How to use YouConvey
Introduction
Welcome to YouConvey. You are now ready to take control of your own conveyancing transaction – saving you stress, frustration and time!
YouConvey is a completely new way of carrying out conveyancing. For the very first time, you are able to progress your transaction at your pace – not of a busy conveyancer. We believe that one day all standard conveyancing will be done this way.
We realise that this is the most important financial transaction of your life and we take that responsibility very seriously. All legal aspects of the transaction will be taken care of by a qualified firm of solicitors so there is nothing to worry about. What you will be doing is helping your solicitors by providing them with the necessary documentation they need for your sale, at a time convenient to you.
YouConvey staff will be there at every step of the way from start to finish to explain what you need to do and show you what happens next. It doesn’t matter how many times you speak to one of us – it’s all included in the price you pay so there is no need to worry about any unexpected charge. The price you pay at the end will be the price quoted to you at the start.
So how long will this all take?
A conveyancing transaction will typically take 2–3 months from you agreeing to sell a property and moving out. With YouConvey, we expect your transaction to take less time.
Selling a property is not like selling a car. Completing property documents, and waiting for the Buyers to organise their mortgage offer and searches can take some time. Please don’t be put off by what could seem a complicated process as we are here to help you every step of the way.
Let’s take you through the stages of your transaction in more detail and what you need to do after downloading the YouConvey App.
Registration
This is your initial screen to register your interest with your email, password and mobile phone number. There is no commitment from you at this stage at all. This then will allow one of the YouConvey staff to contact you to talk through what you need to do next.
Initial Call
After your registration, you will receive a call from one of the YouConvey staff. There is no charge for this call and no commitment on your part to proceed if you are not entirely happy. The purpose of the call is to introduce you to YouConvey, to discuss any questions you have about your transaction and to let you know what happens next.
Profile
Our friendly staff will direct you to your profile page for you to provide more information about your sale transaction such as:
- Details of the property
- The sale price
- Your estate agent
- Other important details
This information will allow us to calculate an exact quote on what the transaction will cost you. We will talk through the pricing with you and send you a written quote so you can see how the cost is broken down. Again there is no commitment at this stage – it is up to you to decide if you wish to proceed.
Payment
If you are happy following the conversation and the quote you have received you can then formally engage YouConvey by providing an initial deposit of £300 (including VAT) on the payment screen. This payment is on account of the charges you will be paying for the sale – it is not in addition and will be credited to you by your solicitors in their final completion statement. Your payment allows YouConvey to start the sale process for you as outlined below.
Your Solicitors
Following your payment, we will allocate your chosen Solicitor who will be responsible for all the legal aspects of your transaction. We have carefully chosen your Solicitors for you from experience and our confidence that they will provide you with a first-class service.
Once allocated you will see all the contact details of your Solicitor. We will be staying in touch with them throughout the transaction and keeping you up to date. You are also free to make contact with them directly at any time and there will be occasions when they will need to speak to you directly.
Introduction Pack
The next step to take is for you to read and sign some initial documentation for us and for your Solicitors as follows.
1. Regulatory Retainer
These are the terms and conditions of your Solicitors and the basis on which they will be providing their services for you.
3. Sellers Questionnaire
This questionnaire provides important information for your Solicitors to make sure that they are aware of all the relevant details they need to act on your behalf.
In the property world, it’s crucial to prove your identity prior to any transaction. By clicking this button you will be taken through the process of proving your identity which can then be provided to your Solicitors. This service is offered by an independent company Thirdfort who are very well known in the conveyancing industry.
Part of this process will also include a brief questionnaire on the source of funds. This is a requirement of Anti Money Laundering Regulations and again will be required by your Solicitors.
5. Further documents
There may be some other documents which your Solicitor needs at this stage – if so they will be displayed for you to read and complete.
Congratulations! You have now completed all the necessary initial steps for your Solicitors to open their file for you and start your conveyancing transaction.
Transaction Pack
You now need to provide your Solicitors with more information about your property.
Please click the Property Information Forms to proceed.
