Roles


The Role Of The Agent
An estate agent is employed to sell the property and obtain the highest price possible for the vendor. They do not represent the purchaser during the transaction, although they are the point of contact for any negotiations between vendor and purchaser.

The Role Of The Solicitor
The solicitor will confirm your instructions and sets out terms of business. You then provide details on the property you are buying (and selling), which helps with the drawing up of contracts. Searches are then carried out to check on any local planning issues (e.g. new motorway) that could effect the value of the property. A contract is then received, which, if leasehold, will include details of the lease and financial management of the property. If the contract is then acceptable, all parties sign it and once everybody in the chain is ready, contracts are exchanged. At exchange of contracts a moving in date is agreed. On completion day the solicitor forwards on the purchase monies to the vendor’s solicitor (once received from you and the lender) and arranges for the keys to be released to you.

You must remember that the solicitor is also acting for the lender, to ensure that the lender has good title over the property, should they ever have to issue proceedings to repossess the property.

With a re-mortgage a number of the steps above are missed out, as there is no purchase element to the transaction.

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