If you have bought a property before, you will already have some familiarity with the conveyancing process. Selling, however, puts you in a different position: you are now the party providing information rather than receiving it. The more honest that information is at the outset, the smoother your sale is likely to be.
Here are 10 things to disclose to your solicitor when selling your home.
1. Work carried out during your ownership
Let your conveyancer know what was done, approximately when, and whether you hold the relevant documentation, such as planning permission, building regulations approval or installer certificates.
This includes extensions, loft conversions, the removal of internal walls, garage conversions, replacement windows, rewiring and new boilers.
If you do not have the paperwork, please tell us. There are usually solutions available, but they take time to put in place.
2. Work carried out before you owned the property
You may have inherited a conservatory or extension without any supporting documentation. The buyer’s solicitor will raise enquiries regardless. Knowing about it early allows us to investigate the position in advance rather than respond under pressure.
3. Disputes with neighbours.
This is the question sellers most often hesitate over. It extends beyond formal disputes to include complaints, correspondence and ongoing disagreements concerning boundaries, noise, parking, trees or any other matter. You will be asked about this directly on the Property Information Form, and your answer must be accurate and complete.
4. Shared arrangements
Shared driveways, private roads, drains, septic tanks, jointly maintained boundaries and rights of way, whether over a neighbour’s land or your own, all need to be disclosed. These arrangements are often informal and undocumented, and they frequently give rise to enquiries. It is far better that we are aware of them from the start.
5. Other parties with an interest in the property
Everyone named on the title will need to sign the transfer. Tell your conveyancer if a former partner remains on the title, if a family member contributed to the purchase price, or if anyone else may have a legal or beneficial interest. They also need to know if anyone who must sign lives abroad, is unwell or may otherwise be difficult to contact.
6. Anything secured against the property besides your main mortgage.
This includes second charges, secured loans, Help to Buy equity loans and any charge registered by a lender you may have overlooked. Every charge secured against the property must be redeemed on completion, and each requires time to arrange.
7. Occupiers of the property
If there is a tenant, a lodger, or a family member living there, tell us early. The buyer will almost certainly require vacant possession on completion, and how that is achieved depends entirely on the arrangement in place.
8. Key dates
These may include an onward purchase, the end of a tenancy, a new job, the start of a school term or a holiday you have already booked. While we cannot guarantee any completion date, we can only work towards yours if we know what they are. It is far easier to plan a timetable around a known commitment than to accommodate one we learn about in the week contracts are due to be exchanged.
9. How you came to own the property
Acquiring a property through inheritance, divorce, a gift, a transfer between family members or an auction purchase can affect what your buyer’s lender will require. These matters are much easier to address at the beginning of the transaction.
10. Items you intend to take with you
Light fittings, curtains, appliances, sheds, garden plants and fitted wardrobes are all common sources of misunderstanding. What seems obvious to you may not be obvious to your buyer. Please let your conveyancer know so that we can record them accurately on the Fittings and Contents Form and avoid any surprises on completion day.
The more we know the better
If you are unsure whether something is relevant, tell us anyway. We would far rather hear about something that turns out not to matter than discover it eight weeks in.
At PLS, our Sale Ready service allows us to begin work on your sale before you have found a buyer, which means these conversations happen while there is time to act on them, rather than when a buyer is waiting.
