Selling your home: the legal steps from offer to completion

The legal side of a sale at a glance

Once you accept an offer, your conveyancer (the solicitor or licensed conveyancer handling your legal work) prepares the paperwork that proves you own the property and tells the buyer about it. The buyer's conveyancer checks it, orders searches and asks questions, while you gather documents and answer the questions only you can.

The sale becomes legally binding at exchange of contracts, when the completion date is fixed. On completion day the buyer's money arrives, you hand over the keys and your conveyancer pays off your mortgage. A freehold sale (where you own the building and land outright) commonly takes 10 to 16 weeks from instruction to completion, and a leasehold sale (where you own the home for a fixed number of years under a lease) 12 to 20 weeks, although every chain (the linked sales and purchases that depend on each other) is different.

Instruct a conveyancer early

You do not have to wait for a buyer before instructing a conveyancer. Starting when you put the property on the market lets the early work happen in the background, so the buyer's conveyancer can receive a complete contract pack (the draft contract and supporting documents) as soon as the sale is agreed.

Early instruction is especially useful for a leasehold property, because the information pack from the landlord or managing agent can take weeks to arrive. It also gives you time to track down missing documents, such as building regulations certificates for an extension, before they hold anything up. Your conveyancer will send a client care letter (its written terms of engagement) setting out its fees and who will handle your sale.

Identity and anti-money laundering checks

Conveyancers must check who their clients are under anti-money laundering rules, which exist to stop property being used to hide the proceeds of crime. On a sale, these checks also protect you from fraudsters who pretend to own a property so they can sell it or borrow against it.

Expect to provide photo identification and proof of your address, and often to complete an electronic identity check through an app or website. Your conveyancer will also confirm that you are the registered owner. If someone is selling on your behalf, for example under a power of attorney (a legal document allowing another person to act for you), or the owner is a company or trust, extra documents will be needed.

The property forms in plain words

Your conveyancer will ask you to complete a set of standard forms, usually the Law Society's TA forms. Together they give the buyer the information they need and become part of the contract pack.

• TA6 Property Information Form: your answers about the property, such as boundaries, disputes with neighbours, alterations, notices you have received, warranties for work done, utilities and parking
• TA10 Fittings and Contents Form: a room-by-room list of what is included in the price, what you are taking and anything you are offering to sell separately, such as curtains or a garden shed
• TA7 Leasehold Information Form: for leasehold homes, your information about the lease, service charges, ground rent and the landlord or managing agent

For a leasehold home, the landlord or managing agent also supplies a management pack, which sellers usually pay for. Answer honestly and from your own knowledge, and if you do not know an answer, say so. If anything changes before completion, tell your conveyancer straight away, because incorrect or incomplete answers can lead to a compensation claim or the buyer refusing to complete.

Title, documents and material information

Your conveyancer will obtain official copies of the register from HM Land Registry, showing who owns the property and any mortgages, rights or restrictions, along with a title plan showing its general boundaries. If the property has never been registered, the paper title deeds will be needed, so find them early or ask your lender whether it holds them.

Next, gather the paperwork that supports your answers on the forms. Useful documents include:

• planning permissions and building regulations completion certificates for extensions, loft conversions or removed walls
• certificates for replacement windows, a new boiler or electrical work, for example a FENSA certificate for windows
• warranties for damp proofing, a new roof or a new build home
• any agreements with neighbours, such as an arrangement over a shared driveway

Your estate agent must not leave out information a buyer needs to make an informed decision about the property, often called material information. This can include the tenure, council tax band and known issues such as restrictions or flood risk. Make sure what you tell the agent matches what you put on the forms.

Answering the buyer's enquiries

Once the buyer's conveyancer has reviewed the contract pack and their searches, they send enquiries, which are written questions about anything unclear. Your conveyancer will pass on the ones only you can answer. Quick, complete replies are one of the most effective ways to keep a sale moving.

For example, the buyer's conveyancer might ask for evidence that a loft conversion was approved, or who maintains a shared path. If a document is missing, your conveyancer may suggest obtaining a copy from the council, applying for retrospective approval (approval given after the work is done) or providing an indemnity insurance policy, which covers a specific legal risk. Do not contact the council about a missing certificate before speaking to your conveyancer, because some insurance policies cannot be used once the council has been approached.

Your mortgage and the sale money

Your conveyancer will ask your lender for a redemption statement, which shows exactly how much is needed to pay off the mortgage on a given date. Check early whether an early repayment charge (a fee for paying off a mortgage early) applies, as it may affect your choice of completion date. Any other loans secured on the property usually have to be repaid from the sale too, so mention them at the start.

Before completion, your conveyancer will send a completion statement showing the sale price, the amount going to your lender, the estate agent's fee if it is to be paid from the sale money, the legal fees and the balance due to you. The balance is usually sent on completion day or the next working day, or straight on to your purchase if you are also buying.

You usually pay no Capital Gains Tax (a tax on the profit when you sell) on a home that has been your main home for the whole time you have owned it. Tax can be due if, for example, you let it out, and where it is due on a UK property it usually has to be reported and paid within 60 days of completion.

Signing, exchange and completion

When the buyer is nearly ready, your conveyancer will send you the contract and the transfer deed to sign. The transfer, usually on HM Land Registry form TR1, is the document that passes ownership to the buyer. It must be signed in front of an adult witness who is not a party to the sale, ideally not a family member or partner, and your conveyancer will tell you whether electronic signing is possible.

Exchange of contracts usually happens by phone between the conveyancers. At that moment the sale becomes legally binding, the completion date is fixed and the buyer pays a deposit, often 10% of the price unless a lower figure is agreed. From then on, neither side can pull out without serious financial consequences.

On completion day you must move out and leave the keys with the estate agent, or as otherwise agreed. Once the buyer's money arrives, your conveyancer tells the agent to release the keys, pays off your mortgage and settles any bills you have authorised.

How to avoid delays

Many delays on a sale come from missing information or slow replies. A few habits make a real difference:

• instruct your conveyancer when you market the property, not when you accept an offer
• return the forms within a few days, with copies of the documents they mention
• reply to enquiries promptly, even if the answer is that you do not know
• tell your conveyancer early about extensions, disputes or any other adults living at the property, who may need to sign a form agreeing to leave
• keep your conveyancer and estate agent informed about your onward move, so the completion date works for everyone
• confirm your bank details for the sale money by phone, never by email alone

Next steps

A sale quote from Keyfolio sets out the legal fee, VAT and disbursements, which are third-party costs such as copies of your title from HM Land Registry. You can get an instant sale quote, or a sale and purchase quote if you are buying at the same time. To see what happens at the end of the process, read the guide to exchange and completion day.