Moving home can be a daunting prospect but there are some steps you can take to assist with the legal process in advance to make it go as smoothly as possible.
Starting the conveyancing process
Firstly, instruct a solicitor to carry out the conveyancing work for you as early as possible. They will then start work on preparing a contract pack ready to send out to your potential purchaser’s solicitor once you accept an offer on your property. Your solicitor will send you some forms to complete (commonly called property information forms) which sets out information about the property and what fixtures and fittings you will be leaving or taking with you.
If you have a mortgage on the property, you should provide your account details to your solicitor so they can organise a redemption figure so you can see the amount you will need to repay is as expected.
Selling leasehold or freehold properties
If you are selling a leasehold property, there are some additional elements to consider, you should pass details of the managing agents for your building to your solicitor so they can start obtaining a pack of information (referred to as the management pack or LPE1) which will be vital for your purchaser’s solicitor. In addition, if you live in a building with five storeys or more, you should raise this with your solicitor at an early stage so that they can then consider if there is any additional paperwork required to comply with the new legislation introduced by the Building Safety Act 2022.
You should also let your solicitor know if you own a share in the freehold or management company for your building. This allows your solicitor to put together a comprehensive pack of information which will (hopefully) limit the enquiries your purchaser’s solicitor will need to raise and will help prevent delays during the conveyancing process.
Unfortunately, this advice does not help with packing up the contents of your property!
For further queries, please contact Sarah Conibeere, Partner.
