A well-prepared sale is a faster sale. Instructing us as soon as you put your property on the market lets us gather the title documents and the information buyers’ solicitors will ask for before a buyer is found, so the contract package can go out as soon as your offer is agreed.
The key stages of a sale
- Taking your instructions. We confirm our fees in writing and verify your identity. If you have a mortgage we ask your lender for a redemption figure.
- Property information. We send you the standard property information and fittings and contents forms to complete, and help with any questions you have about them.
- The contract package. We obtain the title from HM Land Registry, draft the contract and send the package to your buyer’s solicitors.
- Leasehold information. If the property is leasehold, we request the management information pack from your landlord or managing agent. Their fee for the pack is payable by you as seller, and we can tell you the likely cost once we know who manages the building.
- Answering enquiries. We deal with the buyer’s solicitors’ questions, coming back to you only where we need your input.
- Exchange of contracts. Once everyone in the chain is ready we exchange contracts, and the completion date becomes binding.
- Completion. On the completion day we receive the purchase money, redeem your mortgage, pay the estate agent’s invoice if you ask us to, and send the balance to you.
Our fees page sets out how long each stage typically takes.
Selling a flat with a short lease
A lease with less than about 80 years left can make a flat harder to sell and to mortgage. We can extend the lease before the sale or serve the statutory notice and assign the benefit of the claim to your buyer on completion, so that the buyer takes over a claim that is already under way and the valuation date is fixed. Our lease extension team handles the valuation and negotiation alongside the sale.
Selling on behalf of an estate
We regularly act for executors and administrators selling a property that forms part of an estate, and our probate team can deal with the administration of the estate at the same time.
Capital gains tax
If the property you are selling has not been your main home throughout your ownership, capital gains tax may be payable. A UK resident who makes a taxable gain on UK residential property must report it to HMRC and pay the tax within 60 days of completion. Non-UK residents must report every disposal of UK property within 60 days, even where no tax is due. We will flag this to you, and we recommend that you take advice from your accountant before you exchange.
Our fees
Our fees for freehold and leasehold sales, the disbursements you are likely to pay and the key stages and timescales are published on our residential conveyancing fees page. If you are selling and buying at the same time, we can act on both transactions together.