Right now, many people are thinking about buying and selling their property, with the aim to complete the purchase and move as soon as possible.
The reasons for the urgency are clear; with a stamp duty holiday set to end in less than six months and house prices rising at a rate we have not seen in years, people who were on the fence about relocating do not want to delay.
With the number of active buyers two-thirds higher than a year ago, that means a lot of people need to go through the process of buying and selling at the same time.
The process of conveyancing can be sped up however if you know the process and make sure everything you need is ready ahead of time. Here are the best ways to speed up the house buying process and get to your new home sooner.
Know The Process
The process of buying or selling a home is different from buying or selling most other products. When you buy a house you are buying the land it is on and the rights involved to it (known as the title). The process is only then complete when the contracts are signed by both parties and exchanged.
Generally, the way the buying process works is that a price is negotiated and agreed in principle before the buyer organises a survey of the property to ensure everything is as agreed. The entire process is known as conveyancing
Because the rights to property are often old and exceptionally complicated, generally most of the processes are handled by a solicitor who knows about property law and ideally the local area. If you are paying for the house with a mortgage you almost always need to hire a conveyancer.
After all, solicitors in Surrey tend to know the location and how local law affects property rights better than a solicitor from another county.
The conveyancer undertakes several property searches depending on the area. These include basic checks such as with the local authority and Land Registry to know legally exactly what has been bought, as well as information about the local area such as flood risks, public drains, environmental hazards and others.
There are also some particular quirks to conveyancing to check, for example, if in the medieval age liabilities were placed on the property and you have to pay fees.
Conveyancing helps to straighten everything, work out any issues and work with all the parties involved to ensure that nothing is stopping you from owning the property, selling the property down the line or get a mortgage on it.
Prepare Your Financing
Before you even start searching, make sure you know what mortgage provider and product you want, and ask for a decision in principle (or DIP), which will get the credit checks out of the way and let you know how much you can afford to place on a mortgage.
Prepare Important Documents
When you work with your solicitor to help facilitate the purchase, they will ask you for several forms, documents and ID as part of the process. Make sure documents are provided as soon as possible and ask for a confirmation of receipt.
