Purchase

1. You instruct Lets Move to act on your behalf. We request a draft contract, title details, results of any searches that may have been done and property information details from the seller’s solicitor.

2. We check the contract and other paperwork provided, raise any queries with the seller’s solicitor and organise the relevant searches.

3. We deal with all major Banks and Building Societies and therefore we will act on behalf of your lender to investigate the Title (only applies if you need a mortgage). We have to ensure that the conditions of the mortgage are complied with before completing our report to the lender.

4. We will then report to you on the Title including the results of our searches and enquiries, any queries you ask us to raise following this report are then taken up with the seller’s solicitor.

5. If the property is being purchased in joint names you will need to discuss with us whether the property is to be held as “joint tenants in equity” (if one party dies ownership passes automatically to the survivor and not by virtue of any will) or “tenants in common” (separate interests in the property are defined ie one party might be providing a larger deposit).

6. We request a deposit of up to 10% of the purchase price from you and you sign a copy of the Contract. The seller signs an identical copy of the contract.

7. A completion date is agreed and we proceed to exchange contracts. If there is a chain of linked sales and purchases it is very important that the completion date suits everyone. This ensures that no one legally agrees to buy a property with a mortgage before they have sold their present property and paid off their mortgage.

8. Once exchange has taken place, you and the seller are committed to a legally binding contract from which neither party can withdraw without financial penalties. If for any reason you are unable to complete on the date agreed you will be liable to an interest penalty for late completion and failure to complete at all would mean that you would lose your original deposit and possibly be responsible for the other party’s wasted costs as well as your own.

9. Between exchange and completion we prepare the documents transferring the ownership of the new property into your name and the mortgage documents for you to sign. We also organise the land registry searches.

10. We prepare a Completion Statement showing what, if any, monies are due from you in order to complete the purchase.

11. On completion day we arrange for the balance of purchase monies to be sent to the seller’s solicitor. The seller is now obliged to move out and you collect the keys from the estate agent.

12. After completion the payment for Stamp Duty Land Tax (“SDLT”) together with the SDLT Return is sent to the Inland Revenue and the Deeds are then sent to the Land Registry for change of ownership. If you have a mortgage the Title Deeds are sent to your Bank/Building Society.

House Sale

1. Once you have instructed Lets Move to act on your behalf we then obtain your title deeds from you or from your lender.

2. We prepare the Contract (Sale Agreement) based on the information contained in the Title Deeds. Two copies of the Contract are produced and one is sent to you for signing; in due course the other copy will be signed by the buyer.

3. We supply you with the Property Information form and the Fixtures and Fittings form for completion. It is important that these forms are completed as accurately as possible.

4. Once we receive notification that a buyer has been found we send the Contract and the completed forms to the buyer’s solicitor.

5. Your buyer’s solicitor then organises the relevant searches in relation to the property.

6. Once all parties are ready to proceed, a suitable completion date is then agreed on. NB Until contracts are exchanged nothing is legally binding and we cannot enforce the sale if your buyer withdraws at any stage prior to exchange.

7. Once exchange has taken place, you and the buyer are committed to a legally binding contract from which neither party can withdraw without financial penalties. If for any reason either party is unable to complete on the date agreed they will be liable to an interest penalty for late completion and possibly the other party’s wasted costs as well as your own. On exchange the buyer’s solicitor will pay a deposit of up to 10% of the sale price. If you have a related purchase it is possible to use part if not all of the deposit provided towards your own purchase.

8. We then obtain an account from the Estate Agent and a redemption figure for your mortgage. We then prepare a Completion Statement showing exactly what monies are due to whom on completion.

9. Shortly before completion you should arrange for all the meters to be read and notify utility companies and the local authority that you are leaving the property.

10. You should also reconfirm your moving date with your removal company. We will approve the Transfer Deed on your behalf and arrange for you to sign it before completion.

11. Completion – you are now obliged to vacate your old property. We will pay any outstanding monies to your Mortgage Company and Estate Agent. Any remaining funds will then be paid to you.