You’ve baked fresh bread, put a pot of coffee on and tidied everything up. However, as well as prepping your home, there are numerous legal aspects that you need to be aware of when selling your house.
Can you do it yourself?
It is possible to sell a home yourself without the use of a legal representative. This is not recommended as there is a lot of legal issues to deal with. For example, they can check to make sure the person who is buying your home has the funds necessary in order to purchase it.
Legal representatives can also look into issues such as any neighbourhood disputes, who is responsible for maintenance as well as ensuring you have the appropriate paperwork such as a copy of the lease (if the property is a leasehold).
Energy performance certificates
An energy performance certificate assesses how energy efficient the property is, from A to G (A being the most efficient, while G is the least). This is important because if this is not provided Trading Standards can give you a fine of up to £200.
A quick sale
You may have seen adverts for “quick sale” house sale companies. It can be tempting, especially if you need to move house quickly. The danger with this is that a company may say they will buy your property for an amount you want to sell for, then deliberately wait until the last minute before giving you a lower offer. There is also the risk that you may not know who is buying your house and they may not necessarily have the finances to buy it.
Conveyancing
This is the legal process between accepting the initial offer and the exchange of contracts. Someone who is a specialist in this area will be able to cover aspects of the sale such as the handling of contracts, transferring funds, searching for information with the local council and working with the Land Registry.
This part of the sale is crucial, as once the contracts are exchanged, you can’t get out of the deal without incurring a massive financial penalty. This can be particularly stressful, as people can pull out of buying a home before this point. Once this has been finalised, a deposit can be arranged so that if someone does pull out, you do not lose that deposit.
While people can use someone who specialises specifically in the conveyancing aspect, someone who is a licensed conveyancer is not qualified to deal with the legal issues involved, which is why it is better to use a conveyancing legal specialist in order to avoid any subsequent legal issues.
We can help
Selling a home takes time, and we realise that it can be a difficult and occasionally emotionally fraught time. As well as being legal professionals, we also believe in working closely with their clients and helping them through it. For more information or to discuss your property issues in more detail, please contact us today.