Instruction and ID
01File opened, electronic identity checks completed and title obtained from HM Land Registry.
Selling a home
Sales are won or lost in the first fortnight. We build a complete contract pack before enquiries arrive so your buyer's solicitor has nothing to chase.
Typical timescale
8–14 weeks
Fee basis
Fixed, quoted up front
Paid
From sale proceeds on completion
Includes
Redemption of your existing mortgage
01Selling a home
Preparing the pack properly
The single biggest cause of delay on a sale is an incomplete contract pack. We obtain official copies of your title from HM Land Registry the day we are instructed, send you the property information and fittings and contents forms with guidance on how to complete them, and identify at the outset the documents a buyer will inevitably ask for.
Those documents usually include building regulations completion certificates for any works, FENSA or CERTASS certificates for replacement windows, gas and electrical safety paperwork, guarantees for damp-proofing or timber treatment, and planning permission for extensions or a loft conversion. Where a document is missing we discuss the options — an indemnity policy, a regularisation application, or simply disclosing the position — before your buyer's solicitor raises it as a problem.
02Selling a home
Leasehold sales
If you are selling a flat, the managing agent or freeholder must produce a leasehold information pack: the service charge accounts, the current budget, insurance details, major works planned under section 20, and any ground rent arrears. Packs commonly take three to six weeks and cost between £200 and £500. We order yours immediately rather than waiting for the buyer to ask.
03Selling a home
Redeeming your mortgage and the financial statement
We obtain a redemption statement from your lender and prepare a completion statement showing the sale price, the mortgage redemption, the estate agent's commission, our fees and the balance due to you. You see those figures before exchange, not on the day.
On completion we receive the purchase money, redeem the mortgage the same day, pay the agent from the proceeds if you ask us to, and send the balance to your nominated account.
04Selling a home
Selling in a chain
Where you are selling and buying at the same time we synchronise the two files so that exchange happens simultaneously and the completion date works for the whole chain. If a related sale or purchase is being handled elsewhere we liaise directly with those solicitors rather than through the agents.
STEPSHow the matter runs
Every selling a home file follows the same sequence.
Forms and documents
02Property information and contents forms completed with our guidance; certificates and guarantees gathered.
Contract pack issued
03A full pack goes to the buyer's solicitor so enquiries start from a complete picture.
Enquiries answered
04We answer enquiries promptly and only refer to you where the answer is genuinely yours to give.
Exchange
05Completion date agreed with the chain and contracts exchanged.
Completion and redemption
06Money received, mortgage redeemed, agent paid, balance sent to you.
Questions we are asked most
Keys are released through the estate agent once we confirm that the purchase money has arrived, normally between midday and 2pm on the completion date.
Property law, handled properly.
Need help with selling a home?
Send us the basic details and we will come back with a written quotation, the likely timescale and the name of the solicitor who will handle it.