Selling Process, Legal Work up to Exchange of Contracts

3. Pre-Contract Stage (click here for Stages 1 & 2)

We send out the draft contract package...

As well as the Draft Contract there will be a number of other documents making up the Draft Contract Package including evidence of title (including a copy of any lease) and a Property Information Form completed by the seller giving details about the property and a Fixtures, Fittings & Contents List.   These are all sent to the buyer's solicitors.   Some of these documents may be in a Home Information Pack.

It is then up to the buyer and his solicitors...

If we do not hear from the other solicitors after a reasonable time we will ask about how they are progressing.  It is however important that a seller understands that we do not automatically get told details such as whether or not a buyer has a mortgage offer, and whether any transactions below the buyer are ready  to proceed or not.  

Dealing with additional enquiries...

Usually, the buyer's solicitors will write with any additional enquiries that they feel they should make.   We will then send these to you with some draft answers from information that we already have or by making common sense assumptions. There may be some things we will not know or papers that we may need from you.

Other solicitors may ask for things that may involve a seller in incurring cost or a possible significant delay while some document or consent is obtained from another person or organisation. 

Sometimes the requests may appear silly. We may be able to explain the reasons for them, or sometimes we will also think they are silly.  If there are a tactical reasons for delaying, or if it is a strong seller's market you may simply refuse to deal with a particular point.  However, in a lot of cases, however silly the question is, it may be better to deal with it in order to progress the matter.

Approval of the draft contract...

Once the buyer's solicitor is happy with its wording he will write the draft contract he will write approving the draft contract. If there is no related purchase we will send it to you for signature so that we will be ready to exchange contracts when the buyer is ready to do so. If there is related purchase, the sale contract will normally be sent with the Pre-Contract Report.

The next stage is Exchange of Contracts. Click this link for the NEXT page.

Click to go back to Selling Process Stages 1 & 2