What is the process to selling a property?

This simple, step-by-step guide has been prepared to explain the legal process involved in selling.

Obtain Title Deeds
Once you've chosen your solicitor, they will send you a quote enclosing a form that asks for your mortgage account number and details of your building society. Your solicitor will then apply to the building society for the deeds to your property or, if you don't have a mortgage, request that you deliver the deeds to them.

Complete Property Information Form and Contents Schedule 
You will be sent a quotation for doing the work together with a property information form to fill in giving your personal details so that questions that are asked by the buyer's solicitors may be answered.

Receive Title Deeds 
Once your solicitor has received the deeds they will be able to prepare a draft contract. This will be sent to the buyer's solicitor along with the other information.

Receive additional enquiries from buyer's solicitor
The buyer's solicitor may require some additional information from you. It may be that answers you completed on the property information form require more detail or that the results of their searches have prompted additional questions. At this stage, your solicitor may need to obtain the additional information from outside sources, such as the local authority or insurance company.

Answer all enquiries
When all the information is available, your solicitor will make sure that the buyer's solicitor receives everything that they require.

Approve draft contract
When the buyer's solicitor is happy with all the information they will send back the draft contract approved, ready for you to sign.

Make an appointment to sign contract
Your solicitor will arrange for you to sign the contract as soon as possible. If there is a dependant purchase they will make sure that the two transactions are tied in. 

Receive deposit 
On exchange of contracts, your solicitor will ask the buyers to pay a deposit of between 5% and 10% of the sale price.

Propose Completion Date
Completion is the point at which the buyer pays for the property and it changes hands. The date needs to be agreed before exchange of contracts can take place.

Ready to Exchange
When you have exchanged your contract and (if relevant) your proposed purchase is ready, your solicitor will inform the buyer's solicitor that you are ready to exchange contracts.

Contracts Exchanged 
Once contracts have been exchanged, you and the buyers are legally committed to buy/sell the property in question.

Completion Date 
The agreed completion date is the date upon which you must give vacant possession and the buyer can take up occupation, having first paid the balance of the purchase price.