For Individuals

When purchasing a property we will ask your sellers solicitors for a draft Contract package and other documentation relating to the property so that we can check through them.

We will carry out all necessary searches on the property and these will include the local authority search, the water and drainage search and we also carry out an environmental and plan searches. These normally take up to two weeks to turn around. There are other searches which we may carry out in addition, such as coal mining searches, depending on the nature of the property and where it is situated.

If we are not satisfied with the information provided by the seller's solicitors we will raise further enquiries with them, such matters as boundary responsibilities, fixtures and fittings, guarantees, disputes, and any other particular points that arise.

Once we have your mortgage offer (if required) we will be in a position to progress your purchase transaction towards exchange of contracts. We will approve the contract, searches and enquiries, and any mortgage offer, and report to you on everything with a view to you signing the contract in readiness for exchange. You will be sent a full written report on the property, together with copies of all the relevant documentation. At this point we will need you to sign the contract and send us a deposit which will be in the region of 5% – 10%. However, if you have a related sale transaction we may be able to use the deposit from your sale as the purchase deposit.

Once exchange of contracts has taken place, we will request the mortgage funds in time for completion and ask you for any sums needed to cover the balance of the price payable, together with our costs and disbursements, and this will be set out in a completion statement for you. On the day of completion we will send the balance of the purchase price to the sellers solicitors by direct bank transfer as early as possible on the day of completion, and once the monies have reached the sellers solicitors bank account the keys will be released to you by the estate agents, or possibly directly by the sellers, and then you can move in.

On completion we will also pay the stamp duty land tax (SDLT) and register your ownership and any mortgage at the Land Registry, who will issue a Title Information Document. Once this is done, it is sent to the mortgage company and a copy to you together with any relevant paperwork.

When there is a simultaneous sale and purchase transaction taking place, we will coordinate both the sale and purchase to exchange and complete on the same day.

For details on how we charge for Residential Property transactions please see our pricing page here.

Download our Residential Property Guide to Buying.

Please see our short video to the right on the buying and selling process and what your solicitor does for you.

Contact our House Buying Solicitors in Farnham, Reading, Wokingham, Berkshire & Across Thames Valley and M3 Corridor Today

Our solicitors at Clifton Ingram can advise you on all aspects of Buying a Property. We are a proactive and down-to-earth team of highly experienced solicitors; bringing a high quality and professional service to your local area.

We regularly advise clients in Farnham, Reading and Wokingham and across all of Berkshire and the surrounding areas including Bracknell, Theale, Henley, Ascot, Crowthorne, Maidenhead, Camberley, Farnborough and Windsor. Speak to one of our team today to see how we can help on 03003 035762 or 01252 986992. Our solicitors will move fast to find a solution personal to you.

Skip to content