Whether you are buying, selling or both, negotiating an offer can be a nail biting experience. You’re in touching distance of moving. It is such a relief and so exciting for both parties when an offer is accepted. Time to pop open the fizz and celebrate!
After the exhilaration has simmered down, many buyers and sellers begin to wonder - what now? What are the next steps? Offer acceptance is a very big and significant part of the overall buying and selling process. However, it is only part of it, there is still plenty of work ahead following this milestone. Estate agents call this next stage ‘sales progression’. This is the final and often the most turbulent part. The period following offer acceptance up to moving day can be a rocky ride. There can be many hoops for both buyers and sellers to jump through. Solicitors, lenders and surveyors get involved and it can all become a little confusing.
Which? (2016) report that 30% of sales in the UK fall through during this final stage. That is why at Alexander Gibson we keep a very close eye on each step of the sales progression process, and spend more time and effort on this part of the sale than any other. We act as a conduit, communicating with all channels along the way to encourage the process to be as smooth as it can be. Our hard work in this part of the process leads to less than 2% of Alexander Gibson’s sales falling through.
We are often asked how long it takes from having an offer accepted to moving day. In our experience it usually takes between eight to twelve weeks. It can be a little quicker if your solicitor is on the ball and the process is smooth. And it can take longer if there are a few hiccups along the way.
The sales progression process can seem complex. To help we have outlined each step of the process. This will help you understand what happens next and how each part of the puzzle fits together.
Step 1: Solicitors and conveyancing
Once an offer has been accepted the seller’s estate agent will send a memorandum of sale and a few other bits of paperwork to both the buyer’s and seller’s solicitor. This shows the solicitors the value of the sale, the buyer’s and seller’s details and their solicitor’s details, how they plan to fund the purchase and other information about the house such as EPC rating and council tax banding.
Once the solicitor has received this information they will send out a client care pack. The buyer and seller are required to fill in the forms and send it back to their solicitor. The seller will also complete a fixtures and fittings list, detailing what items are staying in the home and what are not.
The seller’s solicitor will use all this information to draw up a draft contract. The draft contract is then sent to the buyer’s solicitor who will check through the information and raise any enquiries or issues.
As part of the conveyancing process the buyer’s solicitor will carry out various searches such as environmental, mining, water, drainage and local authority search’s. The results from these searches will form part of the enquires raised with the buyer’s solicitor.
The solicitors exchange enquires back and forth until they are satisfied and happy with the answers. Then the final contract is prepared. The final contract is sent to the buyer and the seller for them to read and sign.
Survey
A buyer has an option to have the home they are buying surveyed by a private surveyor. The surveyor will check to see if there are any underlying issues with the property. They provide a report to the buyer on anything that they have found and advise on how to remedy the issue.
This report will influence the buyer’s decision on whether to proceed. Depending on what the report revels, it can lead to further contract negotiations.
The surveying stage usually happens simultaneously alongside the solicitor’s conveyancing process.
Valuation
A mortgage provider will send out their own surveyor or valuer to value the property. The valuer will also look for any obvious issues with the home. The lender will then use the report from the valuer to decide whether to issue the mortgage. They want to see that the home is worth more than what they are borrowing and that they could recoup their money. The valuation also happens alongside the conveyancing process.
It is at this conveyancing, valuation and surveying stage that communication goes quiet and it seems like the sale has ground to a halt. Although it can appear this way, there is a lot of work going on in the background. Lack of communication can be very frustrating. This is why it is so critical to get frequent updates from the solicitor. At Alexander Gibson we take this hassle away from our clients. We keep in contact with solicitors and provide regular updates to our clients on progress.
Step 2 Exchange of contracts
Once the solicitors have received the signed contract back from the buyer and seller, they will read the contracts over the phone (whilst recording the conversation) to check that the they are identical. They will then immediately post them out to one another and exchange the contracts.
From this point the buyer and seller are legally bound to the contract. If the either pulls out at this stage they will lose their deposit and legal action could be taken against them.
At this stage a moving date is set by both parties. The solicitors will have to consider other contacts in the sale chain and agree a suitable date for all.
Once contracts have exchanged, everyone can breathe a big sigh of relief. It is usually pretty straight forward from here on and very rarely does a sale fall down after exchange.
After exchange it is the buyer’s responsibility to take out buildings insurance, so don’t forget to do this.
With moving day around the corner, all parties can pack up the rest of their belongings and prepare for the big day.
Step 3 Completion – moving day
Yippee the moving day has arrived and this is the very last step in the process. The buyer’s solicitor will arrange for funds to be transferred to the seller’s solicitor. Legal ownership of the home will transfer from the seller to the buyer. We will speak to the solicitors throughout the day to check on progress.
Once funds have transferred from the buyer to seller, the solicitor will confirm that we can release the keys to buyer - the proud new owner of the home. We love this bit, in fact it’s our favourite part of our job. Seeing the excitement on both the seller’s and buyer’s faces is priceless, it really does make our day.
Moving home is full of ups and downs, twists and turns. We are glad that we can be there for our buyers and sellers throughout. We keep the plates spinning and the sale progressing. That is what a good estate agent does. It is one thing getting an offer on a home, it is another helping it through to completion. And that is what it is all about. Helping every one of our amazing customers achieve their moving dreams and enjoy the experience of moving. When you are happy, so are we.
If you want expert advice on the steps involved in selling your home, get in touch with us today. Call us on 01423 563077, email talk@alexandergibson.co.uk or visit our website at www.alexandergibson.co.uk. We look forward to speaking to you about your exciting moving plans.