Exchange process

jibbyboo

Finally received an email from my solicitor telling me that they are sending out the title deed, mortgage deed and contract for me to sign.

Once I sign this and they receive it, is that exchange complete?
Is the contract signed by both the seller and me, or separate contracts for each party?
Is there anything to watch out for at this point?

I haven't told friends and family about the purchase yet as I wanted to wait until exchange and everything was secure, so want to know when this is.

Very confusing...

Thanks for the help!

WestonDave

You will sign your contract and return it to your solicitor, the vendor will sign their copy of it and return it to their solicitor, and once both solicitors are in possession of signed contracts they have a phone conversation at which point legally the contracts are "exchanged" - in practical terms they get sent via post at the end of the day but exchange will take place at a noted time on a particular date (11am on 22nd May via telephone). Once your solicitor has your contract back they may well phone you before actually exchanging just to check with you - they should tell you once its happpened. You would normally need to supply your deposit funds to the solicitor ready for exchange as they will need to pass on the 10% deposit (unless a reduced figure has been agreed) on the day of exchange.

jackomdj

You both sign independently before exchange. When you are ready (often your solicitor will call before to confirm) then the solicitors exchange contracts (this is often done on the phone as they can be in different locations)

jackomdj

Weston Dave - snap!

jibbyboo

Awesome, thanks chaps! I'm super excited that it's nearly the end of what have been some of the most stressful few months of my life!!

How do the contracts get drawn up? Is it something that's the exact same and passed from seller to buyer every time the property changes hands? If not, who decides the contract content? And if I didn't agree with a clause, could I ask to change it or does it not work like that?

I read somewhere that contracts are difficult to decipher, being written in super technical legalese, so hoping I can understand what it says...

WestonDave

The short answer is there is a standard law society format (which you will get a copy of but you'll probably neither want to read it nor fully understand) and then a short header contract which lists any variations to standard terms if any (so additional money for furniture). You should already have had a copy of the current registration documents or deeds which will show any things you need to be aware of like restrictive covenants (e.g. its quite common for you not to be allowed to build in front of your property).

In short its standard and you probably won't find anything you can change or to be honest would want to - most of it is there either to protect the buyer (so you wouldn't want that removed) or to protect the vendor (so you have no chance of getting that removed!).