Buyer Information Packs

Speed Up the conveyancing process with a Buyer Information Pack.

Home Information Packs are making a comeback and at Lets Find A Home - we believe in providing a quality service so there are less fall throughs and the experience of buying/selling a property is one which proves to be less challenging than would otherwise be the case.

Most of the time a buyer pays a solicitor to obtain information about the property when they have made an offer and it has been accepted. Lets Find A Home - believe in obtaining this information upfront - is good practice!! Our recent blog looked at some of the reasons why the conveyancing process takes so long which you can read here

This blog looks at how more information upfront to a potential buyer leads to fewer sales falling through.

Normally after a sale is agreed, the seller and the buyer are asked to source and instruct a solicitor. Its normally the seller's solicitor who kick starts the process by sending protocol forms (TA6) Property information form, Leasehold information form (TA7 if applicable) and Fixtures and fittings form (TA10). The seller's solicitor will also obtain the Title deeds and plan (electronically). Once all this is back the seller's solicitor can then create a draft sales contract to send to the buyer's solicitor. This sometimes holds up a sale and can add weeks, while this is all being done.

Lets Find A Home advocate a policy where much of this is done before launching a property to market. In the time that it takes us to prepare: photos, videos, brochures, EPCs and everything else, the seller can get the legal paperwork done and the solicitor ready!!

The Government and National Trading Standards require that more material information needs to be provided to potential buyers upfront. Lets Find A Home has always been one step ahead and has always provided as much information as possible, far outweighing any requirements.

Ideally, when we launch a property, we want all this to be ready. The information has to be done, at some point, so why not have it ready at the start. This only needs to be done once and we share all this with the seller's solicitor.

Getting all this done at the start will reduce most delays that could happen. Most of this will form the majority of a Contract Pack that a seller's solicitor sends to the buyer's solicitor right at the start. The longer this takes to organise and send out, the longer a sale takes.Some of this we make publicly available, the rest is sent to an interested viewer. Our (Law Society Approved) Buyer Information Pack is packed with information on the property here are just a few:

• Title Deeds - Office copy entries - Register - Title deeds are the legal documents that record the ownership of a property and any accompanying land with plans
• Title Plans - Office Copy Entries
• EPC - The energy performance certificate
• A report on - Local sold prices
• Local mobile & broadband speeds, planning history, plot size & floor area, pounds per square foot, flood risk, conservation areas, local school reports, leasehold info, council tax, transport links and transaction history supplied by Lets Find A Home and their partners 'Homesearch'.
• The legal TA6 - Sellers Property Information form - Current Law Society edition - 16 pages of legally binding information on the property.
• The legal TA7 Leasehold Information form - Current Law Society edition - 10 sections of legally binding information on the lease with all costs, if applicable. We also suggest copies of the following, if applicable, (a) recent correspondence and invoices from the managing agents. (b) Share certificate in the management company. (c) Any consents from the Freeholder to matters such as the installation of double glazing which may be required under the terms of the Lease.
• The legal TA10 - Fixtures and contents form - Current Law Society edition - A full list of what is included in the sale.

Lets Find A Home will help our sellers with each item on the list and any form filling. Providing our experienced advice at all times. This process speeds up transaction times by multiple weeks.

This also saves the seller's solicitor time as we have organised all the data for them. There is no charge for Lets Find A Home to organise this pack and securely store it electronically. The pack is also available by invitation to potential buyers before they offer. An educated buyer is more secure knowing all the ins and outs of a property before any offer is accepted.

The UK government recommend the use of these packs, and especially as we all know that a legally-prepared property will result in a quicker transaction, with fewer fall-throughs, and that has to be a good thing for everyone.

On the Government Guide How to Sell Guide - A guide for people looking to sell a home in England and Wales, Page 4 it says "Before you market your home - getting ‘sale ready’ - Before you begin to think about putting your property on the market, you should spend some time getting your paperwork together and making your home ‘sale ready’" it then goes on to say: "If you gather together the relevant documents at this stage, you can avoid future delays and provide your estate agent with key information to share with prospective buyers from the outset." - this is exactly what Lets Find A Home do, follow to the tee the Government advice - we think it's strange other agents do not adopt this common-sense principle. We feel, soon, this 'advice' will probably become law.

We would recommend a seller to instruct their solicitor early to open the file. The solicitor will not need to obtain Title TA6, TA7, or TA10 as we can email them the link which will also contain other documents relating to the property. This pack is available to the seller, their solicitor, the buyer and their solicitor. Another unique service we offer to secure sales is our Reservation Agreements to lock in a seller and buyer to the transaction.

If you have any questions about our Buyer Information Packs, please contact the team on 020 8870 5800.