A quick guide to buying or selling property in Devon
- Buying property in Devon
Purchase Agreed
We will organise searches on the purchase property for you at the local authority (if there is not a Home Information Pack including searches on the purchase property) on your behalf.
We will check the legal title to the purchase property, & deal with the information received about the purchase property from the seller’s lawyers. Where necessary we will raise any questions you have about the purchase property with the seller’s solicitors for you.
When we have received replies to any questions about the property and received all your search results we will report to you with the contract for signing.
If you are having a mortgage we will want to see and check your mortgage offer with you before you exchange contracts so that you are sure you can comply with any conditions imposed by your mortgage lender before you exchange contracts.
At this stage we will ask for your deposit, unless you are getting it from a related property sale or there are special circumstances in your property purchase which means that a deposit will not be payable e.g. if you intend to exchange contracts for your property purchase and complete your property purchase transaction simultaneously.
Exchange of Contracts
When you exchange contracts we will hand over the deposit and your signed contract for your property purchase to the seller’s solicitors.
At this stage we will prepare a final completion statement showing the balance of funds we need to complete your property purchase for your approval. We collect in any balance of funds required from you and your mortgage lender as appropriate.
We will also prepare the deed of transfer and mortgage deed for your property purchase and arrange for you sign them in time for completion.
We will undertake the final pre-completion searches to check for any adverse matters affecting the legal title to the property before completion takes place.
Completion
Following completion we will receive the transfer document for the purchase property from the seller’s solicitor and we will pay any Stamp Duty Land Tax due to HM Revenues & Customs in connection with your property purchase within the required time limit (provided that you have put us in funds with the relevant amount).
We will also send of the application to H.M. Land Registry to register your purchase of the property following completion.
- Selling property in Devon
Sale Agreed
Once we have opened your property sale file and received confirmation of your instructions we will obtain details of your legal title and ask you to provide replies to the standard Property Information Form and Fixtures Fittings and Contents Forms.
We can then send out a package of legal information and a contract for your property sale.
Once the buyers solicitors have received and digested the information provided they will usually have some queries and typically the next step in your property sale is for us to answer the questions received having taken your instructions and then to arrange for you to sign the contract for your property sale.
Before you exchange contracts we will normally try to obtain a settlement figure for your mortgage and any other secured loans against your sale property – but it is important to remember that it is always your responsibility to ensure that there will be sufficient money from the proceeds of the sale of your property to discharge all liabilities including any costs of your property sale.
Before you exchange contracts we will need to make sure that you and your buyer and any other parties in your chain have agreed a mutually acceptable date for completion of your property sale.
Exchange of Contracts
When you exchange contracts for your property sale we will receive the deposit and the buyer’s contract from the buyer’s solicitor.
We will receive any final redemption figures for loans secured on the sale property which will need to be discharged on completion and we will receive the Estate Agent’s account for payment on completion.
We will receive and approve the sale property Transfer document and arrange for you sign it in the presence of a witness before completion of your property sale.
Completion
On completion of your property sale we will hand over the executed transfer document and any other title deeds to the property to the buyer’s solicitor.
We will arrange to pay off any outstanding mortgage loans and account to you for any balance of funds having paid any costs of sale.