Buying and selling

Residential sale

The legal work to sell a home, freehold or leasehold, from preparing the contract pack to repaying your mortgage and handing over the keys.

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Every cost on its own line: the law firm's legal fee, VAT, the searches and other third-party costs, and any property tax. Your quote opens as soon as you send the form.

Selling a home involves more legal work than many people expect. Your buyer's conveyancer will want proof that you own the property, that you can pass it on free of your mortgage, and that you have answered their questions fully and honestly. The quicker and more complete your answers, the smoother the sale tends to be.

This service is for selling a house or flat, freehold or leasehold, whether you own it alone or with someone else: the quote form asks which. If you are buying another home at the same time, sale and purchase covers both, and selling a shared ownership home has its own page. Leasehold sale says more about what a leasehold sale needs.

Your instant online quote sets out the legal fee, any admin fees, VAT and the third-party costs a sale usually involves. If you decide to go ahead, Keyfolio introduces you to a regulated law firm, which confirms its price in writing before starting work. Instructing a conveyancer when you put the property on the market, rather than after you accept an offer, can save weeks.

What is involved

Most of a seller's legal work happens before exchange. In order, your conveyancer will usually:

Verify your identity and ownership, and send their terms of engagement.
Send you the property information form and the fittings and contents form. These ask about boundaries, disputes, alterations, guarantees and which items you are leaving.
Obtain your title from HM Land Registry, or work from your paper deeds if the property has never been registered.
Ask your lender for a redemption statement showing exactly what is needed to clear the mortgage.
Prepare the draft contract and send the contract pack to the buyer's conveyancer.
Answer the buyer's enquiries, which often means finding certificates for work such as new windows, a boiler or an extension.
Agree the completion date, exchange contracts and receive the buyer's deposit.
On completion, receive the money, repay your mortgage, pay the estate agent if you have authorised it, and send you the balance.

After completion, your conveyancer sends the buyer's conveyancer evidence that your mortgage has been repaid, so the buyer can be registered as the new owner.

What the legal fee covers

Checking your identity and confirming you are entitled to sell
Obtaining your title documents from HM Land Registry
Preparing the draft contract and the contract pack
Guiding you through the property information and fittings and contents forms
Answering the buyer's legal enquiries
Exchanging contracts and completing the sale
Sending you a completion statement and the balance of the proceeds
Paying the estate agent's commission from the proceeds, if you authorise it

Costs you may see on top

Official copies of your title and title plan from HM Land Registry
A fee for dealing with your lender where a mortgage is repaid on completion
Electronic identity checks for each seller and the bank charge for sending money
Indemnity insurance if something is missing, such as building regulations sign-off for older work, where the buyer agrees to accept a policy
An unregistered title admin fee, where the deeds have to be checked by hand
Your estate agent's commission, which is paid from the sale money but is not a legal cost
Capital Gains Tax if the property was not your main home, which is outside the conveyancing quote

What to have ready

Photo identification and proof of address for every owner
Your mortgage account number and lender details, plus details of any secured loan
Guarantees, warranties and certificates, for example for windows, the boiler, electrical work, damp proofing or an extension
Planning permissions or building regulations approvals for any alterations
Details of any disputes with neighbours or notices from the council
Your estate agent's contact details and the memorandum of sale
The paper deeds, if your property is not registered at HM Land Registry

How long it takes

A freehold sale commonly takes 10 to 16 weeks from instruction to completion. A leasehold sale commonly takes 12 to 20 weeks, as the management pack is waited for. As the seller you have more influence over the start of that period than the end: returning the property forms promptly and finding certificates early often saves the most time. Delays usually come from the buyer's side or elsewhere in the chain, such as a slow mortgage offer, search results or a buyer whose own sale has stalled. An unregistered title, missing paperwork for alterations or a lender slow to provide a redemption statement can also add weeks.

Things to watch for

Answer the property information form honestly and fully. Wrong or incomplete answers, for example about a past dispute with a neighbour, can lead to a claim against you after completion.
Leave what you have agreed to leave, and nothing the buyer has not agreed to take. Removing fitted items listed on the fittings and contents form can delay completion or lead to a claim.
If your mortgage has early repayment charges, ask your lender whether you can move it to your next home, known as porting, before you agree a completion date.
Keep paying your mortgage, insurance and bills up to completion. You remain responsible for the property until the money has arrived.
Do not accept changes to bank details by email. Give your conveyancer your account details securely and confirm them by phone.

Questions people ask

When should I instruct a conveyancer?

Ideally when you put the property on the market. Your conveyancer can check your identity, obtain your title and send you the forms straight away, so the contract pack is ready to go the moment you accept an offer. Buyers and their agents often see a prepared seller as more reliable, and it can take weeks off the overall timetable.

What happens to my mortgage?

Your conveyancer asks your lender for a redemption statement showing the amount needed to repay the mortgage on the completion date, including any early repayment charge. On completion, they pay that amount to the lender from the sale money before sending you the balance. The lender then confirms the mortgage has been cleared, and the buyer's conveyancer uses that confirmation to register the buyer.

Can I sell if an extension was built without approval?

Often yes. Your conveyancer will explain the options, which may include asking the council for a regularisation certificate for building regulations, or offering indemnity insurance that protects the buyer and their lender if the council takes action later. Insurance is not suitable in every case, and contacting the council yourself can stop a policy being available, so take advice before you call them.

Do I pay tax when I sell?

There is no stamp duty on a sale. If the property has been your only or main home throughout your ownership, Capital Gains Tax is not usually due. If it was a second home or let out, you may owe Capital Gains Tax, and for UK residential property you usually have to report and pay it within 60 days of completion. This is outside the conveyancing quote, so speak to an accountant or read the GOV.UK guidance.

Who does the work

Your matter is handled by a law firm regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, the Council for Licensed Conveyancers or CILEx Regulation, or in Northern Ireland by a solicitor regulated by the Law Society of Northern Ireland. At the moment the law firms on our panel act for property in England and Wales, so for property in Northern Ireland we tell you whether a firm can act for you before we pass your details to anyone. The firm confirms who will work on your file, their experience and its terms before you instruct it. How we choose our firms.

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