Selling a house in Bracknell or Wokingham

If you are buying or selling a house in Bracknell or Wokingham, you should find this guide to home purchase in Bracknell or Wokingham particularly handy.

A Home Information Pack (HIP) must be commissioned by the vendor of a house in England.. The HIP must contain a sale statement, evidence of title, standard searches and an Energy Performance Certificate that outlines how energy efficient the home is.

Normally you would ask a a conveyancer to deal with your conveyancing. The solicitor would check the draft contract which explains the price and any special terms or conditions of the sale, perform the Local Authority search, and verify details of leasehold or freehold. The solicitor will make sure a the purchaser has a suitable mortgage and or/funds, obtain your signature on the contract, make sure the purchaser is in a position to exchange contacts if a "chain" is involved, and agree a date for completion.

After obtaining a valuation, either for your own purposes or for the mortgage company, and when everyone in a chain are in a position to buy and sell, exchange of contracts happens. It is at the exchange of contacts stage that a deposit has to be paid. This is generally between 5 and 10 percent of the purchase price of the house and is retained by your conveyancer. If there is any problem with your purchase of the house after date of exchange, perhaps if your building society doesn't give you the mortgage you expected, the other people in the chain of purchases might be able to claim against your deposit to cover their costs. After exchange of contracts, it is very hard to pull out without incurring financial costs. At completion, keys and money are handed over. As from the date of completion, you become liable for buildings and contents insurance on the house, so you must ensure that adequate cover is sorted out.

If you are considering buying a new home in Bracknell or Wokingham, the buyer's solicitor requests a standard form of contract from the developer and then the procedure continues in the same way as we have previously discussed. You should also be aware that many developers, to help the buyer, offer a complete service including financial and legal advice, but to avoid a conflict of interest you should retain your own conveyancer.