Offer accepted
Once a deal has been negotiated, and agreed by both parties, the property can be classed as 'under offer' and the process can commence.
Sales completed within 9 weeks
In the UK it takes 2 to 3 months to sell a house, however, it is not always the case, some properties sell within the first week, while others remain on the market for years. According to the latest “City Rate of Sale Report” released by Post Office Money Mortgages, the average property in the UK takes 102 days to sell (Jan 2019). At Austin D’arcy, we aim to get all of our sales completed within 9 weeks, this is the typical sales journey:
Instruct solicitors
Both parties will instruct their solicitors at this point. They will require documents to satisfy their Anti-Money Laundering requirements. They will now start to prepare draft contracts.
Apply for mortgage
The buyer will apply for a mortgage and pay for the survey to be carried out on the property.
Searches requested
Local authorities take different lengths of time to provide searches, from 48 hours to 6 weeks, so it's important to get these requested as quickly as possible.
Enquiries raised & answered
This is where it is so important to have a good, speedy, proactive solicitor on your side. Make sure you ask us for a recommendation.
Mortgage offer received
This is the crunch time when price re-negotiations could be requested if the surveyor has picked up any unexpected issues during the survey.
Solicitor meeting
At this meeting (which could happen virtually nowadays) the solicitor goes through the sales contract and the parties will sign, ready for exchange to happen. Buyers will provide their solicitor with the mortgage offer and deposit. A mutually convenient completion date will be set along the sales chain.
Exchange of contracts
The day everyone waits for! This is the moment when the deal is pretty certain to happen or compensation will be required. Time to celebrate.
Final payments arranged
The solicitors send the money up from the bottom of the sales chain to the top. It is usual to get a call from us around lunchtime to say that we have been given 'key release' from the solicitor. Time to move.
