By Adrian Stroud
If you are thinking of moving home, your first port of call is usually an estate agent, but in today’s challenging housing market a visit to your solicitor may well prove to be a more advantageous route for prospective vendors.
With buyers in increasingly short supply, their needs should be at the forefront of any transaction so that delays are minimised and speedy conclusion achieved.
Understandably, buyers may not want wait while any problems concerning a property they wish to buy are resolved.
The answer is simple. Don’t wait until after the property has already gone on the market - instruct your solicitor the moment you have decided to sell.
Delays can be caused by many factors, including extensions or alterations that have been carried out without the required planning, building regulation or covenant consents.
In addition, it may take time to locate and present the necessary compliance certificates for works such as replacement windows, plumbing and electrical installations - and in a fragile market this could be a deal breaker!
Your solicitor will be able to discuss with you your selling requirements, recommend an experienced and reputable estate agent to market your property at a realistic price, obtain your deeds and arrange for you to complete all the necessary paperwork that is required once a buyer has been found.
Carrying out this task before you have even found a buyer will enable your solicitor to prepare the contract papers, arrange to obtain copies of any missing documents and resolve any issues that may otherwise cause a delay.
Once a buyer has been found, your solicitor will then be able to immediately submit a full set of contract papers with all the required documentation, limiting the potential for delays and problems.
Here at Thompson and Jackson, we are proud members of Fastmove – an initiative for faster and smoother home moves involving 23 law firms, 17 estate agents and many more local companies in the Plymouth travel to work area.
Fastmove lawyers can save you up to £1000 on your conveyancing* and are all committed to making your move as stress free and smooth as possible.
*Based on the average charges made by a sample of five Fastmove conveyancing firms for a couple selling and buying freehold properties at £175,000 and £249,000 respectively compared with a leading national conveyancing organisation (figures accurate as at August 2010 and reviewed at June 2011).
