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Easy Conveyancing - The secrets to a stress free move

Andrew Boast

03/03/2019

Easy Conveyancing? Is there such a thing? Since helping my first client to move home in 2000 I have helped tens of thousands of clients to successfully move home and I have learned there are ways to ensure a stress free move and they are, mostly, all with in your control. I'll run though all the things you can do to make your move as stress free as possible and even give tips on what to do when things outside of control try to effect your zen.

Choose the right professionals

In our article, How to choose the best conveyancing solicitor, we focus on how to avoid working with a conveyancing lawyer who is slow, unresponsive or inexperienced, however it doesn't just stop there, you need to choose experienced surveyors and mortgage brokers.

The support and guidance of conveyancing specialists will protect you from the stresses of challenges along the way. Here are some examples:

Mortgage broker - having a mortgage broker who has access to the whole of the mortgage market can help if you come against challenges with an individual lender. Lending criteria changes depending on whcih lender you apply for so better to have a broker to help you choose a lender who is more likely to work with you based on your circumstances.
RICS Surveyor - an experienced surveyor can help you spot defects with the property that you wouldn't even know to look for. Make sure to work with one with knowledge of the style of proeprty you are buying.

Don't spend money when your chain isn't complete

Your chain can be very long with a number of buyers and sellers, all facing the same challenges of uncertainty. With a chain you want to know it is complete before you start spending money. What you don't want to do is spend hundreds of pounds on conveyancing searches, mortgage valuation and property surveys, when either the person in the chain above you hasn't found a property to buy and may have to pull out of their sale to you.

You can download your free chain checklist here - Check Your Chain Checklist

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Don't hand in your notice to your landlord at the start

This is probably the biggest cause to stress in conveyancing because clients can accidentally make the mistake of handing in their notice on the tenancy once they have their offer accepted. With 1 in 3 purchases failing to complete, that could mean 1 in 3 clients have made themselves homeless by handing in their notice too soon. Although it is a risk it is understandable why you would want to limit your time paying your mortgage and also paying your rent.

Even if you are one of the 2 in 3 who successfully complete, what you have done is set a date for when you will have to be out of your rental property and into your new home which may, or may not, be achievable. Suddenly you are making decisions during the conveyancing process based on this date; potentially ignoring issues and often applying time frames to your solicitor and chain that might not be achievable. It may even be that their is a legal challenge stopping you, or someone else in the chain from exchanging. Even though you might be happy to take on the risk to ignore a legal issue or property defect, if you are getting a mortgage then your mortgage lender won't take the same risk.

The best advice is to no take the risk of ignoring key issues or adding stress to your move by handing in your notice too early. Although your solicitor will only ever say to hand in your notice once you've exchanged contracts, you maybe able to hand it in sooner, but as close to exchange as possible. You can read more about this here, Click to read when the best time is to hand in your notice.

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There is no such thing as an exchange date

Now with that said, exchange of contracts is the goal as it the point of the process where all parties are legally bound to complete, however there isn't an exchange date, only a completion date. You'll have an easy conveyance if you work towards a realistic completion date. If you do this then exchange of contracts will happen as soon as your solicitor is ready to exchange.

Don't be pressurised by the estate agent

Buyers are often placed under pressure by the selling agent to get to exchange; sometimes when getting to exchange isn't in the buyer's best interest. This pressure could influence your decisions or add additional stress when all you are looking for is an easy conveyance and to not end up owning a property that you can't sell in the future.

The Property Ombudsman states in the Code of Practice for Residential Estate Agents:

"18a Aggressive Behaviour. Here are some illustrative examples of aggressive behaviour or practices. It is not an exhaustive list. In each case, the test is whether the average consumer’s freedom of choice or conduct is (or would be likely to be) impaired and, as a result, they take (or would be likely to take) a different transactional decision. When you gain new clients and instructions, when you market property, when you negotiate and make sales...

"...Pressurising (for example by persistent and/or aggressive telephone calls) the buyer to act quickly to put in an offer, raise their price, skip the survey, finalise the sale and/or exchange contracts.

If you are placed under any pressure then get your solicitor to update the estate agent and protect you from their pressure. If you are using SAM Conveyancing, and you are being placed under pressure, then we will do this for you so call us on 0333 344 3234 (local call charges apply).

Don't save a penny at the expense of a pound

A property survey isn't mandatory, so for some buyers it is seen as a money saver. According to RICS, home buyers spend £5,750 on average on repairs once moved into their new home, so you should look to get a surveyor to ensure you aren't one of the unlucky ones; a £5,750 repair bill would be very stressful when you've only just moved in.

Know what to do and when to do it

Not knowing what is going on throughout the conveyancing process adds stress to the process. When should you get your building insurance, who do you collect keys from on completion? When do you need to pay your solicitor your deposit? What happens if you are getting a gifted deposit?

Things are always the scariest when you haven't done them before so use online conveyancing guides to keep you up to date throughout the process; always knowing what to do and when to do it. You can use our conveyancing process to keep up to date throughout your move.