3 Legal Requirements for Selling a Property You Should Be Aware of

Owning a house, whether for business or pleasure, can be a significant milestone in your life. There may, however, come a time when you need to sell your property. This could be for a number of reasons such as downsizing, remortgaging, moving countries, or just needing a dramatic change. If it’s your first time selling a house, then you may find the entire process a little confusing. This is because there are many stages to selling a home and it can be a lengthy process. For this reason, this article aims to highlight three legal requirements that you should keep at the forefront of your mind when selling a house.

Contracts

One of the most important as well as legally binding aspects of selling a house is drawing up a contract between the buyer and the seller. Ideally, the person who is selling the property is responsible for drawing up a suitable contract when selling a house. There is key information that you are required to include in your contract. Some of them include the price you’re selling the house for, the property boundaries, the fixtures and fittings that come with the house, legal restrictions, when the sale will complete, and services to the property. It is important that this information is included in your contract to avoid any issues or lawsuits in the future. Alternatively, you could hire a conveyancer to draft the contract, answer questions the buyer may have, and negotiate details of the contract if need be. You can find some of the best conveyancing solicitors online or by asking other people who have recently sold their properties.

Survey

You should know that any prospective person looking to close a deal on a house has a right to a full survey before buying. It may, therefore, be a good idea to make sure you’ve done an in-depth survey of your house and know what the issues are in the property you want to sell beforehand. A good survey should tell you if there are structural problems and what major repairs or alterations are needed. It is better that you find these things before a prospective buyer for many reasons. In a worst-case scenario, a bad survey could greatly affect the sale of your house if it reveals issues that may be worrying to the buyer.

Energy Performance Certificate

Before marketing your property to sell or rent, you are required to order an energy performance certificate for potential buyers. In case you’re wondering, the certificate includes general information about your property’s energy usage and energy costs. It also has recommendations on how to save money as well as reduce costs. Additionally, you should also know that the certificate is valid for 10 years, and you’ll need to use an accredited assessor to help you produce it.

Selling a property can be a tedious process, but if you know exactly what you have to do, it doesn’t need to be overwhelming. You should, therefore, do your research and ask as many questions as possible so that you don’t miss important steps that may cause issues later. Hopefully, some of the legal requirements mentioned in this article have given you more clarity on what selling a property entails.