Property purchases, however, require a lot of human input and hence tend to proceed rather more slowly. The good news is that there are ways to speed up the legal process if you know the right approach to take. The experts at Property Cash Buyers have put together these useful tips for speeding up the conveyancing process when selling your home.
Start with the survey
If you need a mortgage, your lender will almost certainly insist on a home valuation. It’s crucial to understand that this is a check to protect your lender rather than to protect you as the purchaser. Given the amount of money involved in the average house purchase, it is strongly recommended to have a proper survey undertaken. There are several types of surveys available, which provide different levels of detail and therefore come at different prices, so you should research which one is best for you. Assuming you plan to have a survey done, arrange it as quickly as you can and check with your lender to see if it can be accepted in place of the valuation report (or alternatively combined with a valuation report). This will save time on the process and may also save a bit of money.
Canter through conveyancing
At heart, conveyancing is a process by which a conveyancer will gather together all relevant information about a property so that the potential buyer can make an informed decision about what to do next. The buyer may choose to proceed with the purchase at the agreed price, offer a lower price to reflect issues identified by the surveyor or conveyancer or walk away from the sale completely. As part of the conveyancing process, the buyer’s conveyancer will receive a sales pack of documents from the seller’s conveyancer, which will include the sales contract plus any other information relevant to the sale of the house (e.g. guarantees for any repair or maintenance work undertaken). The buyer’s conveyancer will also undertake what are known as “searches” on their client’s behalf. This means that they will contact third parties, such as local authorities, to obtain any further information which is relevant to the home-buying process. The two keys to speedy conveyancing are preparation and communication.
Speed tip for sellers
As soon as you decide to sell your house, start gathering the relevant documentation and keeping it in a place which is both safe and obvious, e.g. a dedicated folder. Given the importance of the documentation, it may be highly advisable to take scans of it as well. That way you’ll be in a position to let the buyer’s conveyancer get to work with copies of the documents, while you replace the originals (if necessary).
Speed tip for buyers
Keep communicating with all relevant parties so you stay aware of what is happening and can potentially help to move the process along. Ask your conveyancer to (blind) copy you when they send out communications on your behalf so you always have visibility of what they are doing. If minor issues arise, see if you can resolve them directly with the seller and/or their agent rather than waiting on messages to be relayed between your conveyancers. For more information on selling