As the property market gears up for a busy period, Chris Salmon of Quittance Legal Services offers advice on how to speed up conveyancing process – even if you haven’t quite clinched a sale
The stamp duty holiday is welcome news for buyers and sellers alike. A buyers’ market is still a strong possibility for the second half of 2020 however.
With delays in the conveyancing process likely to continue, is there anything that you should be doing while waiting for an offer to help speed things up?
Why are delays happening?
When acting for the seller of a property, conveyancing solicitors must collate and review a wealth of information from various sources. These sources include local authorities, lenders, brokers, the Land Registry, managing agents and you – the seller.
In normal times, it takes two to three months on average to complete the conveyancing process. In the coming months, the conveyancing process will be protracted by employees on furlough, ongoing social distancing measures, local authority search delays, mortgage approval delays and maybe even a second wave.
What can sellers do to prevent delays?
There are several things you can do to progress your sale, even if you haven’t yet found a buyer. Taking a proactive approach could even shave weeks off the conveyancing process.
Instruct a conveyancing solicitor ASAP
Even many experienced home sellers don’t instruct a conveyancing solicitor until they have accepted an offer. This is a mistake.
Much of the legal work on the seller’s side can be completed without a buyer. Your solicitor can carry out the necessary ID and money laundering checks and guide you through the completion of the various property forms.
With your legal file set up, and having had time to properly review your sale, the solicitor can anticipate the legal enquiries that the buyer’s solicitor will raise. Together, you and your solicitor can decide in advance how to address any potential issues and agree on a course of action.
Once you receive an offer, your solicitor will be able to send out the sale contract pack to the buyer’s solicitor within a couple of days.
If you wait until you accept an offer to instruct a solicitor, you will have lost your best opportunity to accelerate your sale.
Most solicitors offer a ‘no move, no fee’ service, so there’s no financial risk in starting the legal process as early as possible.
Complete the property forms
Once your solicitor is formally instructed, you will need to complete the standard property information forms.
These include the Sellers Property Information Form, the Fittings and Contents form, and the Leasehold Information Form (if you are selling a flat).
These forms are lengthy, and you may have questions for your conveyancer about how to complete them or what other paperwork you need to supply. Completing these forms before you find a buyer can save valuable time in the conveyancing process.
Source missing documents and certificates
The property forms will ask you if you have paperwork such as gas certificates, electrical completion certificates, warranties and other documents. If you can’t find these, your solicitor can advise you on how to proceed.
Strategise
If the property forms identify a potential issue, like an unofficial roof terrace or missing building controls sign-off, your solicitor can recommend the best strategy.
For example, most legal defects can be covered off with an indemnity policy. Indemnity insurance is usually easier, cheaper and quicker than fixing the underlying legal issue.
This approach will enable your solicitor to present a solution alongside the potential problem, avoiding a debate with the buyer’s solicitor and saving considerable time.
Reducing uncertainty and presenting solutions rather than problems will also help prevent the buyer from getting jittery.
Managing agent information
If you are selling a flat, sourcing paperwork from the landlord or managing agent can create weeks of delays at the best of times.
As transaction volumes increase, it is likely that requests for information will continue to overwhelm managing agents. This will create even longer delays.
The spectre of lengthy delays in obtaining management information is rearing its head.
Managing agents range from small concerns to large companies with many employees. Either way, they will need to balance a return to normal operation with current government guidelines. Alongside the excess demand for management information, this can only lead to further delays.
If your solicitor can source the management information while you await an offer, you can supply this to your buyer at the start of the conveyancing process and avoid one of the biggest causes of delay.
Managing agent information often costs a few hundred pounds, but if you intend to sell you will have to pay for it in any event.
Compared with the cost of a delayed transaction, or worse still the buyer pulling out, the outlay would be well worth it.
Chris Salmon is a co-founder and director of Quittance Legal Services
