Chancel liability

Visit this link for details on Chancel Liability and related issues.

Deposit

Q: When is the deposit paid and how much will I have to pay?

A: The deposit is paid on exchange of contracts and is usually 10% of the purchase price, unless it has been agreed that this is varied by the Consent of the Seller.

EPC

Q: What is an EPC?

A: This is an Energy Performance Certificate. This is a required component of the Home Information Pack. An Energy Performance Assessor will attend your sale property and carry out his assessment as to how Energy efficient the house is an provide a rating. The Energy Performance Certificate will suggest ways in which the property can be more energy efficient to improve its rating such as energy efficient light bulbs and loft lagging etc.

ID

Q: Why do I have to provide ID?

A: You will be required to provide us with evidence of your ID for compliance under the Money Laundering Regulations. Please note in our initial letter as to what forms of ID are acceptable. Please note that until we have your ID we cannot make any progress in the transaction. It is possible for us to carry out an anti-money laundering on-line search against you by entering your ID details and date of birth.

Indemnity policies

Q: What are Indemnity Policies?

A: An Indemnity Policy is like an Insurance Policy with a one-off premium. They can be obtained for a number of things but the two most common ones are Buildings Regulation Consent Indemnity Policy and Planning Consent Indemnity Policy. These are usually provided where a Seller has not obtained the relevant consent but they are no substitute for the consent as there is no evidence that the works that the Seller did not obtain consent for have been done properly and you should ensure that your Surveyor gives you his opinion that the works are structurally sound. The policy covers the position if the Local Authority ask you to put the property back to its original condition. The indemnity policies are transferable to your Buyer in the future but you may be expected to top them up to provide cover up to the level of increase in value of the property.

Land Registry

Visit this link for details on Land Registry information.

Moving date

Q: What time will I be expected to move out of my sale property and take possession of my purchase property on the completion date?

A: Usually we tell our sale clients to arrange to vacate their property by 12 noon on the completion date. However, it may be possible that we have already received the completion monies from the Buyer's solicitors before 12 noon but there has to be some "give and take" as the Buyer would not be able to physically move into the property if you are still moving out. We do not release the keys to the buyer unless we have received the completion monies. On a purchase, you may find that you get to the Purchase Estate Agents and they will not let you have the keys because they have not received permission to give them to you from the Seller's solicitors. This is because they are still waiting for the completion monies to arrive in their Bank Account. Once they have been received by the Seller's solicitors they will telephone the Estate Agents to release the keys to you. You may find, however, that the Sellers are still physically moving out of the property and it would be difficult to attempt to move in while this is happening.

Ownership

Q: How long does it take for me to be registered as owner of my purchase property?

A: There are a number of factors which come into play in determining how long this will take. First, we need confirmation from the Seller's solicitors that their mortgages have been discharged from the property. We then submit an application to the Land Registry enclosing the transfer document and any mortgage deed that you have entered into with a fee and evidence that the Seller's mortgages have been discharged. The Land Registry usually issue a letter stating that they will endeavour to register the transfer in five weeks but sometimes it can be done more quickly than this, particularly if the Land Registry is not busy. We will then forward a copy of your title once it has been registered.

Payment methods

Q: Can I pay the completion monies by personal cheque?

A: Usually there is not a lot of time between exchange of contracts and the actual completion date (sometimes as little as 5 working days) and therefore we usually recommend that clients either provide us with a Banker's draft or transfer the completion funds directly into the Firm's Client Account to ensure that there are no delays which would hold up completion. We are also prohibited by the Law Society in using uncleared funds and therefore if we received a personal cheque this could mean that there may be a delay in completion which should be avoided at all costs as financial penalties may be applicable if completion is delayed.

Payment stages

Q: When do you require me to pay money to you?

A: On a purchase transaction, there are three stages when we will require funds from you. At the outset, we will require a small sum on account to enable us to obtain searches. This is usually in the region of £250.00. The next time funds are required would be just prior to exchange of contracts as you are required to pay a deposit, usually 10% of the purchase price. We would normally ask for a bank transfer or Banker’s draft so as to avoid any delays on exchange. The final time that monies are required would be just prior to completion to pay for the difference between mortgage obtained and purchase price and costs and disbursements. On a sale transaction, we would need to have funds on account to enable us to prepare the HIP.

Property insurance

Q: When do I have to insure the property?

A: If you are purchasing a freehold property, on exchange you will be required to put your buildings insurance on risk. If you are obtaining a mortgage, your Lender may need to see a copy of the policy schedule and we will forward this to them. If you are purchasing a flat, it is likely that the Lease will state that the Landlord will insure and collect the cost of the insurance from the Tenants so you will only need to insure the Contents.

Stamp duty

Q: How is stamp duty calculated?

A: There is no stamp duty payable on the first £175,000 (up until 2 September 2009 after which time it reverts back to £125,000). From £175001 to £250000 the figure is 1% of the whole purchase price; from £250001-£500000 the figure is 3% of the whole purchase price; and for £500001 + the figure is 4% of the whole purchase price. Visit this link for more information about stamp duty.

Survey

Q: Do I need a Survey?

A: It is advisable for you to obtain a survey on your purchase property. If you are obtaining a mortgage, your Lender will carry out a mortgage survey but this is for them to rely on and will only deal with the valuation and whether it is good security or not for the Lender to advance funds on. A Full Homebuyer’s survey will provide details of items of repair, whether internal walls have been removed etc. If you do arrange for a full Homebuyer’s survey to be carried out then please arrange for a copy of it to be forwarded to me.

Timescale: exchange/completion

Q: What is the average time between exchange and completion?

A: This varies depending on whether you need mortgage funds to assist with your purchase. Different Lenders have different requirements as to the amount of notice required to give them to guarantee receiving the mortgage monies in good time for completion. Usually there is a minimum of 7 working days between the two dates but we would suggest that two weeks is appropriate.

Timescale: sale/purchase

Q: How long will the sale/purchase take?

A: It is very difficult to predict how long a transaction will take because you will have seen from the description above that some of the items that we have to provide are obtained from third parties and we do not have control as to how long they take to respond. Usually a sale transaction on average takes between 6-8 weeks but can be as long as 12 weeks if problems are encountered. You must also be aware that if you are selling a property and are in a chain then we can only proceed as fast as the slowest member of the chain and we may have to wait while they resolve issues.