WE MEET a lot of people who are yet to buy a home for the first time or maybe have not moved for many years and the one thing that quickly springs to mind, whether they are buying or selling, is that there is a lot of paperwork that comes with it!

At Besley Hill Town and Country Homes, our experience means we know how to support home movers throughout the marketing and sales process.

This is all dealt with from our local Stroud office so there is continuity and access throughout to day by day assistance.

Many customers really appreciate being able to “pop in” for a consultation.

Finding a home to buy or a buyer for a property is just the beginning of a process in which we will do all we can to ensure your property purchase or sale goes through to completion.

There is a lot your agent and you can do to ensure that once that offer is agreed, the transaction goes through smoothly.

Buyers you need to be prepared, there are strict guidelines for agents to satisfy Money Laundering Legislation, you will be asked for all buying parties to provide two forms of identification.

You will need to decide on your solicitor.

If you do not have a solicitor you have used previously, your estate agent will be able to recommend local conveyancers based on your legal needs.

In addition to this decision, you will normally be asked to confirm your financial ability to purchase; for those raising a mortgage this will mean providing what is generally known as an AIP (Agreement in Principle) and proof of deposit.

Sometimes people confuse this AIP with the mortgage offer.

In fact the actual “mortgage offer” will only be issued once a valuation is carried out on your potential purchase and the mortgage lender are satisfied you are not paying too much for the property or that there is nothing that could pose problem with re-sale in the future.

For sellers it is very important to ensure you have all the paperwork for any work you have had carried out to the property, particularly planning permissions, building regulation certification sign off and electrical certificates.

If you have not moved in the past 40 years plus it may be that your property needs to be registered with land registry.

It is a good idea to appoint a solicitor early on in marketing to ensure all the records for the property are up together for when you do agree an offer and the conveyance can begin.

You too will be asked for ID from the agent and your solicitor.

If you do not have a mortgage on the property you or your solicitor will normally hold the deeds these days.

If you have a mortgage the mortgage company may however hold your deeds.

It is common practice nowadays to ensure that there is a current boiler service certificate valid within the past 12 months before an exchange of contracts takes place.

For leasehold properties your solicitor will need to obtain a management pack from the Management Company for verification too.

Ultimately we believe that the seller’s estate agent should be available to guide and support all parties throughout the process and it is always a good idea to find out how your agent intends to progress the sale once it is agreed.