Guy Fisher Property Consultants - 020 7435 3456 or 020 8905 6660

THIS INFORMATION PAGE COVERS ALMOST EVERYTHING THERE IS TO KNOW ABOUT BUYING AND SELLING. AT THE BOTTOM IS DETAILED INFORMATION RELATING TO HOME INFORMATION PACKS (H I P's)

COSTS OF BUYING:

SOLICITOR’S FEES: There is no rule of thumb as far as conveyance costs are concerned.The average cost appears to be anything from ¼% to 1%,plus VAT, depending on the size of the transaction and which firm of solicitors you chose to use. My advice is to use a solicitor that you have used before, assuming they did a good job, or ask a friend for a recommendation. Always ask the solicitor for a quote, preferably written, before any work commences and always ask for a breakdown of costs after the purchase. The Law Society is the governing body for solicitors.

STAMP DUTY: A Government tax levied on house purchases payable by the purchaser at the time of completion.
£0 - £60,000              0%
£60,001 - £250,000   1%   of the purchase price
£250,001 - £500,000 3%              " " "
£500,001 and over     4%              " " "

HOUSE DEPOSIT: 5% to 10% of purchase price. This is the figure paid by the purchaser to the vendor via the solicitors upon exchange of contracts. The size of the deposit will be agreed prior to exchange of contracts. Occasionally, the vendor may ask if they can use this deposit to fund an exchange of contracts on their purchase but this must be agreed between the solicitors at the time.

ESTATE AGENT’S DEPOSIT: (if applicable): £100 – any agreed amount and may be subject to VAT. The deposit is not legally binding. Get a signed and dated receipt.

LENDER’S FEES: Lender’s arrangement fees - Approximately £250 (+VAT). Lender’s legal fees - From £200 (+VAT). Lender’s valuation fee - From £110 (+VAT) depending upon the size of loan. Mortgage Indemnity Guarantee (MIG) - min. £100 upwards. (First Time Buyers expect to pay £400 to £750 dependant upon the percentage of mortgage (loan to value) required.The higher the percentage, the higher the MIG.

VALUATION FOR MORTGAGE PURPOSES: From £110 plus VAT. This figure depends upon the size of the loan required. Some lenders offer a free mortgage valuation as part of a promotion for the product. Some will charge around 1% of the purchase price.
~
HOME BUYERS REPORT AND STRUCTURAL SURVEYS: The figure quoted by surveyors to carry out these types of surveys will depend upon the size of the property. Best to speak to two or three surveyors to ascertain a price.

DISBURSEMENTS: Local Authority Fee - approximately £75 Land Registry Fee - The Land Registry calculates their fee using their ‘Scale 1’ fee calculator and can range from £30 - £800 dependant upon the amount or value of the property. Your solicitor will be able to tell you this fee.

REMOVAL COSTS: From £300 plus. These costs are unique and dependent upon the amount of furniture being moved, distance and storage. (Get quotation)

UTILITIES: Gas - Reconnection Costs. (Get quotation). Electricity - e.g. Connection of new cooker circuit. (Get quotation). Telephone - New line (£25+VAT (Cable), £75+VAT (BT)) or transfer of existing phone number (£10 +VAT). Mail - Redirect to New Address - £6 per month. Although this doesn’t always work! Water - Any necessary plumbing. (Get quotation). Most utility companies will not disconnect the supply if the property you are moving into has just been occupied but you will still need to notify them of your move.

COSTS OF SELLING:

ESTATE AGENTS FEE: This can range from 1% to 4% of your property's value and subject to VAT. You will find that commissions will vary depending upon the area you live and the competitiveness of the local agents.

SOLICITOR’S FEES: As with buying, there is no rule of thumb as far as conveyance costs are concerned. The average cost appears to be anything from ¼% to 1%,plus VAT, depending on the size of the transaction and which firm of solicitors you choose to use. My advice is to use a solicitor that you have used before, assuming they did a good job, or ask a friend for a recommendation. Always ask the solicitor for a quote, preferably written, before any work commences and always ask for a breakdown of costs after the purchase. The Law Society is the governing body for solicitors

REMOVAL COSTS: From £300 plus. These costs are unique and dependent upon the amount of furniture being moved, distance and storage. (Get a quotation)

SELLING PRIVATELY: Selling privately is always an option. Of course one can be driven to try and save a few thousand pounds rather than concentrating on the bigger picture of trying to obtain the best price for your home. I would suggest that you consider the following. One of the many advantages of using an estate agent is that it puts them between you and the buyer; the agent is less emotional – an important factor when negotiating the purchase price! The agent will have a catalogue of serious (and not so serious) buyers, which they can call as soon as your house comes to the market - YOU DON’T. If you choose to advertise privately, it is unlikely that you will benefit from the discounts usually given to estate agents by the various magazines and newspapers due to the frequency that that agent advertises. The agent should also be in a position where they would have vetted the enquiries they have and the new one’s coming in so hopefully the time wasted is minimal. More valuable is the fact that the agent is on call 9 hours a day and usually 6 days a week to show your home and you are NOT, unless of course you have taken a month or two off work to deal with selling.

