Exchanging contracts?

My solicitor tells me that we have not yet exchanged contracts on the sale of my property. What could be holding it up?

There are a number of issues that could be stopping your buyer exchanging contracts. The principal causes of delays are:

Searches: If there is no Home Information Pack (HIP) with the sale, your buyer will be waiting for searches, including the local council, drainage and mining searches to return. Even if there is a HIP, it is likely that an environmental and mining search will have been submitted and these may still be awaited.

Survey: Has a survey of your property been commissioned? If so, the buyer will want to check this and follow up any recommendations made by the surveyor.

Mortgage offer: Unless you have a cash buyer, he/she will have applied for a mortgage and may be awaiting a satisfactory offer. Once an offer has been made, your buyer’s solicitor will also have to check that any conditions attached to the mortgage can be met.

Deposit: Your buyer will have to pay a deposit to his/her solicitor. The deposit is normally the difference between the amount being mortgaged and the purchase price. If your buyer has paid by cheque, the solicitor will need to wait for it to clear before the deposit can be paid to your solicitor.

The contract: Your buyer’s solicitor will have checked the contract and your title deeds. If any queries have been raised, or if any negotiations or amendments are required, these will need to be resolved before exchange can take place. Both you and your buyer will have to sign the contracts before your solicitors can exchange them.

Fixtures and fittings: As the vendor, you will normally have completed a list of fixtures and fittings that would have been sent to your buyer. He/she will want to check this list before committing to the purchase. If there are any fittings for sale, your buyer may want to negotiate a price for these before exchange.

Insurance: The risk of insuring the property normally passes to the buyer on exchange of contracts and your buyer’s solicitor will want to ensure that an adequate policy is in place.

Completion dates: Has a completion date been arranged? Contracts cannot be exchanged until all parties have agreed a firm date.

Synchronisation: If your sale is part of a chain, your buyer’s solicitor will want to ensure both the sale and purchase contracts are exchanged simultaneously. All the solicitors involved in the chain will want to make certain that the related transactions are ready, so that exchange of all properties can take place on the same day.

Can you remind me how much stamp duty is payable on residential purchases

Properties valued at between £175,000 and £250,000, are subject to stamp duty, which is a tax paid to the government, at one per cent of the purchase price. From January 1 the lower threshold will return to £125,000, following the end of the stamp duty holiday, implemented at the beginning of September last year.
 
If your house is worth between £250,000 and £500,000, the stamp duty rises to three per cent and for properties of more than £500,000 it is four per cent. You will need to give your solicitor the money for your stamp duty just prior to completion and he will pay it to the Inland Revenue on your behalf.

Ross Ward is a partner in Taylor&Emmet LLP, one of the leading conveyancing firms in Sheffield. Tel: 0114 218 4000.