subject: Prepare for your home move - 30 top tips [print this page] Prepare for your home move - 30 top tips Prepare for your home move - 30 top tips
Trethowans' Property Team act in hundreds of home moves a year and we know first-hand how to help you prepare for a stress-free move.
Our Property Team is uniquely comprised of qualified lawyers in fact two Solicitors, two Legal Executives, and a senior conveyancing executive. Between us, we have seen almost every issue, every negotiation and we have the experience to get you through your home move promptly, accurately and yet a very competitive price.
We do not believe in offering inexperienced and unqualified conveyancers which many large Estate Agent chains would refer you to in return for large secret cash-back referral payments!
As a result, the very same Trethowans' conveyancers who will be looking after your home move not some aloof marketing person have prepared the following tips which will assist you to avoid a stressful move, and make it one of your happiest memories:
PREPARATION
TIP 1 - Show your house to potential viewers in the best possible light. Maximise both its kerb appeal and attend to the interior - do those jobs you have been putting off. A lick of neutral paint to those scuffs and marks, remove garish wallpapers and clean the carpets. All good examples of where a small bit of effort can pay dividends.
TIP 2 - Instruct your Solicitor before your Estate Agent. The earlier you instruct a Solicitor the better position you will be in both to start promptly, and how prepared you will be. If your Solicitor has time to study your deeds, locate any Local Authority consents for building works you have done and consider any forms they have asked you to complete, they will be able to pre-empt any issues that a buyer might raise rather than letting that happen weeks after the buyer puts an offer in - a waste of time for everyone, especially if the issue is time consuming to fix and your buyer loses patience.
What issues might they be? Many, as it depends on the quality of the Solicitor you used when you bought.
TIP 3 - Choose the right Solicitor. If your only goal is a cheap price, then these Tips are not for you as stress will follow nearly always with cheap conveyancing. If you have very little respect for your move by going cheap, then a cheap conveyancer cannot be expected to have much more either. Lack of communication, unqualified staff, calls diverted to secretaries, and mistakes in paperwork are all commonly reported when price is low.
A sensible approach to selecting a conveyancer would be to make sure the conveyancing Firm is Lexcel accredited, that they offer you your own personal conveyancing 'Solicitor' or 'Legal Executive' and the very same conveyancing lawyer handles your move start to finish.
Too many Estate Agents driven by commission and large cash back payments will refer you to a very low quality conveyancing outfit, who either are very cheap, or who may end up far more expensive with lots of hidden charges. Often the Estate Agent is well known enough to have a financial stake in the conveyancing firm, and so you really are being used so the Agent can make money, and not with your best interests at heart.
Some Agents are so appalled with the quality of some conveyancers, they will advise their seller not to accept an offer from a buyer using that conveyancing firm.
Really good value Solicitors are those where the Firm can actually offer you additional legal services when your needs arise in the future. You may have spent months involved with your conveyancer, built up a relationship, but only then to find out that this is pretty much all they do, so unlike many other home movers, you have to start with a different law firm if you have the need for additional legal services.
TIP 4 - Choose the right Estate Agent. You should always consider obtaining more than one valuation and three is quite a common place. The quality of Estate Agents varies wildly. Some larger commission employed Agents can have a reputation of winning your business by over-valuing your property - which can mean that buyers show no interest, your property remains on the market too long, and you eventually receive an offer far lower than even the lowest valuation you originally obtained from the other two Agents.
Choosing an Agent who has firm local ties and whose local reputation is important to them should mean you will receive a realistic value which will help you achieve a sale much quicker.
We can recommend one to you, as we see them all in action on a day to day basis, and we know who are good and who are not.
TIP 5 - Prepare your finances. If you are both selling and buying then even before putting your house on the market, you should have a mortgage offer agreed in principle. It also makes you a more attractive buyer when you come to make an offer for a property.
But choosing the right mortgage is crucial, and you should always consider using a mortgage adviser who is both an IFA (an Independent Financial Adviser) and one who considers the whole of the mortgage market', even those mortgages that lenders will only sell direct to customers, not through mortgage advisers. The mortgage adviser will usually receive common from the mortgage company, so you do not have to pay a fee out of your own money.
