A Conveyancing Solicitors Guide to Selling Your Home

Selling your home can be one of life's most stressful events, whether it is a freehold house or leasehold flat. It also involves what is probably the most expensive financial transaction you will ever carry out. You will need conveyancing solicitors to help you sell your house - but what is actually involved in house sales?

1. Once they have your instructions, your conveyancing solicitors will get hold of the deeds to your property. If there is a mortgage on the property your solicitor will need details of the redemption amount from your bank or building society.

2. You will have to fill in a Fixtures and Fittings and Seller's Property Information Form, that provides relevant information about the property and the items that are to be incorporated into the sale.

3. Your solicitor will draft the contract for the sale of the property and send this across to the buyer's solicitor for them to check.

4. The Seller's Property Information and Fixtures and Fittings forms are also given to the buyer and later will become part of the contract and therefore it is absolutely essential that these are completed accurately.

5. Your solicitors then need to answer any queries that the buyer and their solicitors have about the property. Once this is resolved, the buyer's solicitor will return the final contract.

6. Your solicitor will next approve the draft contract with you and arrange for you to sign the contract and then they will approve the mortgage redemption figure and agree a completion date.

7. Exchange of contracts - they will ask for the money from your mortgage lender and draft the transfer deed, which will then be agreed with the seller's solicitors.

8. The buyer must then do more searches before the completion date. They also send your solicitor a draft transfer for agreement. When approved, you will need to sign the document too. You should now be ready to complete your sale.

9. Keys to the property must be available at the time of completion. Make sure all utility meters are read before the premises are vacated.

10. At completion your solicitor will receive the outstanding funds from the buyer's solicitors and send the signed transfer and deeds to them and then pay off any mortgage on your property.

Don't forget that if you are also buying a house the two transactions will usually have to be synchronised.

When coming to sell your house or flat, for a stress free sale make sure you choose a local conveyancing specialist.