If you are considering buying or selling a home, SP Law Solicitors can guide you through the legal implications of doing so.

 

SP Law are also experienced in dealing with Remortgages & Transfers of Equity (i.e. transferring a share in a property to another person).

 

You should consult other appropriately qualified professionals on non-legal matters such as the structural condition of the property or specific investment tax or financial advice.

 

We will charge a fixed basic fee plus VAT for the legal formalities. This will be notified to you at the beginning of any transaction together with any likely disbursements (i.e. expenses payable to others such as stamp duty and land registry fees).

 

Please click here for the HM Revenue & Customs Stamp Duty Calculator (http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/so/new-sdlt-calculators.htm).

 

If the transaction falls through, we shall charge a percentage of our quoted fee depending upon how far the transaction had progressed. For example, up to and no more than 75% of our fee will be charged for a case which discontinues prior to Exchange of Contracts (see below for explanation).

 

Alternatively, for peace of mind in uncertain times, you may choose to take our ‘No Sale No Fee’ Option. An additional fee of either £75 or £100 plus VAT is payable upfront but if the transaction falls through even at the final stage, you will be charged no more for legal fees than the £75 or £100 plus VAT which you have already paid (you would still be liable for any disbursements which had already been incurred).

 

Please call us on 01604 638 905 and we shall be pleased to provide you with a quote.

 

 

The first step is to obtain an Energy Performance Certificate or ‘EPC'.

 

 

You will need to give some thought to what items you wish to take with you and what you will leave behind. We will provide you with a simple questionnaire to complete.

Unless specified to the contrary, fixtures and fittings are included in the sale price and must be left e.g. central heating system, doors, fitted kitchen units and flowers/plants in the garden.

Chattels remain the Seller’s property, unless otherwise agreed and can be taken e.g. furniture, carpets, curtains, curtain rails, TV aerial.

 

 

Once an offer has been accepted, we will then send the following documents to the Buyer’s Solicitors:-

Once the Contract has been approved by the Buyer’s Solicitors, you will be asked to sign the same in readiness of an ‘Exchange of Contracts’. At this stage you may also be required to reply to any enquiries that possibly have been raised by the Buyer’s Solicitors. 

 

We write to your Mortgage Lender to request a redemption statement which will be sent to you for approval.

 

Contracts are Exchanged once all legal formalities have been dealt with and all parties in the chain are ready. When Contracts are Exchanged, the seller is committed to sell the property and the buyer is committed to purchase it.

 

Upon Exchange of Contracts all parties agree to complete on a specific date and this is then entered into the Contract as the ‘Completion Date’ which is the date that keys are handed over and all financial charges (e.g. mortgages) are paid off.

 

If you intend to use a professional remover, then it is wise to check availability of the removal van before Contracts are Exchanged. Remember Fridays are very popular and can sometimes get booked up several weeks in advance, particularly the Friday before a bank holiday.

 

You should also arrange for the gas, electricity and telephone meters to be read up to the date of completion, but please do not have these services disconnected without first advising your Buyer.

 

 

If you require the assistance of additional funds to purchase, then you should seek independent financial advice at the very outset.

 

 

When you are purchasing a property, whether new or old, leasehold or freehold, we advise you to have an independent structural Survey carried out prior to exchange of Contracts. You might also consider having the central heating and electrical systems inspected. A Seller is not necessarily required to reveal all he knows about the condition of the property and indeed may well be unaware of the existence of problems, which may only be revealed by the inspection of a Surveyor.

 

A Survey is particularly important where the property is a leasehold flat or maisonette as you are likely to be responsible for a proportion of the repairs and upkeep of the common and structural parts of the building by way of Service Charges.

 

Your Lender will carry out a Survey for valuation purposes but this will not usually be sufficient for the proper protection of a Buyer. Nevertheless you may be able to instruct the Lender's Surveyor to carry out a full Survey on your behalf which may be quicker and cheaper than arranging your own.

 

 

Please let us have an inventory of all items to be included in the sale - you should not rely on the Estate Agent’s Particulars. Please instruct us carefully, as unless we are notified specifically we will be unable to make sufficient provision in the Contract.

 

When purchasing freehold property, fire and comprehensive Buildings Insurance must be put in place as from Exchange of Contracts. Where a mortgage is involved this may be arranged by your Lender. It is essential that the property is insured at all times for its full reinstatement value. If you are arranging your own building insurance the requirements of the Lender must be taken into account otherwise they will not release the funding.

 

You should remember that if a property is not occupied, then after the first 30 days the building will no longer be insured against damage caused by water or oil leaking from any fixed water or heating installation or any domestic appliance. Also, it will not be covered for malicious damage, theft or attempted theft or damage to the fixed domestic water or heating installation. This is particularly important to remember when you are purchasing a property that has been vacant for some time.

