7 Steps to Home Moving Success

At enact, we know that conveyancing can be confusing, so we’ve produced a short, step-by-step conveyancing guide, so that you’ll know exactly what to expect every step of the way.

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Choosing your Conveyancer

Appointing a conveyancer is one of the most important steps on the journey to your new home, and it’s vital to choose well. With enact, the process is smooth and stress-free and you can even monitor progress 24/7 with our online case tracker.

Online Case Tracker

Case Tracker simplifies the process of buying or selling a house by giving you instant access to vital information and alerts about the steps you need to take. This market-leading service enables you to complete our paperwork online, offers you the ability to upload documents you need to get to us, and allows you to contact your dedicated case handler through secure messaging, or even video conference at a time convenient to you. Here’s a video showing our case tracker in action.

Conveyancer

A conveyancer is a legal representative who deals with the legal process of the transfer of property.

enact are a firm of Licensed Conveyancers, which means we are regulated specifically to conduct property related transactions.

Our short video will explain it more in-depth.

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Preparing the Paperwork

If you’ve appointed enact as your conveyancer, congratulations! You’ve made the right choice. We’ll get to work immediately, preparing all the relevant documentation. This will be sent out to you and the solicitor acting for your buyer/seller.

To avoid delays, it’s important that you return documents to us as quickly as possible.

Issuing contract papers

If you’re selling, we will collate all the documents which prove you have the right to sell the property and confirm on what terms the property is being sold. We then issue these to the buyer’s conveyancer. In the meantime, the buyer’s conveyancer will request their “searches”.

Documents

As a minimum, we’d recommend getting your hands on the following:
– Current passport and/or driving licence
– Proof of address/utility bills
– Last 3 months payslips and your most recent P60
– If you’re self-employed, last 3 years’ accounts and an original copy of the SA302 form from HMRC
– If you’re selling, information relating to your property, such as boiler checks, guarantees and planning consents.

Searches

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Starting the work

Your conveyancer will start working on your case immediately. At this stage we’ll also:
• Ask you to complete various forms
• Take an initial payment so we can order searches or title documents
• Verify your identity

3

Legal Legwork

Conveyancing enquiries

Conveyancing enquiries are the questions raised by the Conveyancer acting for the buyer in a property transaction. These questions are asked to help the buyer’s Conveyancer to understand any potential legal issues that may affect the property that the buyer and/or their mortgage lender may need to be aware of before committing to purchasing the property. Dealing with enquiries forms a major part of the conveyancing process. Have a look at our video on conveyancing enquiries.

Mortgage

To begin with, anybody looking for a mortgage, particularly a first time buyer, should ask themselves the all-important question: ‘how much money can I afford to borrow?’. This question should be followed by asking how much you can afford to pay upfront for your first house. You will find a better mortgage deal if you are able to put down a larger deposit.

Buildings Insurance

Is an essential form of insurance for anyone looking to buy their own home, although if you are buying a flat this will usually be covered as part of the service charge. This insurance will cover the full cost of rebuilding your home in the event of it being destroyed by fire or other events beyond your control.

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Preparing for Exchange

Nearly there! You’re now at the point of preparing to exchange the contract, and the end is almost in sight. All enquiries have been returned, the paperwork is in order and the searches are satisfactory. Before exchanging contracts we need to agree a completion date. If you’re buying you’ll need to transfer the deposit so that it clears in time for exchange.

At this stage, you may wish to visit the property to double-check that everything is in order. Once exchange takes place you’ll be required to take the property in the condition it was in at the point contracts were exchanged, so a viewing is a good way to avoid nasty surprises and ensure that all the items on the fixtures and fittings list are there.

Completion Date

The completion date, put simply, is moving day. It usually falls within 1-4 weeks after exchanging contracts. It’s the date on which the seller must vacate the property and the buyer will get the keys and can move in. Fundamentally, on completion, the buyer must, through their lawyer, hand over all the remaining money required to purchase the property.

Fixtures and Fittings list

comprises of all items itended to be transfered with or removed from the property upon finalisation. As the name suggest fixtures are not easily removable items, and their price is usualy included within the property. Fittings are imovable tems such as tables, lamps, or carpets, seller might decide to add an extra fee for such inventory.

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Exchanging Contracts

We will exchange contracts for you and at this point the completion date agreed by you and your buyer becomes legally binding.

If you are in a chain, everyone else within it will also go through the same process.

Exchange of Contracts

Once exchange has taken place, both buyer and seller are legally committed to the purchase. If the buyer did not go ahead with the purchase, they would lose their deposit at a minimum and, if the seller refused to go ahead, the contract could potentially be enforced through the courts and the seller forced to vacate, or the buyer could be awarded damages.

It’s really important when exchanging contracts that the date set for completion is achievable and that the seller knows they can remove themselves and their belongings on or before the agreed date and that the buyer knows they will have the money ready, either through a mortgage offer or their own resources.

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Moving Day

The moment you’ve been waiting for! As a seller, you’ll move out of your old property and, as a buyer you’ll collect the keys to your new home (usually from the estate agents).
Moving home needn’t be manic. Planning ahead will help to ensure everything goes smoothly. Moving house takes time, and a lot of effort, that’s why it’s important to choose your completion day wisely beforehand. No matter how well you’ve planned everything, preparing for delays will help to ensure you’re not disappointed if your move doesn’t quite go to schedule.

Choose Move Day Wisely

Completion can only take place on a weekday. It can be all too easy to set your completion day to a Friday, since this is the opening day for the weekend, giving you time to move in without taking extra time off, and with a long stretch of time to get everything sorted.

Many people don’t consider however how popular a Friday completion day is for home movers and removals too. Remember, a weekday may entail booking time off work, but a Monday or Tuesday completion day is more likely to suit your removers and you may find they have better availability or may even be cheaper.

Prepare for Delays

Completion is generally meant to take place by 1-2pm on your agreed day of completion. However, things may not always go to plan, especially if you are involved in a chain. You can prepare for this by booking your removals firm out for the full day, rather than agreeing that they will be done by a specific time.

Check Payments

Charges for stamp duty and VAT, for example, should be paid before the completion day by everyone involved in your chain. Its important that everything has been paid for beforehand, on your part, in order for the completion day to run as smoothly as possible.

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Dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s

Once you’ve completed, there are still a few loose ends to tie up at our end. While you’re busy unpacking, we’ll register the property in your name at the Land Registry. We’ll also pay any applicable Stamp Duty from the funds you have provided. You’ll receive your legal documents roughly 3 weeks after completion. Keep all your paperwork together and file it away for future reference. Last but not least, congratulations on your new home!

Get Quote

Freehold Leasehold
Mortgage No Mortgage
Freehold Leasehold
Mortgage No Mortgage

We’d love to hear from you!

Call us at: 0344 244 2000

Or email us:

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    View Your Free Instant Conveyancing Quote

    We hope you’ve found this guide useful. If you still are hesitant or have some questions nothing beats a chat with a real person. We’d love to hear from you. Why not get a quote and start your own journey to home moving success now!

    Get Quote

    Freehold Leasehold
    Mortgage No Mortgage
    Freehold Leasehold
    Mortgage No Mortgage

    We’d love to hear from you!

    Call us at: 0344 244 2000

    Or email us:

      Freehold Leasehold
      Mortgage No Mortgage
      Freehold Leasehold
      Mortgage No Mortgage
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