Conveyancing when selling

• First, you need to instruct your conveyancer. You’ll receive a Letter of Engagement with T&Cs confirming details and fixed fee costs. Once you sign and return the letter, you’ve committed to using that conveyancer.  
   

• The conveyancer will carry out proof of identity checks. 

• You’ll be asked to complete standard property information forms. 

• Fill out the protocol forms – these cover essential and important information about the property, including what fittings and contents you wish to leave behind. Also, give your conveyancer any documents such as deeds, certificates, planning permissions, and guarantees related to the property. If you’ve done any building works, extensions, upgrades, replaced windows, etc., you’ll need to note these down. 

• Once you have received and accepted an offer, your conveyancer will draft a contract to send to the buyer for approval. It’ll include information on: 
  - Fixtures and fittings included in the sale. 
  - Price of any other fixtures and fittings available for purchase.  
  - Covenants, warranties, guarantees, building control certificates, and any planning permissions.  

• At this stage, the buyer or their lender will book a surveyor to examine your property. They'll arrange with you when to attend.

• Your conveyancer may also receive the first set of enquiries from the buyer’s conveyancer. 

• If any issues have been flagged in the survey, the buyer may want to discuss these. They could ask to renegotiate the price or for you to arrange repairs before they exchange.  

• In addition, the buyer’s conveyancer may have questions related to the property searches (such as planning, drainage, etc.) that aren’t answered in the property information forms. It’s not uncommon for the buyer’s and seller’s conveyancer to go back and forth several times until all enquiries are satisfied. 

• Once the buyer and their conveyancer are happy with searches and the documentation, they’ll be sent the contract to read and sign.  

• A completion date is agreed between both buyer and seller. 

• Up until the contracts are exchanged, either party can pull out of the transaction without penalty.  

• Once contracts are exchanged, your conveyancer will receive the agreed buyer’s deposit. The contract is now legally binding – and you can’t accept any other offers. 

• The period between exchange and completion is usually one to two weeks, although you can request a shorter or longer period if needed (and if everyone else in the chain agrees). 

• It’s a good idea to review your fixtures and fittings form to remind yourself of what you’re taking and leaving behind.  

• Once the money has been received, completion is confirmed.  

• The conveyancer redeems any existing mortgage secured on the property, transfers the legal documents proving ownership to the buyer’s conveyancer, and pays any estate agent and conveyancer fees out of the proceeds. You’ll get a completion statement including all remaining money. 

• Once completion takes place, the property no longer belongs to you. You’ll need to arrange to hand over your keys to the buyer and head on out. (Depending on the package you've chosen, we can help with this).

In the easiest transaction – the sale of a freehold property to a chain-free cash buyer –  it can be done in less than 4 weeks, although it often takes longer. With buyers in a chain with mortgages, it tends to take between 16 and 18 weeks.  

Keep in mind that there are many moving parts to conveyancing, especially in chains. It can take 6 or more months, so it’s best to curb your expectations. 

There’s more legal paperwork involved in the sale of a leasehold, so quite simply, it takes longer to shuffle through everything. Remember these are big transactions, so conveyancers have to be thorough. 

Patience is a virtue, right? You may need to practice this, especially if you’re part of a long chain. That said, there are a few things you can actively do to keep things moving along: 

• Choose a conveyancer early on in the process. Don’t wait until you need one before you start looking. 

• Instruct your conveyancer before you accept an offer so that they can prepare ahead of time.  

• Let your conveyancer know of any work you’ve had done on the property so that they know what paperwork to provide for you.  

• Get your paperwork and documents ready! ID documents, the EPC, planning permissions, any work carried out on the property. Have it all on hand so there’s no delay. 

• Complete and return all documents and forms as soon as possible.  

• Respond to all questions pronto. 

• Chase up queries if you don’t hear back within 24-28 hours. 
  

Either a solicitor or a conveyancer can help carry out the legal side when you're buying and selling a house. But what's the difference?

A conveyancer is a type of lawyer that can deal with the legal aspects of selling a home, and are fine for most straightforward transactions. If more complicated legal issues crop up during the sale, they generally can't handle these. They're regulated by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC).

A solicitor, or conveyancing solicitor, is a different type of legal professional. They have a broader expertise on property law and can help with things like will writing, setting up a Lasting Power of Attorney, or cohabitation agreements, if you need them. They're regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).

If the house transaction is simple, you can generally use either a licensed conveyancer or a conveyancing solicitor. If the sale is more complicated, you might prefer to use a solicitor to ensure they can help with everything you need. For example, if there's a dispute about the property's boundary, any easements on the property, or you need any extra services like a will.