Congratulations! You have negotiated an offer for your property and accepted it.
So, what happens next? Here is a quick guide on what to expect after that all-important offer has been made.
1. Engage a solicitor/conveyancer.
After accepting an offer on your house, the legal process can no begin to make the sale binding. If you have not already selected a solicitor or conveyancer, then now is the best time to do so. We are more than happy to give you some recommendations of solicitors if you need any help.
2. Surveys
A surveyor will then carry out a survey on your property on behalf of your buyer. This is to satisfy the buyers mortgage lender that the property is worth the purchase price agreed.
3. New Price agreed/Not Agreed
If the buyers survey deems the property is to be worth less than the asking price, the buyer will have to decide whether to proceed with the original price or renegotiate the asking price. In this situation, the best solution would be for you to be flexible and compromise with your buyer to come up with a new offer price.
4. Legal Process Continues
- Pre-Contract Enquiries – Your Solicitor will send some questions to complete for your buyer, these will include points such as what fixtures and fittings are included, and if you maintain any boundaries surrounding the property.
- Searches – The buyers conveyancer will proceed to carry out any ‘local’ searches on the property, which should bring up any problems.
5. Agree completion date.
You then need to decide upon a completion date, which your solicitor will communicate to your buyer’s solicitor. Once this has been mutually agreed, a date will then be inserted into the contract to become a legally binding date for the final move.
6. Plan for moving.
While the legal process is being carried out, you should look to appointing a removals company ready for the moving day! Shop around for quotes or speak to family and friends for any recommendations.
7. Exchanging of contract
Your solicitor will now prepare for draft contracts to send over to your buyers’ solicitor. I Once all enquiries are satisfied and both parties are happy by the information supplied, all parties can then sign the final contract. (Contracts are not legal binding until they have been exchanged)
8. Buyer transfers deposit to solicitor
The buyers deposit then needs to clear.
9. Completion Date
On the agreed completion date, you will move out. You may want to consider things such as taking a final gas/electricity meter reading before you leave, or also putting together a list of useful information to leave behind for your buyer.
10. Buyer Moves In
Once your solicitors have all the money from the buyer, they will then inform the agent that keys can be released, and the sale is complete!
For any more information on the selling process, please do not hesitate to get in touch with our Sales Team at THINK Estate Agents!