We can recommend a mortgage adviser who will consider the whole of the mortgage market'
TIP 6 Prepare for likely legal issues. This partly overlaps with choosing the right Solicitor (as mentioned above). If you have carried out building work, or electrical/gas works, make sure you have the relevant Local Authority consents, any consents required in your Deeds and that you give them to your Solicitor as soon as possible. If you do not have the consents, DO NOT approach the relevant person to obtain them, but speak to your Solicitor first, as late requests for consents could open a can of worms and frustrate your house move.
TIP 7 Ask about neighbours, and local development. As a buyer, make sure that you enquire about the neighbours and whether there have been any disputes, and whether there is any likely building works near to the house you want to buy. The earlier you do this, the earlier you avoid any late surprises that might otherwise mean you would have pulled out of the purchase. Your Solicitor's enquiries will not be focused on your neighbours, but strictly on the legal issues. It is amazing how often buyers fail to ask about the neighbours and you then have only yourself to blame.
TIP 8 Consider whether any tax will be due on selling. Does Capital Gains Tax (CGT) apply to you? On the sale of your main residence, you do not normally pay CGT. But if it is a second property then it may well apply and could run into thousands of pounds. Your solicitor can advise you.
TIP 9 Enough viewings? Have you viewed the house you are buying sufficiently enough to make sure the house is right for you? Have you measured the rooms to make sure the bed or wardrobes can fit in properly?
TIP 10 Is your own house on the market? If you are relying on the sale proceeds of your own house to fund your purchase, then most Agents will not take you seriously if you propose to make an offer on a house, and your own house is yet under offer or not on the market.
TIP 11 Don't be afraid to make an offer below the asking price. If you are selling, then you will almost certainly receive a lower offer than your asking price. You do not have to offer the full asking price on the house you want to buy. Indeed, if you are also selling your own house, your Estate Agent may well be able to negotiate the price on your onwards purchase. It is quite common to offer below the asking price, particularly if you yourself have received a lower offer on your own sale. The Seller can only say no, and then you creep your offer upwards. So always start below the full price.
We would be delighted to offer support and advice during your negotiation stage.
TIP 12 Avoiding Stamp Duty. Many people think that when a house is priced very close to the threshold for a higher percentage in Stamp Duty, they can split the sale price by pricing the house at below the threshold, and everything above the threshold can be credited to the house contents (as it is believed that house contents do not attract Stamp Duty). Well, there is some truth in this, provided that the house contents qualify according to Inland Revenue's definition as only such items that are fittings (not fixtures which are deemed part of the house) can be valued. Ask your Solicitor for what contents qualify. But remember they can only be valued at market rate (i.e ebay second hand value) which is surprisingly lower than you might think. If you make the valuation to high, or include fixtures, then the Inland Revenue can consider it a fraud, and all parties to the fraud, movers, lawyers and Agents can all be fined, and worst case suffer imprisonment.
THE LEGAL PROCESS
TIP 13 Understand the actual legal process. Trethowans have prepared two downloadable guides, one for a sale and one for a purchase. http://www.trethowans.com/services_for_you/residential_property/useful_information/
Please remember that the legal process is divided into two stages, an exchange of contracts (the point you reach once your finances are in place, the legal papers and your survey is acceptable and after which you cannot back out) and the date of Completion. Usually these are separated by time, so that once an exchange occurs, you then have a week or two gap to book removals, clear your house and book time off work.
TIP 14 How long is the chain? If you accept an offer, is your Buyer also selling, and are buyers buying too, and so on. How far does the chain go like this? The same if you are buying, how many people above your Seller is it? The longer it is, the slower your move will be, as people all start at different times, have different needs and certainly will have differing quality in their conveyancers. The Estate Agent should normally advise you of this, and often they will advise a seller against accepting an offer if the chain is too long (and therefore potentially could collapse).
TIP 15 Book your survey early enough. You should always consider having a survey carried out as the law is clear that the Seller has no liability for the state and condition of the property, or the utility services supplying it (e.g gas, electrical and drainage). Your surveyor can discuss with you the type of survey to have carried out.