 

Please also note that buildings insurance is not the same as contents insurance, which will need to be dealt with separately.

 

 

The Seller’s Solicitors will forward a Contract package to SP Law, containing:-

SP Law will check the ‘Title’ (i.e. the legal background) of the property and raise any questions with the Seller’s Solicitors as necessary.  At this point ‘Searches’ (see below) will be carried out on your behalf. Once all replies to enquiries, searches and mortgage offers are received by us, we will invite you to either call down to our offices to sign all contract papers or if easier, they can be posted out to you. 

 

You are required to sign and return all contract documents to us and raise any concerns you may have at this time.

 

If you are buying together with another person, you will need to decide how you intend to hold the beneficial interest in the property (please see below ‘Joint Ownership & Wills).

 

Once all legal formalities have been met, the chain are ready and you are happy to proceed, you will be required to pay your deposit (see below) to us. Contracts are then Exchanged in an identical way to the Sale transaction and the agreed Completion Date is inserted into the Contract.

 

At this stage both parties are legally bound and so it is vital that you are satisfied with all preliminary matters before this occurs. We would also advise you to carry out a “Pre-Exchange" Inspection of the property to check that the property has not deteriorated or been damaged since your first visit.

 

As soon as we are in a position to do so, we shall send a Completion Statement to you showing the balance required to complete the transaction (taking into account the purchase price, any apportionments, the net mortgage advance, and our costs and disbursements).

 

On the Completion Date, the balance of the purchase price is paid to the Seller’s Solicitors. This is the day when you are handed over the keys to the property and take on responsibility thereof. Your mortgage will also run from this date.

 

Various Searches are carried out on a property by SP Law on your behalf. Searches are requests for information relating to the property from e.g. the Council or Water Authority.

 

A Local Authority search will reveal e.g. if any planning and building regulations decisions have been granted, refused or are pending; whether the road is private or adopted; if any major road/rail/traffic schemes are planned in the area.

 

A Water & Drainage search will show e.g. if the property is connected to mains water and the foul sewer; if any sewers run across the land and where they are located (this can restrict your ability to build an extension).

 

An Environmental search will confirm if the property is within an area prone to natural risks such as flooding, subsidence or radon; if the property is built on or is close to contaminated land (this may make it difficult to get a mortgage or resell).

 

A Chancel search will indicate whether the property owner may have a potential liability to contribute to parish church repairs

 

Alternatively, search insurance can be purchased to protect you against the risk of not having undertaken searches.

 

We will advise you which Searches are necessary for your transaction, and the costs thereof.

 

If you are not obtaining 100% mortgage funding to purchase, then you will be required to produce a deposit ready for Exchange of Contracts. Usually 10% of the purchase price is required, but sometimes it is possible to negotiate a lesser amount with the chain.

 

However even if the standard requirement to pay a deposit of 10% is varied by agreement, the principle remains that the Seller is always entitled to receive 10% of the purchase price and certainly if there is a breach of contract that is the amount which they could claim from the Buyer.

 

If you are selling another property simultaneously we will endeavour to arrange for the deposit on your purchase to be funded out of the deposit which will be paid to you on your sale.

 

 

When you Exchange Contracts for the purchase of your property, you need to consider how, as co-owners, you are to hold the beneficial interest in the property. There are two methods of co-ownership: either you hold the property as Joint Tenants or you hold it as Tenants in Common. The effect of the alternatives is very different.

 

As joint tenants, on the death of one of the co-owners, the property automatically becomes owned outright by the survivor who can therefore sell the property without any restriction. This will override any provision made in your Will concerning the property.

 

If, however, you are tenants in common, on the first death the share in the property that belongs to the deceased will be dealt with in accordance with that person’s will, or if there is no will, by the statutory rules relating to intestacy.

 

A tenancy in common therefore gives each of you the opportunity to decide what you wish to happen to your share of the property on your death - you can of course specify that it should go to the survivor, if you wish. Equally importantly, it also provides an opportunity to mitigate any inheritance tax liability which may arise on your deaths.

 

To take advantage of these possibilities (choice and inheritance tax planning) it is essential that you have properly drafted Wills and if you would like to consider this further please let us know and we will arrange for someone to contact you.

 

From the point of view of cost, there is no appreciable difference in whichever method of co-ownership you select but it is important for you to consider the choice carefully.

 

 

Where more than one person is purchasing the property then you may wish to give thought to protecting your individual interests or shares in the property by means of a Declaration of Trust or similar device. This may be particularly important if you are contributing towards the purchase of the property in unequal shares. If you require further advice please let us know.