation.

After you sign the forms, the exchange of contracts can take place and a target completion date can be negotiated with all parties. This will also be the time to book your removal van and any other relevant services so that you are all prepared for your moving out day.

on completion day, your solicitor will ensure that any mortgages and any estate agent fees are paid once funds are received from the buyer's solicitors. The sale will be complete and any money left over will be transferred straight to you.

At this point, you should make final checks on the property and take a final meter reading on any utilities before handing over the keys or dropping them off at the estate agents.

How we can help

At Pennine Law, we understand that this whole process can seem complicated. We pride ourselves in being there for you every step of the way to make things simple and clear.

Here’s what you can expect from us:

• Fixed fees – so you know how much your conveyancing will cost from start to finish.
• Conveyancing Quality Scheme accredited lawyers.
• A friendly team that responds quickly to calls and emails.
• Proactivity – we will chase the other side and push for progress. No delays will ever come from our side.
• Regular updates – so you always know what’s going on.