Summary of Sale, Purchase and Re-Mortgage | Stunt Palmer & Robinson: Solicitors in Bethnal Green, London

Conveyancing and Remortgage Procedure

A broad outline of our work in Selling is:

If you require a Home Information Pack (HIP) we can arrange one for you.

1. Obtaining the deeds to your property from you or your existing lender. Please ensure you let us have your mortgage account number(s) if you have a mortgage over the property.

2. Asking you to complete Property Information Forms which we will send to the buyer’s solicitors. These forms will be sent to you shortly if they have not already been sent to you.

3. Preparing a contract for sale and obtaining official confirmation of your ownership of the property from the Land Registry.

4. Sending a draft contract, details of your ownership of the property, Property Information Forms and any other relevant information to the buyer’s solicitors

5. Taking your instructions on enquiries raised by the buyers’ solicitors and answering those enquires.

6. When everyone is ready and a moving/completion date has been agreed, exchanging contracts on the transaction. THIS IS THE POINT AT WHICH YOU ARE COMMITTED TO THE CONTRACT/AGREEMENT.

7. Approving a transfer document, this will put the property in your buyers’ names and answering final enquiries raised by the buyers’ solicitors.

8. Obtaining a statement (a redemption statement) from your existing lender of the sum owing to them.

9. On moving date/the day of completion, completing the sale, and repaying your existing lender, if any.

10 Preparing statements and sending you any balance that is due to you.

Please note that additional work is likely to be required if you are selling a leasehold property in that, information will need to be obtained from the landlord/managing agent in connection with matters such as, ground rent, buildings insurance, service charges, future works likely to increase service charge liability and the like. The landlord/managing agent is likely to demand a fee in order to provide this information, without which the buyer is very unlikely to proceed especially if he is obtaining mortgage finance.

A broad outline of our work in Purchasing is:

1. Obtaining information about the property from your sellers’ solicitors.

2. Checking that your sellers own the property and have the right to sell it.

3. Carrying out searches and raising enquires. The searches and enquiries will not reveal plans to develop any adjoining property and if you are concerned about this possibility, we would suggest that you contact the local planning authority who will normally be happy to arrange for you to call at their offices to inspect plans for the development of any adjoining land or buildings.

4. Agreeing the terms of the contract for purchase.

5. When everyone is ready and a moving/completion date has been agreed, exchanging contracts on the transaction. THIS IS THE POINT AT WHICH YOU ARE COMMITTED TO THE CONTRACT/AGREEMENT.

6. Preparing a transfer document that will put the new property into your name and making final searches.

7. Obtaining mortgage money from your new lender, if any, and/or any balance we will need from you.

8. On the moving day/the day of completion, paying for your new property, obtaining the title deeds of your property, sending the landlord, if any, notice of your ownership and mortgage, if any.

9. Completing and submitting with any duty appropriate a Stamp Duty Land Tax Form, registering your ownership of the property at the Land Registry, all of which will take a few weeks. When registration has been completed, we will send you a copy of your certificate of ownership.

10. Acting for your lender, if any, to ensure that its interests are properly protected.

11. You will receive the deeds to your property or confirmation of your ownership. We can store deeds for you unless you have a mortgage in which case they will usually be lodged with your lender. They will however, let you keep any old deeds which are no longer required for conveyancing purposes but which might be of interest to you and if we receive any of these we will send them to you.

Please note that if you are buying a leasehold property, we will, via the seller’s solicitor, raise various enquiries to be answered by the landlord/managing agent of the property. The seller will be expected to pay the freeholder/managing agent’s fee for obtaining replies. Occasionally matters can be delayed due to the freeholder/managing agent being slow to respond to enquiries or not responding fully. We are very unlikely to be able to proceed if responses to these enquiries are not forthcoming before contracts are exchanged especially if you are obtaining mortgage finance without the lender’s consent.

A broad outline of our work in Remortgaging is:-

1. Obtaining the deeds to your property from you or your existing lender. Please ensure you let us have your mortgage account number(s) if you have a mortgage over the property.

2. Asking you to complete a borrower’s questionnaire. This form will be sent to you shortly if it has not already been sent to you.

3. Obtaining official confirmation of your ownership of the property from the Land Registry.

4. Carrying out searches and raising enquires, if necessary.

5. Preparing a transfer document if you are also transferring equity making final searches.

6. Obtaining mortgage money from your new lender and any balance we will need from you.

7. On the day of completion, repaying your existing lender, sending you any balance that is due to you, sending notice of the remortgage to your landlord, if necessary.

8. Completing and submitting with any duty appropriate a Stamp Duty Land Tax Form if a transfer of equity so requires, registering the new lender’s charge over the property at the Land Registry, all of which will take a few weeks. When registration has been completed we will send you a copy of your certificate of ownership.

9. We can store deeds for you unless they are required by your lender. The lender will however, let you keep any old deeds which are no longer required for conveyancing purposes.

Please note that if you are remortgaging a leasehold property, we may need to raise various enquiries with the landlord/managing agent of the property. You will be expected to pay the landlord/managing agent’s fee for obtaining replies. Occasionally matters can be delayed due to the freeholder/managing agent being slow to respond to enquiries or not responding fully. We are very unlikely to be able to proceed if responses to these enquiries are not forthcoming without the new lender’s consent.