Instructing a Solicitor

The legal process of selling your house is left to a Solicitor or Conveyancer - remember Estate Agents provide no legal qualifications or function at this stage. Usually if they recommend a Solicitor, Conveyancer or Mortgage Provider they may be getting a kick-back - in addition to their commission!

You need to provide your solicitor with:

• Your full name (seller's name)
• Address of the property to be sold
• Buyer's full name and current address
• Buyers solicitor's name, address and telephone
• Sale price
• Any items that are not included in the sale that the buyer also wishes to purchase and prices
• Preferred exchange contracts date - this helps move things along but also highlights if any problems arise on the buyers side allowing you to contact other interested buyers if necessary.

Your Solicitor will contact the buyer's Solicitor and start the legal process of selling your house. You may also want to give the buyer your Solicitor's full contact details so they too can get the ball rolling.

The role of a Solicitor is to ensure that the property being sold will at the end of the sale belong to the buyer without a shadow of a doubt. They will verify:

• the property is not going to be affected by any local Council plans,
• if the property is built on contaminated land
• the property isn't a listed building
• the Title Deeds to see if the seller is the legal owner of the property and if there is any confusion regarding private footpaths, boundaries and rights of way
• the transfer documents and final searches have been carried out
• contracts have been exchanged and funds transferred.