Itchy feet this spring?

Putting your house on the market this Spring? If so, please contact us as soon as you do, or ideally even before you instruct an estate agent. Doing so can save you time and money and should make the process of moving house less stressful.

The process of buying and selling our homes is ranked among the most stressful situations we are likely to encounter in our lives yet we put ourselves through the buying and selling process quite willingly and, for some, on a regular basis.

One way in which the stress of the selling process can be substantially reduced is by allowing us the opportunity to check through the legal paperwork for the property well before a buyer is found so that we can:

• resolve any title discrepancies that there might be;
• obtain any planning decision notices or building regulation approvals;
• obtain any new build warranty documentation or architects certificates where applicable;
• obtain any other documents referred to on the title documentation or registers of title;
• ensure that copies of any indemnity insurance policies are to hand;
• deal with many other issues whilst the property is being marketed.

If these issues can be resolved now whilst the property is on the market, we are in a better position to submit an “exchange ready” contract package when you finally find a buyer .

Help us to help you.

You can help us to help you through the conveyancing process by being, like us, pro-active from an early stage. Chattertons have recently been involved in several cases where title difficulties have been resolved whilst a property was still being marketed thus ensuring that the transaction proceeded much more quickly in the end and with less stress:

Case 1 – 3 week delay averted

Title to the property was unregistered the sellers having purchased the property prior to compulsory registration. The documentation supplied to us showed that the owners had bought additional land during their ownership, without being legally represented. The purchase of the additional land was made after compulsory first registration but was not registered as well as some other title problems. It took three weeks to resolve these issues and the title was perfected whilst the property was being marketed thus saving at least a three week delay when a buyer was found.

Case 2 – 5 week delay averted

Title to the property was registered at the Land Registry but further investigation showed that part of the property was also registered to an adjacent property owner. Following communication with the Land Registry and the adjacent property owner, after some five weeks, the land registered twice was removed from the adjacent property owner’s title thus saving at least a five week delay on submission of contracts.

Case 3 - 4 week delay averted

Title to the property was registered but an examination of the title plan and the plot transfer plan showed that part of the property had been excluded from the title plan in error. Following communication with the Land Registry, the title plan was rectified after four weeks.

Case 4 – 6 week delay averted

Property only two years old and covered by NHBC new build warranty. Solicitors acting for our client on their purchase had not completed the necessary NHBC offer documentation thus no final certificates had been issued. Six weeks of communicating with the un-co-operative previous solicitor and with NHBC resulted in the certificates being available by the time a buyer was found. The relevant planning permissions and building regulation approval were also obtained from the other solicitors whilst obtaining the NHBC documentation.

What have I got to lose?

As you can see from the above examples, giving us formal instructions now can substantially reduce or eliminate altogether, delays in being able to submit a complete package of documents to your buyers. What have you got to lose – stress, strain, and delays!

What’s in it for me?

The opportunity to be able to concentrate on your new purchase without having to worry about delays being caused by resolving issues on your sale leading to a more relaxed and stress free transaction.

INSTRUCT US NOW – help us to help you!

If you would any further information regarding the process of buying or selling a property then please contact a member of our Conveyancing Team.