All of our offices are able to deal with the legal aspects of buying, selling or re-mortgaging your property as well as giving practical advice based on years of experience. If you are new to the property market (or it is a long time since you dipped a toe in the water) then you may find some of the topics listed below of interest. If you want more information, or details of the costs involved, then contact us by e-mail or telephone.

Guide to buying or selling a property

Sellers Pack - what is it

Buying / Selling a flat - a few tips

Mortgages - a brief guide

How long will it take?

Couples buying - what to think about

What will it cost?

A more detailed printed guide is available on request, but before you embark on the house moving trail, you should understand the following:-

Stage 1: The Sellers usually appoint an Estate Agent and the property is marketed. Make sure you are aware of the terms of your contract with the Estate Agent, both as to how much commission you will pay, when payment is triggered and how long you are committed to staying with them. The Buyers should decide on what their "dream house" must have in terms of facilities/characteristics. The Buyers should also give serious thought as to how to finance the purchase.

Stage 2: The Offer is accepted. The acceptance of any offer by the Sellers does not create a legally binding agreement. This happens on "exchange of contracts" (see stage 3). In order to avoid any possibility of mistakenly creating a binding agreement, the Sellers should avoid signing any "informal" written agreements or acknowledgements. The Estate Agents will inform the respective parties' solicitors and the legal process commences.

Stage 3: Unless the Sellers are using a Sellers Pack then the Sellers' solicitors will now obtain the title deeds and information from the Sellers so as to prepare and issue a contract package to the Buyers' solicitors. The Buyers' solicitors will investigate the title, raise enquiries and carry out searches so as to be able to report to the Buyers (and any Lender). When both parties are ready and the Sellers and Buyers have each signed an identical copy of the contract, contracts are "exchanged". This is done by the Buyers and Sellers solicitors. It is at this point that the Buyers' solicitors pass the deposit to the Sellers' solicitors. It is on exchange of contracts that the binding agreement comes into effect and after this point there are consequences if either party wants to withdraw from the transaction. It is on exchange of contracts that the previously agreed completion date is written into the Contract. It is now safe to book the removal firm.

Stage 4: The solicitors carry out the work required to enable completion to take place, including dealing with any mortgages and on the agreed completion date, the balance of the funds is transferred between the solicitors bank accounts, and on receipt the keys can be released to the Buyers, usually through the Estate Agents. The solicitors then carry out the post completion work, ultimately leading to the registration of the new owners at H M Land Registry.

There is a Government trial being carried out in the Bristol area, which is attempting to speed up the buying and selling of residential properties. Part of this scheme is a "Sellers Pack" which will include the usual contract documentation. At present the contract documentation is prepared by the Sellers' solicitors once an offer has been accepted. The Government trial scheme involves Sellers instructing their solicitors to prepare the pack as soon as the property goes on the market and before an offer is accepted. As a result, once an offer is accepted, the pack is ready to be sent to the Buyers' solicitors. In addition to the usual contract documentation, the Pack may also include a Local Authority Search carried out by the Sellers for use by the Buyers. The aim is to cut down the time between the acceptance of an offer and exchange of contracts. It is not yet clear when the Government will be legislating to make the pack compulsory. There is a possibility the Sellers will also have to include in the pack some form of surveyors report, although it seems unlikely the Buyers Lenders will accept such a report and may still require their own mortgage valuation.

If you are selling a property and would like us to prepare a Sellers Pack (without a survey) then do not hesitate to contact us.

All residential flats should be leasehold, which means there is a Landlord with the flat owner being the tenant (sometimes referred to as Lessee). There is a lot more documentation involved in selling a leasehold flat compared with a freehold house. To avoid delays once you have an acceptable offer, it is very useful if sellers of leasehold flats can get together the key leasehold documents:-

If you are buying a leasehold flat then ask the Sellers if they have the above documents. In particular, you should take an interest in the service charge accounts. If they simply do not exist then that may suggest that the property is not being properly maintained and may cause a problem if you need a mortgage. A well managed block of flats will have a reserve fund or sinking fund. This allows the cost of major items of expenditure to be spread over several years, rather than every tenant having to find all the money in the year the work is actually carried out.

Many blocks of flats are owned by a company, with each of the tenants owning a share in the company and so in effect, collectively, the tenants control the Landlord. Many people will refer to these as freehold flats. They are not, it is simply a case of the tenants collectively owning the freehold through the Company. Such a set up avoids the problems of having an "absent landlord" who may be uninterested in the management of the block.

We do not sell mortgages. Many other people do sell mortgages and will try to sell you a mortgage. As it is potentially the most significant financial commitment of your life, you should think long and carefully before selecting someone to advise you on the mortgage. If you want to be put in touch with an independent financial adviser, then we can help. There are two main types of mortgage:-

There are numerous different deals available from discounted variable rate interest mortgages to fixed rates for different lengths of time and capped rate mortgages. Your chosen financial adviser should be able to guide you through the different offers and find you one to meet your requirements.

This is a very important question for all Buyers and Sellers, but unfortunately it is very difficult to answer. Assuming there are no problems with the legal title, searches or enquiries, and the Buyers obtain their mortgage offer in good time then six weeks from acceptance of offer to exchange of contracts would be a reasonable guestimate. If all goes well, and in particular if the Sellers have a Sellers Pack, and the Buyers either do not need a mortgage or have already arranged the mortgage in principle, the six weeks could be reduced considerably. However, typically, one party or the other is also involved in a further transaction, the Sellers are buying or the Buyers are selling. This is what is called a "chain". Chains can get very long and you are then moving at the speed of the slowest link in the chain and so whilst you and your solicitor may be ready to exchange contracts, it cannot happen until the last link is ready.

In the absence of special reasons, most married couples buy property in their joint names. If the marriage ends in divorce then the Courts have wide ranging powers on how to distribute the couple's assets. There is no such provision for unmarried couples. Unmarried couples need to consider:

If both incomes are going to be required in order to get a mortgage then both will usually need to be named on the title deeds and the mortgage. The advantage is that in the event of a split, you both have an element of control over the property. The disadvantage is that it is harder for one of you to simply walk away as you are still potentially liable on the mortgage, even if not living at the property. There are also likely to be significant difficulties in getting another mortgage until you have been released from the first mortgage and the lender does not have to release you.

Whilst it may be difficult, these issues need to be discussed at an early stage and you may need a separate legal document to record properly what you have agreed.

If you are selling a property then there will be the Estate Agents' fees. If you have a mortgage, most Lenders will charge a fee for releasing the mortgage, typically £50. Depending on the type of mortgage you have, there may be a penalty if you are repaying it early. In addition there will be the solicitors costs and expenses. If you want an estimate of our costs, then please either telephone or e-mail the office of your choice. We will need to know the address of the property, the anticipated sale price, whether you have a mortgage and whether it is a house or a flat.

If you want an estimate of the costs of buying a property you can either telephone or e-mail us, but we will need to know the address of the property (if known), purchase price, whether or not you require a mortgage and whether it is a house or flat.