THE LEGAL SIDE OF SELLING YOUR HOUSE

The first step to the legal side of house-selling is getting a solicitor or conveyancer you can rely on. Hatters Property Services will liaise with your legal representative to make sure the sale goes as smoothly as possible, and we’d be happy to recommend local lawyers we’ve worked with successfully in the past if you wish.

Energy Performance Certificate

By law you’ll need to have commissioned an Energy Performance Certificate before you start marketing your house. Hatters can take care of this on your behalf for an additional fee.

Title Deeds

The Title Deeds are the documents that prove the ownership of the house is yours. If you have a mortgage, they’ll be held by your bank or building society and your solicitor or conveyancer will be able to obtain them in order to let your buyer’s solicitor have a copy.

Stamp Duty

As the seller of the house you won’t have to pay any stamp duty – that is the responsibility of the buyer.

Conveyancing

Conveyancing is the process of drawing up a legal contract to transfer ownership of your house. As the seller, it’s your responsibility but of course your solicitor will normally do all the work. The contract contains details about the sale price, property boundaries, any legal restrictions and so on. There may be some areas, such as which fixtures and fittings are included, that need negotiating, which again your solicitor or conveyancer can do on your behalf

Exchanging Contracts

Once you and your buyer are agreed on the contract, you’ll both sign it and send a copy to each other. Once this happens the agreement is legally binding.

Completion

The final step is for the buyer to transfer the money to you in exchange for the ownership of the property and relevant documents. You then move out, leaving the property in the state agreed on the contract, and hand over the keys to the buyer.