Signing contracts

loujay_2

Today in the post Ive recieved a contract to sign detailing my selling price, buyers name etc. Im to sign it, have it witnessed and send it back but not date it. Im new to selling so wondered does this mean everythings now done and exchange is near. Whats the next process and if all goes to plan what would you think was the timescale left please until we get a moving date.
Thanks everyone.

Cara79

Hi there

Well if everything is ok in your contract, then you sign and send back. Basically everyone in your entire chain will have to sign their contracts too. When ALL the solicitors have signed contracts, they all have to agree to exchnage them on the same day.

This is also when the deposit is passed up the chain.

Also, on exchange a completion date is set. I would say this is normally around 2 weeks after exchange, but can clearly vary and would have to be agreed by all parties in the chain.

I suspect because you have your contract then you are pretty much ready to 'rock and roll' as they say, but this could all depend on your chain.

How many are in your chain?

It really is difficult to estimate timescale as every chain is different.

I guess the best person to ask is your solicitor. Have you discussed a completion date (moving in date) with your solicitor? Have you let your solicitor have deposit monies ready to be passed over on exchange.

Very exciting for you!
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emg

sorry to hijack your thread but I am also at this stage having been sent a variety of documents to sign. My concern is there are still quite a few outstanding queries (some that are the solicitors queries to the vendor, some which are my queries to the solicitor). Is it ok to hang on to these documents for a while without signing them until I am happy that I have all the information from these queries? There is still some information that hasnt been provided to me which could be a potential deal-breaker, if I sign the documents then am I agreeing to the sale or can I still recall the documents prior to exchange?

Cara79

Personally, if I were you, I would not sign and send back the contract if you are still awaiting responses to queries. Once you sign and the solicitor has it in your possession, they can exchange. Obviously the solicitor wouldn't exchange without your say-so, but I would not run the risk.

As soon as the queries have been answered and you are happy, I would then sign the contract and send back.

If, as you say, the queries are potential deal-breakers then definitely do not sign and return the contract yet!

Good luck and hope it turns out ok.
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loujay_2

Thanks Cara, theres 3 in the chain, FTB, my buyer and me who is buying a repossession hence the hurry. This contract doesnt look detailed at all, should it be?
Can I also ask you about deposits please? Just been reading an earlier post about them and Im a little concerned. We arent getting a 100% mortgage but our money is tied up in our house so until we get the money for ours we havent got a deposit!!!! Ok we have some money, under 5% but I didnt realise this came out of your own pocket upfront. I dont remember paying a deposit when we bought this house but then that was 10 yrs ago. I'd hate to be in the position of exchange and completion on the same day or also the no deposit way as the uncertancy must be hell.

Cara79

loujay wrote:

Thanks Cara, theres 3 in the chain, FTB, my buyer and me who is buying a repossession hence the hurry. This contract doesnt look detailed at all, should it be?
Can I also ask you about deposits please? Just been reading an earlier post about them and Im a little concerned. We arent getting a 100% mortgage but our money is tied up in our house so until we get the money for ours we havent got a deposit!!!! Ok we have some money, under 5% but I didnt realise this came out of your own pocket upfront. I dont remember paying a deposit when we bought this house but then that was 10 yrs ago. I'd hate to be in the position of exchange and completion on the same day or also the no deposit way as the uncertancy must be hell.

From memory, I don't remember my contract being that detailed either! It should be fine though, as it will have been checked by your solicitor too.

With ref to the deposit, you will be absolutely fine. The FTB will pay the deposit and this will pass up the chain, i.e. from hte FTB to you and then onto your seller. You will not need to pay a deposit up front.

One thing that would be wise is to ask your solicitor to check that the FTB has a deposit. These days, like you say, if they've got a 100% mortgage and no deposit, then they may well have to exchange/complete same day. BUT, this should have been stipulated at the time of offer (I believe!)

Anyway, the long and short - don't worry, you don't need to pay the deposit.

Hope that's clear.

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loujay_2

I get a sneaky feeling that the FTB may not have a deposit only as my buyer mentioned on the phone that her Sol had mentioned exchange and completion on the same day. I wasnt really aware of the implications of this until reading threads on here this week.
Im not going to worry, (gosh that is so so positive coming from me the born worrier!:D ) this house move has been an absolute nightmare upto now, everything that could have gone wrong has so what the heck. What happens happens, cant believe Im typing this.:eek:
Thanks for all your help.

Cara79

Ah, I really hope it works out well for you & wish you loads of luck with your new house purchase!

Let us know how you get on and like you say, keep smiling - you'll get there in the end! :j

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loujay_2

Thank you, really hope our luck changes. Dont know what I would have done without the help of everyone on her.

Dasnookster

Hi Loujay

There can be quite a period of time between signing contracts and actually exchanging. I have just been through this process and within the first few weeks we had actually signed contracts - to be witnessed by someone else and not dated - same as you. The solicitor meerly holds these on file until you get to exchange point - which could be a couple of months down the line, or at least it was for us, while all the questions and answers are sorted out. I am sure you will have contact with your solicitor along the way anyway, as you generally start talking about possible exchange and completion dates, but on the day of exchange they ring you up and go through an exchange list with you and will not exchange contracts with other parties until they have spoken to you and confirmed that you still wish to go ahead.

On the deposit front it is possible to complete a chain without a deposit, as again this has just happened with us. Our buyers are FTB's who do not have a deposit, we were relying on their deposit to send up the chain as all of our money is tied up in the sale of our house, so essentially our buyers have no deposit and neither do we, but rather than exchange and complete on the same day everyone has agreed to go ahead without the deposit. Obviously if someone pulls out before I move next week it means that there is no deposit money to keep, but if so inclined you can sue them for it.

loujay_2

Thanks for replying, I really hope things move quicker for us as we are buying a repossession with only 28 days to complete! Luckily our seller has sent Land registary docs showing we are buying a garage only and not a house so that has bought us some time!!
I really hope your move goes well next week.
Thanks again