We can recommend a local qualified chartered surveyor to you as many surveyors are not suitably qualified and mistakes and oversights do occur by choosing badly.
TIP 16 Negotiating a price reduction. By having your survey early enough, this can reveal structural or cosmetic defects that you were not aware of at the time you made your offer, and which may be costly enough that you consider only a price reduction is suitable to enable you to move forward. If such items are revealed then obtain quotations for the works and present them to the Estate Agent as part of your request for a price reduction.
TIP 17 Agree dates with your Buyer/Seller. Failing to agree a timescale as a condition of accepting/making an offer can slow down a transaction as no one knows how promptly to act. Often your Estate Agent will settle dates at the start, but otherwise, you should make sure you make it known what move date you are after. Otherwise, even your own Solicitor will not prioritise the legal work if they are not focused on your preferred date. But remember, make it clear that whilst you want a specific move date, you are still after an early exchange as many people/conveyancers will think they can leave everything close to that move date - but exchange is the goal, as at that point you know that no one can back out.
TIP 18 House contents. When you buy a house, your Solicitor will receive a list of items that will be left at the property and those that will be removed conveyancers refer to this as the Fittings and Contents Form'. Often you want to see this before you complete a similar form on your sale. As part of your offer on a house, you may want to make it conditional on certain items being included in the price (e.g carpets and curtains, or certain white goods). Agree this as early as possible and make sure the agreed items are shown on the Fittings and Contents Form. If not, give your Solicitor a list of the missing items as soon as possible, and certainly before an exchange of contracts.
PREPARING FOR EXCHANGE
TIP 19 Payment of your deposit. When you buy a property, your Solicitor will need to pay a 10% deposit on exchange of contracts. You will need to send him that money as you approach exchange. But how do you do that? Your Solicitor will tell you. Almost always, the Buyer will send their Solicitor a same day bank transfer because that is the quickest and most efficient method. However, there are some conveyancers whose clients will send a personal cheque, and it is the conveyancer who is often to blame for not explaining that this will then slow the whole chain down by up to 6 working days while the cheque clears. There is nothing more frustrating than being ready to exchange only to hear that your buyer gave their solicitor a personal cheque and we all now have to wait on our hands while the cheque clears!
TIP 20 Buildings Insurance. A seller should always maintain their insurance right up to the date of Completion, as you never know if the buyer may fail to proceed, even after an exchange of contracts. As for a buyer, when to insure is governed by the wording of the contract. Generally, if the seller has a related purchase of their own, they will place the onus on the buyer to insure from exchange. Why? Because they cannot permit a buyer to back out after exchange if the house has been damaged, because they will have already contracted to buy another property which if the buyer withdraws would mean they could not complete and buy on their purchase. A disaster for them. So, the result is that the buyer will be obliged to insure from exchange. If the seller does not have a related sale, then there is no good reason for why the buyer should insure at exchange, and instead they should insure at completion.
The problem is that many conveyancers do not appreciate the above logic, and so most just tell the buyer to exchange from exchange. That is bad law and suggests that your conveyancer does not appreciate what they are doing. What else are they missing on your behalf too?
TIP 21 Life insurance. You should always ensure that you have life insurance in place when you buy with a mortgage and you have dependents, as how will they keep up the mortgage if you die. Death is not age related after all. Most Lenders do not insist on you taking it out, but that is irrelevant as to whether you should have it. Life insurance is now very competitively priced in the market place.
We can recommend a very good Independent Financial Adviser who can advise in this area.
TIP 22 Make a Will. Again, Wills are not age related, as death can occur at any age. It is alarming how few people consider a Will when either selling or buying property, yet when holding property as tenants in common, by definition, you should have a Will or your plans could be frustrated. Who is to get the house when you die, and remember, Wills do not just direct what happens to your finances on death. They can be used to appoint a guardian for your children.
We have a specialist team of lawyers who are highly regarded for expert caring advice at competitively priced charges.
