First Time Seller - Help & Guidance please

bandofbrothers

Hello to all forum members,

Im a first time seller with very little knowledge of this sector as such would like to ask the following questions.

Background.

Im a first time seller.
They are first time buyers.
No mortgage to pay off.
No chain.
All surveys completed.

I have been advised on the below questions by my solicitor and estate agent, but as in the earlier stages of the sale, they tend to paint an 'its all going fine', pretty picture, so I would like to seek some advice, from you knowledgeable people who are either going thru this or have seen and done it all before, in some cases many times !!

The stage im at is ;

The buyer is to visit their solicitor on Monday 24th of August 2009, to sign the final mortgage paperwork.

The 'contract' has been signed by myself and sent back to my solicitor who has in turn forwarded this onto the buyers solicitor.

1st Question : Will the buyer sign both the mortgage and contract paperwork at the same time on Monday. Im thinking of the issue of possibly saving time. Or would the buyer have to make a second appointment with the solicitor to return and sign the contract ?

2nd Question : Completion. The buyer has expressed to the estate agent and their solicitor, that they want a quick completion date. Is their a set time for completion or is it simply down to both parties agreeing. ie: Days or weeks. How quick did you do a completion in.

3rd Question : My estate agent advises I could be looking at completing on Friday 28th of August 2009, as most banks etc prefer this to be actioned on a Friday. Its been suggested the proceeds from the sale then would hit my solicitors account/my account by the 4th of September 2009, as it normally takes a week to draw down the money. This seems quick to me, but believe me im not moaning about this.. lol.. but in your opinion is this all do able in the time frame set out !

Its been 16 weeks since I agreed terms of sale and im ready for it all to conclude !

Time for a congrats beer... i hope..... :beer:

Thank you all in advance for your time and any related replies.

Take care.

lethal0r

ive just bought 6 weeks ago.

1) I signed it all at the same time.
2) As soon as both parties agree. I moved in about 5 weeks after they accepted my offer - I wanted sooner but the vendor had to find somewhere to rent.
3) Took my deposit 4 business days to be with the accountant.

IHS88

Hi Bandofbrothers

Answers to your quesions.

1. It would of course make sense for the buyer to sign both docs simultaneously. You should be delighted to here that your buyer has a mortgage offer and as you haven't mentioned the property's survey, I assume that your property received a clean bill of health.

Once your solicitor has recieved a copy of the "signed contract" from buyers solictor you have officially "exchanged contracts" and the buyer is then legally committed to purchase. The buyer's solicitor will normally fax this document so you should be "in contract" the same day that the buyer signs. (Much quicker than posting it). Make sure your solicitor asks for the contract to be faxed to him /she.

2. Completion date is entirely up to you and the buyer. Ask your solicitor to propose a date to be agreed. If the mortgage offer has been signed, the only delay should be recieving the money from the mortgage company (known as drawing down funds). Might take a week / 10 days or so.

3. You will not legally complete the sale until the cash is sitting in your solicitors account. You can complete any day of the week (mon -fri) and not just a Friday.

Make sure your solicitor tells the buyers solicitor to TT (Telegraphic Transfer - cost £20) the money accross as it means the money is transferred the same day.
Also insist that your solicitor transfers the money to your account too by TT. Too many solicitors like to send a cheque which means you have to wait another 5 days or so for the money to clear.

Fingers crossed for you that all goes well but from what you have told us, all appears to be going well.

Good luck!

bandofbrothers

Hello IHS88,

The survey has been completed and all is ok with it.

Thank you for your insight on what to ask for in the way of the funds and on how to get the funds into my account.

Brownie1970

it is very likely that the solicitor will get your buyer to sign both the mortgage deed and contract at the same time (the lawyer wont want the time of two meetings)

completion is a mutually convenient date agreed with you and your buyer, this can be discussed early on by you estate agent if required.

completion is normally on a friday because it give you two extra days to unpack and settle in. the banks dont care which day it is !

money transfer is usually 4-5 days unless telegraphically transfered, which can arrive in minutes, dependin which bank it is going to and from.

best of british, sounds like you are nearly there

bandofbrothers

Hello Brownie,

Thanks so much for your reply.

It does make sense for the buyer to sign all the paperwork with the solicitor in one sitting. I was hoping for this to save time for all parties.

As in an earlier reply if my solicitor will receive a copy of the signed contract I may enquire if I may have a copy for my own records. I dont see any issues with asking for a copy ? At the moment I have a copy with just my signature on it.

As the property im selling is already vacant im not actually moving to a new property, an actual completion date on a friday is not important. Quicker the better !

The term ' telegraphically transfered ' has been used before and sounds a good idea again to cut down on time, instead of waiting for a cheque to clear. Would I need just to give my bank account details to my solicitor for this to happen. In an earlier reply a fee of £20 is suggested. Is this a typical amount or does it differ from bank to bank. If its around £20 then its worth that extra fee from my solicitor.

Thank you for your advice and well wishes, and im keeping my fingers, toes and everything else crossed all goes Ok on Monday !

Brownie1970

Hello

you can ask for a copy of the contract, but it would be unusual for you to have one. bear in mind that it may not hold your buyers signature, as they may have just sign their part. exchange of contracts is just a telephone call between solicitors once each has everything they need.

another thing to consider is if your buyer has lodged their deposit, this is usually 5 or 10% of the purchase price. this could have been paid upfront and is sitting in your buyers solicitors bank waiting for your buyers to go in and sign on monday, or they could be bringing it with them. just hope the if it is the latter that it is in cleared funds, ie a bankers draft etc, otherwise a personal cheque will take 5 days to clear.

best of british to you

bandofbrothers

Hi,

Thank you for your advice.

Does the deposit of 5 or 10% affect me.

I am not purchasing another property to move to and their is no chain.
Neither do I have any mortgage to pay off.

I just assumed he signs the mortgage paperwork and contract.
Both solicitors and estate agent exchange paperwork.
Myself and buyer agree completion date via estate agent and money is transfered to my solicitors account on the completion date, who inturn pays themselves and estate agents, and remaining amount paid to me, or is that incorrect ?