Conveyancing Questions Answered – Part 2
Moving home is listed as one of the most stressful things a person will do in their lifetime, but why is this? A lot of the time it is because of being let down by a Buyer or Seller, or timescales being delayed and target moving dates missed, however it can also be due to the whole process seeming complicated and difficult to understand.
I always say to my clients that there is no such thing as a stupid question when it comes to Conveyancing, as after all some of us may only move once or twice in our lifetimes, and so why would this make us experts in such matters?!
Every day when speaking with my clients, I am asked a variety of questions that come up time and time again, and so I wanted to share some of these common queries with you in order to try and explain the Conveyancing process in more detail, and break down some of the areas that often cause the most confusion.
Each week I will be sharing with you examples of some of the questions that have been raised by my clients* during the course of their property transactions, and the advice and explanations given to them to help them understand the process of moving home.
(*names will be not be shown in full for confidentiality reasons.)
"Can the Seller still pull out after they have accepted my offer ?" - Miss. S. - Warwick
Yes, unfortunately up until the point at which the contracts have been exchanged between the Solicitors acting on behalf of the Seller and the Buyer then either party can pull out of the sale/purchase without any liability to the other party.
It doesn't happen as often as people may think, however it can be extremely upsetting for the other party when it does.
There are no ways to guarantee that a sale or purchase will proceed.
As a Buyer, it is important that you have your financial arrangements in place before making your offer, and you act in a timely fashion when instructing a Solicitor to act on your behalf and also in instructing your survey and mortgage valuation to be carried out.
As a Seller it is important that you also instruct a Solicitor to act on your behalf as soon as a sale has been agreed, and complete the initial sale forms as swiftly as possible, to enable your Solicitor to prepare the draft Contract papers and send these over to the Buyer's Solicitor.
One of the most common reasons for a sale falling through is due to frustrations brought on by poor communication and concerns as to the other party's commitment to the sale/purchase, and so it is beneficial if both Seller and Buyer keep in regular contact with their Solicitors and the Estate Agents, so that all parties are kept up-to-date as to how the other is proceeding.
Finally, honesty is also an important part of a successful sale - it is extremely annoying to be told a Buyer is a cash Buyer to then find out their funds are actually coming from a mortgage, and likewise it can arouse suspicion if a Seller withholds information about the sale that later comes out during the course of the Solicitors' enquiries.
This concludes the FAQ for this week. Visit next week for more answers to your questions. If there are any conveyancing issues you'd like Band Hatton Button's assistance with please get in touch.