How to Avoid Delays When Moving House

When you buy or sell property, the process can be maddeningly frustrating when there are delays while you wait for paperwork to be processed, surveys to be completed, or one party or other to arrange legal services with their solicitor. If you’re planning a move this year, make it as quick and easy as possible by involving your solicitor early on in the process so that you have all the relevant legal processes sorted from the off.

A recent survey by estate agent network Move with Us revealed that 84% of clients wait until an offer has been accepted before seeking legal advice, costing themselves valuable time on completing their move. Assistance from a solicitor early on in your house search or sale can knock an average of 11 days off your exchange process. Estate agents are able to speed up transaction times when vendors are legally prepared – suggesting that you get support from your solicitor as soon as your house goes on the market. When you’ve dotted all the Is and crossed all the Ts before you even find a buyer, you can have contracts issued within 48 hours, helping to minimise the risk of the transaction falling through.

Half of the estate agencies surveyed by Move with Us agreed that customers who have the legal support of a solicitor early on in their transaction enjoy the fastest exchanges, and with the launch of the government’s Help to Buy scheme, a streamlined process is becoming ever more important to enable people to buy and sell their homes without needless delays.

Your solicitor’s job is to make the legal aspects of major life changes and complicated negotiations as simple and stress-free as possible – so make use of us! Too many people seem to forget that they can come to their solicitor for advice and support through a variety of different situations, from moving house to making a will, altering a contract to working out the logistics of a divorce. Seeking legal advice is easy, but waiting until the last minute can lead to unnecessary hold-ups. And in the current competitive property market, a delay can cost you your perfect home, or lose you money on a house you’re trying to sell.

Frances Lindsay & Co provide experienced legal services in property and conveyancing across the Thames Valley with offices in Maidenhead and Beaconsfield. Get in touch with our property department to talk through your plans and let us take care of the legal issues while you focus on all the practicalities of moving house!