07 Jun HAVE YOU SOLD, WHEN YOU HAVE ‘SOLD’?

Almost certainly not, you are only at the first stage of a long and bumpy journey.

Firstly, having someone who wants to buy your property is an essential factor, but what do you know about their position and means? You can’t know about any change of attitude, so that has to be left to chance, but a good Estate Agent will have found out everything else necessary, before recommending that you accept an offer.

Their due diligence requires them to obtain ‘Proof of Funding’, ie. can the potential buyer afford the property? Where are the funds coming from? Is there a large deposit or no mortgage required? Ant-Money Laundering checks must be undertaken to establish the source of any large sums.

Is their ability to purchase dependent on the sale of another property? If so, do they have a buyer and if they do, what is their position?

All being well, you accept an offer, then the journey begins. A good Agent will have a specialist Sales Progression Department, with experienced personnel who have extensive knowledge of the procedures and potential problems. Here communication is the key, with The Solicitors acting for you and your purchaser, their Building Society or other mortgage provider, the Buyers themselves and of course, with You.

It is our experience that we often have to liaise between Solicitors or Conveyancers, who may be waiting for something to happen, with Surveyors providing them with full information including evidence of values to support the selling price and negotiating with all parties, if problems arise.

There isn’t room here to list all the possible pitfalls, but be assured that they can be many and varied.

After numerous weeks of activity, you will hopefully reach the point where a ‘Sale’ really is a ‘Sale’.