HOME INFORMATION PACKS (H I P's)

The Home Information Pack contains important information that buyers and sellers need to know. HIP's will come into effect from 1st August and for certain types of properties. HIP's are required for anyone marketing a property, or their representative. The HIP's are there for benefit of prospective purchasers / potential buyers of the property..

FOR AN UPDATE ON THE RECENT CHANGES TO THE DATES THESE HIP'S ARE INTRODUCED, PLEASE CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING LINK

http://www.homeinformationpacks.gov.uk/consumer/100_pressrelease25May.html

For sellers, providing a Pack upfront should reduce the likelihood of any nasty surprises in the selling process that could delay the sale, as buyers will be able to make more informed decisions about purchasing their home.

For buyers, the Pack provides essential information about properties they are considering buying, free of charge.

COMPULSORY ITEMS TO BE INCLUDED IN THE PACK:

Energy Performance Certificate

Energy Performance Certificates tell you how energy efficient a home is on a scale of A-G. The most efficient homes - which should have the lowest fuel bills - are in band A.

The Certificate also tells you, on a scale of A-G, about the impact the home has on the environment. Better-rated homes should have less impact through carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

The average property in the UK is in bands D-E for both ratings. The Certificate includes recommendations on ways to improve the home's energy efficiency to save you money and help the environment.

Sale statement

The sale statement should provide some basic information about the site, including:

The name of the seller and the address of the property being sold
Whether the property is freehold, leasehold or commonhold
Whether the property is registered or unregistered
Whether or not the property is being sold with vacant possession

Sellers of newly built homes will have to provide a predicted assessment of the energy efficiency of the property, but a full Energy Performance Certificate should be provided to the buyer when the home is completed.

Searches

The Home Information Pack must include:

The local land charges register relating to the property being sold. If the search is carried out by the local authority, an official search certificate will be provided. Alternatively a personal search company can be used.
Other records held by the local authority on matters of interest to buyers, such as planning decisions and road building proposals. These are referred to as local enquiries in the Home Information Pack regulations. A local authority or a personal search company can be used.
The provision of drainage and water services to the property. The local water company or a personal search company can be used.

Evidence of title

These documents prove that the seller owns the property and therefore has the right to sell it. Where the property being sold is registered, certain documents that are available on request from the Land Registry must be included in the Pack. These provide an up-to-date official record of who owns the land, and consist of:

Official copies of the individual register (made up of a property register, proprietorship register and, typically, a charges register)
An official copy of the title plan

In the case of the sale of a commonhold interest, official copies of the register and title plan should be produced for both the unit and common parts. The Land Registry has details of additional requirements for sales of commonhold properties.

For sales of unregistered land, the Pack must include copies of a certificate of an official search of the index map (obtained from the Land Registry), and those documents that the seller intends to rely on to provide evidence of title to the property, and thus the right to sell it.

Leasehold and commonhold properties

Most of the documents that must be included in the Home Information Pack are applicable to all transactions, but some are needed only for leasehold and commonhold sales.

The required leasehold documents are:

A copy of the lease
Any regulations or rules that apply to the property that aren't mentioned in the lease and any proposed amendments to same
Statements or summaries of service charges covering the previous 36 months
Where appropriate, the most recent requests for payment of service charges, ground rent, insurance against damage for the building in which the property is situated, and insurance in respect of personal injury caused by or within the building during the 12-month period before marketing began
The name and address of the current or proposed lessor, and details of any managing agent that has been appointed or proposed by the lessor to manage the property
A summary of any works being undertaken or proposed that will affect the property or the building in which it's situated.

The required commonhold documents are:

An official copy of the individual register and title plan for the common parts. This is in addition to official copies for the unit (see our section on Evidence of title).

An official copy of the commonhold community statement. You can download this document from Land Registry here.

Where they are reasonably obtainable, or sellers can reasonably be expected to be aware of them, the following documents and information are also required:

Copies of any regulations or rules not described in the commonhold community statement and any amendments proposed to those regulations or to the commonhold community statement
Copies of any requests for payments made in the previous 12 months in respect of commonhold assessment, reserve fund levy and insurance (if not covered by a request for commonhold assessment)
The name and address of any managing agent or other person appointed or proposed to be appointed by the commonhold association to manage the commonhold
A summary of current or proposed works affecting the commonhold.

Home Information Pack Index

The compulsory documents include a Home Information Pack Index listing the documents contained in the Pack.

The Index provides a checklist for sellers, buyers, estate agents and enforcement authorities. Where a document that must be included in the Pack is unavailable, the Index must say so, give the reason it is missing, and indicate what steps are being taken to obtain it. Where documents are added to or removed from the Pack at a later stage, the Index should be revised accordingly.

Guy Fisher Property Consultants has secured the services of HIP providers offering competitive prices and terms AND, more importantly, the ability to provide a HIP within 5 - 7 working days. For more information, please call Guy Fisher on 020 8905 6660. Remember, of all the agents that cover Stanmore, Bushey, Radlett, Mill Hill, Guy Fisher's website was the first to publish information on HIP's.