TIP 23 Do you have a pension? You are thinking about buying a property for retirement, but do you have a suitable pension to guarantee a quality lifestyle when you are living there?
We have a specialist team of lawyers who can fully advise you in this area, and who work with some highly regarded pension advisers.
PREPARING FOR COMPLETION
TIP 24 What time on the day will you complete? The time you must vacate your house is usually by 2pm, though typically it is around noon. Vacating means clearing it completely of those items that do not form part of the sale and all people too! Your Buyer needs to move in, so by vacating at noon, they have time to then move in, during working hours if they are relying on professional removers. Your Solicitor can advise you on the time to vacate.
TIP 25 Read the meters. On the day of completion, read your utility meters and phone through the readings so your final bill can be sent to your new address. The same for Council Tax and any other outgoings related to your ownership of your house. If you are selling, cancel your house buildings and contents insurance once your Solicitor confirms that completion has taken place. .
TIP 26 Do I get a copy of my deeds? Many conveyancers will tell you that there are no such thing as deeds when land is registered. This is wrong. While it is true that registered land is evidenced now by only a photocopy of the Land Registry's centrally held computer records, deeds have as a result taken on a wider meaning, and now they include the lease, planning consents, new build warranty, building control certificates, share certificates, management accounts, and company documents. The list goes on. What a conveyancer means when they say there are no deeds anymore is that they plan to close their file and more than likely destroy all these documents which can only create a delay and expense when you come to sell.
At Trethowans, you will receive a copy of the registered title and plan, and you will be given the option to take possession of all the above documents, or have us retain them for safe-keeping. This will gather them together and keep them safe for a more efficient home move when you come to sell.
COMPLETION DAY
TIP 27 Has your Solicitor obtained all the required money a day early? On the day of completion, you don't want your Solicitor calling to say "sorry, you cannot move in as I have not received your mortgage money yet". With mortgage companies not guaranteeing the release of mortgage money by any particular time on the day of release, efficient solicitors make sure they arrange for receipt of the mortgage monies a day before Completion so they are ready to press send' first thing. Of course if you are relying on your sale proceeds, we all hope the buyer's lawyer does the same thing!
TIP 28 Be patient. Money passes between solicitors by bank transfer. No bank can guarantee transmission by a certain timescale and on busy days (such as Friday) money can take a little while to transmit. The normal completion time is noon, but it can be by 9.30am or it can be after 2pm. Your Solicitor should explain this to you in the days leading up to Completion.
TIP 29 The loft and/or garage is not clear. If you notice clutter in either as part of your original viewings, make sure your Solicitor expressly requires the seller to clear it. If you are in contact with the seller, arrive early on the completion date and make sure it is clear. Let your Solicitor know, ideally before the day of completion whether there remains a problem.
TIP 30 Where are my sale proceeds? Your Solicitor will make them available to you either as a cheque, or for a small fee a same day bank transfer (usually around 30 plus VAT). Most people tend to want their money on the day of Completion and so opt for the latter. Your Solicitor is not usually able to make a bank transfer payment if the buyer is late in sending their money to your Solicitor. The usual cut-off point is 3.30pm. This means your monies will be sent the next day at the latest.
BONUS TIP 31 Choose a Solicitor who does not spring extra legal fees on you. Some conveyancers will tell you they have a very low legal fee (alarming in itself as go cheap, get cheap) but then pile on hidden charges so watch out for these, as they should not be individually charged and the conveyance is misleading you:
Acting for a mortgage company. Mortgage lenders set out a figure for legal costs in their mortgage offers. Some solicitors charge this on top for doing the legal work on the mortgage. Most include this as part of their own charge and usually at no additional cost.
A leasehold fee' which is not a payment made to anyone, just the lawyer charging more because the property is leasehold. Most include it within their own charge.
An unregistered deeds fee. Many conveyancers struggle with unregistered deeds and so consider there is more work needing to be charged. Your experienced Solicitor will not charge this.
A contribution to the Firm's Professional Indemnity Insurance that is an overhead!
Completing the Stamp Duty Form this is part of their work as a Lender requires them to do it, so is pure profit to them and takes 5 minutes!
