Selling Property

In a sale we expect to take the following steps:

Take the details of the sale from you. The price, the buyer's details, where your title deeds are etc.
Obtain the title deeds from your existing lender if you have a mortgage. If you do not have a mortgage we have to rely on you to provide us with the original deeds.
Obtain an official copy of the entries on the Land Registry records from the Land Registry.
Draw up, a draft contract and lease if appropriate and send them to the purchasers solicitors together with a copy of the title documents and any other relevant papers provided to us by you or with the original deeds.
Deal with any reasonable enquiries about the property received from the purchaser's solicitors. This means dealing with those enquiries where we have the information available from the deeds and other papers we are holding and requesting you to supply the necessary information in respect of any questions you should have the answers to. If we have to obtain information from other people e.g. the local planning dept or managing agents of a flat we will take reasonable steps to do so but if they fail to answer and we have to spend an unreasonable amount of time chasing them, that time might incur an additional cost.
Co-ordinate and carry out the "exchange of contracts" (that's the moment you become legally committed to the deal and can no longer change your mind).
Between exchange of contracts and completion, deal with the final formalities of getting the transfer document signed, preparing a financial statement showing the monies to be received on completion and any payments to be made out of them e.g. estate agents fees, any mortgages to be redeemed or our charges.
On completion , receiving the purchase monies, redeeming any mortgages you have told us about or we have notice of from some other source, paying any monies due to other people, sending the deeds and transfer to the purchaser's solicitors and accounting to you for any balance.

Can these costs be reduced?

Our clients expect and deserve a good service. To provide this, we need staff and equipment, all of which costs money. We do try to keep the costs over which we have some influence under control and the main way of achieving this is to use our staff efficiently. We employ enough staff to provide a good service on an average day but some days are busier than others. For example, the beginning and end of the week are busier than midweek as is the end of the month. Periods just before Christmas, Easter and Bank Holidays are always particularly hectic. As a result, there are times when we and our staff are very busy and although we always try to deal with all work within 48 hours, occasionally this may not be possible. It might be a particularly busy time or another client's case may be at a crucial stage and need all of our concentration. On these occasions, please be patient. We could employ enough staff to deal with even the busiest days without stress but if we did, it would mean that on quiet days most of them would be sitting around with nothing to do. This would increase our overheads immensely and as a result, force us to increase our charge to you.

In order to be fair, everything is dealt with in the order it arrives. If your case is especially urgent and you want us to queue jump it, we will do so whenever possible. But please accept that this causes disruption to our system and means that another client's work is put back. We cannot do this too often and we will need to make an additional charge when we do. Therefore, please only request this in a real emergency.

Can I do anything to help keep my bill down?

Leave us to get on with your case as quietly as possible. We will be doing all that is necessary and we will report to you when something important or interesting happens. If you have any information to pass on to us or want to ask any questions, if possible please write us a short note or send us an e-mail. We can deal with those so much more speedily and easily than we can deal with a phone call. If you do need to phone us please be willing to talk to your solicitor's assistant. He or she are trained and experienced enough to answer most routine queries. If they cannot deal with your query personally they will discuss it with your solicitor and either the solicitor or their assistant will come back to you as soon as reasonably possible. If the solicitor knows what your question is it gives them a chance to find out the answer before they return your call. If you refuse to leave a message and insist upon the solicitor phoning you back to find out what your query is, it will slow down the transaction.

We normally deal with your case in a way which moves it forward reasonably quickly. However if you are in a rush and want us to chase the other parties involved and generally do what we can to speed matters up, we will do so. However, as you will appreciate this usually means spending more time on the case and may mean that the final bill will have to reflect this. We are very happy to do this for you where necessary but will not automatically do it unless you ask us to. Most cases have their own natural speed and if you allow the case to proceed at that rate, the costs are kept to a minimum.

We like to work with our clients as part of a team and find that clients are often able to do some of the routine work themselves and, indeed some prefer to do so whilst others like us to deal with every aspect of the case. What this means is that the share of work between yourselves and us is at your discretion and we will do as much as you want but the more you assist, the quicker and more economical the case will be. In the end, the ultimate thing which decides how much work we do for you and the cost involved is safety. As your professional advisers we have to do whatever is needed to safeguard your interests. We cannot cut corners.

If you are selling remember to budget for your estate agents fee. The amount will vary a little from agent to agent but more from area to area. In the North of England it could be as low as 1%. In central London it may be 3.5%. In most of London and the South East 1 1/2% to 2% seems to be normal. Remember to add VAT at 15%.

Don't assume the cheapest agent will be the best value. It's better to pay a good agent 2% and get the best price than pay an inexperienced agent 1% and end up selling your home for less than it's worth.

A sole agent or multiple agents. If you use one agent only he or she will probably offer you a slightly lower commission rate. After all, they know they will have a good chance of earning their fee. If you instruct several agents, only the one who eventually finds the buyer will get paid. To cover the risk of doing a lot of work and then receiving nothing multiple agents will usually ask to be paid a slightly higher percentage commission if they are successful.

Using several agents may give you exposure to a wider range of potential buyers. But it's just as likely that most people looking for a property in a specific area will have signed on to the mailing lists of every agent in that area.

In the end the most important thing is to use a reputable company with local experience. They are more likely to have good quality applicants and to vet prospective buyers properly.

Find out how the property will be marketed and whether the agent regularly uses the local press.
Does the agent have a website, which could feature your property?

Will the particulars be prepared with colour photographs?

Will the agent agree to place your property in their window?

Viewing arrangements. Ensure you give clear instructions to the agent regarding viewing times and accessibility. If you leave a key to the property ensure that the agent will accompany any viewers.

Supply telephone numbers where they can contact you or at least leave a message you can be certain of getting.

When signing an agency agreement make sure you understand any "tie in" clauses. Most agents offering a sole agency rate will ask for a minimum period, probably eight weeks, in which only they can offer the property on your behalf and will hold you to that. Most will want written notice from you should you decide to instruct other agents after that period.

Speak to several agents to get an idea of the value of your property. Although it is tempting to place your property with the agent that suggests the highest price this is not always the best option especially if finding a buyer quickly is important. If your property is overvalued you may not receive any offers until you eventually lower the price to a more realistic level.

Other costs involved in selling:

Solicitors fees. Our charges for dealing with a sale are based on the amount of time we have to spend on it which depends on what work is needed to safely complete the purchase.

We can't give a precise figure for our charges as each case can be different. Some run very smoothly and the clients are content to leave us to get on with things. Others run into all kinds of unexpected problems, usually due to one or more of the people in the "chain" having mislead their buyer or seller or having some unexpected personal problems. In addition, some clients like us to be in contact with them two or three times a day, every day. While we are willing to provide whatever service clients want, that does put the bill up considerably!

The best we can say is that a normal, straightforward sale would cost around £600 plus VAT...but life and human nature being what it is, cases are rarely completely normal and straightforard.

What we do promise is that we will provide a good, reliable professional service. We keep our clients informed about what we are doing and why. We treat every one of our clients as an individual and treat them with the respect and courtesy they deserve. We think that's real value for money.

What else? In some sales there are a few unexpected costs. We may need to get copy documents from the Land Registry. If so they will charge us about £20. If we need copies of planning consents from the local council that may cost anything from £5 to £40. If you are selling a flat, some freeholders charge a fee for providing up to date information about insurance or service charges. One major landlord will not answer any letters until it is paid £75. If we have to make payments to anyone else in order to get the information we need to allow your sale to proceed, we will let you know in advance and ask you to cover the cost. Let me stress... these will be payments demanded by other people or organisations not fees kept by us.