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Purchasers Checklist

Congratulations on successfully negotiating the purchase of your new home, below is a step by step guide of what you need to do to ensure a smooth and speedy route to an exchange of contracts and legal completion. (Please remember if you are purchasing a repossession, new home or any other form of corporate property there will be a deadline to exchange contracts within 4 weeks therefore any delays can prove costly).

• Instruct your solicitor, inform your estate agent of your choice so they can send out the sales memorandums, your choice of solicitor can dramatically affect the speed and smoothness of your transaction, with solicitors, cheap isn’t normally the best route. You pay for what you get!
• Selbon conveyancing can provide you with exactly the service you will need to get your transaction completed in your required timescales and with an online tracker you can keep an eye on the progress of your sale or purchase.
• Return all relevant paperwork, ID and local search fees to your solicitors as soon as possible otherwise they can’t proceed with the legal work.
• Apply for your mortgage at your earliest convenience and pay the survey and any other related fees. Using Selbon’s preferred mortgage partners makes the whole buying process easier, they will liaise with us at all times, can potentially save you both time and money and more importantly are open 6 days a week and for extensive hours giving you more flexibility to come in when your lender is probably closed.
• If you are a cash buyer or wish to have a homebuyer or full structural survey in addition to your mortgage valuation please organise this at an early stage to avoid unnecessary delays. We are more than happy to recommend local surveyors.

Prior to reporting to you and signing the contracts your solicitor will need:

• Their copy of your mortgage offer and survey report, you will be required to sign the mortgage offer and return this to either your solicitor or lender.
• The local searches back from the council, replies to enquiries from the vendor’s solicitors, lease and associated costs if the property is leasehold, fixture & fittings list, property information form and any other relevant legal documents.

Once your solicitor is happy, they will be ready to report to you, at which stage they will either book an appointment with you to go through the paperwork or send out the report in the post to you, at this point they will request:

• Your deposit monies in the form of 'cleared funds' (bankers draft, building society cheque etc.) Personal cheques take several days to clear and therefore hold up the exchange of contracts, these should only be supplied as a last resort.
• You sign the contract and agree the fixtures and fittings list provided by the vendor.
• Agree completion dates with all parties in the chain.

You are now ready to exchange contracts; completion normally takes place within 7 to 14 days of exchange but under certain circumstances can be done either simultaneously on the same day or if agreed by all parties can take place on longer term basis if required.