If you are selling a freehold property you will need to complete:
- Fixtures and Fittings
- Freehold Property Information Form
These forms can be opened on your mobile phone and should take around 30–45 minutes to complete. Please see the explanatory notes as to how the forms should be completed.
If your property is on an estate and you pay a yearly service charge, then your Freehold Managing Agents will need to complete Freehold Property Enquiries. As most Agents will require a fee to be paid to them you will need to find out how much it is as the next stage. We are happy to find out for you and then once you have paid this we can send the Enquiries to them.
Leasehold property
If you are selling a leasehold property you will be provided with:
- Fixtures and Fittings Form
- Property Information Form
Please see the explanatory notes as to how the forms should be completed.
You may need to attach some important information, for instance your planning permissions / guarantees, if you have them as you go through the Forms. Please follow the instructions on how to scan your documents.
Also, your Leasehold Managing Agents will need to complete Leasehold Property Enquiries. As most Agents will require a fee to be paid to them you will need to find out how much it is as the next stage. We are happy to find out for you and then once you have paid this we can send the Enquiries to them.
Congratulations! You have now completed the second stage of your conveyance.
Sales Pack Completion
Your Solicitors will now review the forms you’ve completed and send the Sales Pack to the Buyers’ Solicitors. If either of them needs some clarification or further information, they will raise it with you.
There may now be a period when you think nothing is going on but you are effectively now ready to exchange contracts on your sale.The Buyers however will need to do other important jobs such as finalising the mortgage. If you are also buying then of course there could be outstanding matters on that transaction as well.
You are welcome to keep in touch with the Buyers direct as it is the best way to help the process along. Of course it is up to the Buyers if they don’t want to speak to you directly, in which case they will keep dealing with you through their Conveyancers which is okay too.
Sales Pre Exchange
Signing the Contract
You have now arrived at the Contract stage of your transaction.
Even though you are waiting for the Buyers’ Conveyancers to inform your Solicitors that they’re ready to exchange contracts, it’s time to sign your part of the contract. Your Solicitors will be in touch with instructions on e-signing it.
Before the exchange of contracts takes place, there needs to be a discussion on the Completion Date.
Agreeing the Completion Date
Both you and the Buyers need to agree on a date when you will vacate the property (and move all your furniture and belongings out).
The Completion Date is when the Buyers Conveyancers pay the balance due and you hand the keys over. You can either leave the keys with your Estate Agent (who will want to know from you that you have received the balance) or make arrangements to hand them over directly to the Buyers (again only after you have received the balance into your correct bank account).
Outstanding matters before exchange
Your Solicitors will be in charge of the exchange making sure that you are happy to sell at the price, have arranged for alternative accommodation, etc.
Once the contracts have been signed and exchanged you and the Buyers are legally committed to finalising the transaction. If for whatever reason you change your mind after the exchange you can be sued for compensation and forced to continue with the sale.
Congratulations! You have now exchanged on the sale of your property.
Sales Exchange
After the exchange your Solicitors will be in touch with you regarding any outstanding documentation that you need to complete before the Completion Date. There are three key documents that your Solicitors will explain to you:
- The Transfer of Title which you will need to sign and have witnessed.
- A Completion Statement that your Solicitors will prepare for you to approve. It will set out exactly what is being deducted from the sales proceeds and how much will be due to you.
- An up to date Redemption Statement on your property which will need to be paid off on completion.
Completion Date Part 1
As the date approaches you will have already arranged your move, contacted your utilities and kept in touch with your estate agent.
Read a handy guide of to-dos to help you organise everything.
Completion Date Part 2
The Day has arrived!
If you have an estate agent you will want to speak to them early in the day to confirm when you will have vacated your property. Once your Solicitors have received the necessary balance of funds, you can authorise them or your estate agent to release the keys.
Congratulations. You have now completed the sale of your property the YouConvey way!
Post Completion
Please feel free to use our handy post-completion checklist to make sure you have arranged your post to be redelivered and the utilities to be informed of your moving date plus other arrangements to make your life easier.
