Buying a home in Sheffield? How to speed up your sale
Since March’s lockdown, the national average time of conveyancing transactions has increased to 18-20 weeks, from agreeing a sale to exchange of contracts.
The delays have been caused by incredible demand across the whole country since the first lockdown ended in May and made worse by a backlog from the lockdown period.
Changes to stamp duty and the impact of Covid-19 on all aspects of the industry have affected everyone from estate agents, mortgage brokers and surveyors, to local authorities, search providers and removal companies.
But there are steps you can take to help speed up your house purchase:
Prepare your paperwork
If house sellers are prepared and have their documentation ready at the outset, time can be saved at the critical early stages. This means finding the paperwork for everything from planning permissions for any extensions or modifications and guarantees and warranties, like FENSA certificates for new windows to electrical or gas safety certificates and leasehold information.
House buyers who need a mortgage should ensure they have their documentation, such as bank statements and wage slips, ready at an early stage too, to minimise any delays in progressing the application.
Find a solicitor
House sellers should choose a solicitor before receiving an offer on their property. This way, some of the initial work to collate necessary documentation can be undertaken in advance and a contract issued the moment a sale is agreed.
Get moving… online
Some conveyancing practices, like Sheffield’s Taylor&Emmet, have moved to a new online system that has allowed clients to confirm instructions and upload key documentation themselves for the first time. This makes the process much more efficient – meaning you can complete initial identity checks and paperwork within as little as half an hour of receiving a quote.
Speak to the right person
New dedicated teams within conveyancing departments minimise delays, meaning contracts are issued as quickly as possible, and searches can be instructed from the outset, to avoid the worst of the delays.
Be patient
Conveyancers are dependent on a large number of other organisations to progress your house sale or purchase, including local authorities and mortgage lenders. Covid restrictions mean many councils are operating under extreme pressure and this is having an adverse effect on their ability to provide searches and access to the data for personal search companies.
Mortgage lenders are also inundated with applications and it can take much longer to speak to someone about each case – which in turn limits the number of calls conveyancers can make in a day. So a little patience can go a long way at the moment!
To find out more about how Sheffield’s largest conveyancing practice, Taylor&Emmet, can help you with your house purchase, visit www.tayloremmet.co.uk/index.php/personal/residential-conveyancing.