HAVING DOCUMENTS AND INFORMATION AVAILABLE

Having all the required information ready and at hand for viewers, surveyors, solicitors, mortgage lenders and head-lessors is imperative if you are to keep your sanity during the sale process. A strong but compact multi-section folder in which you can store this data and access its contents easily and quickly when needed will be a sound investment.

Legal documents

If you are an organised person you may already have most of these documents at hand or you will know where they are. If not then you will need to find them or, at worst, try to obtain copies where the originals have been lost.

• The title deeds. These are the legal documents that prove you own the property. If your home was originally purchased using a mortgage then they will be stored by the mortgage lender. If you purchased it without a mortgage then you or the solicitor you used to purchase the property should have them. Find out who is in possession, explain you are about to place your property on the market for sale and request the deeds in writing.
• Solicitors must make a legally binding promise to return the deeds on demand (called ‘an undertaking’) This is governed by the Law Society. Individuals who are not solicitors are not bound by any legal sanction and therefore some mortgage lenders may be unwilling to release the deeds to them. In such an eventuality you will have to rely on your conveyancer acting for you.
• The Land Registry introduced changes during 2003 to absorb new technology and to create a more steamlined procedure for handling documents. Part of this development meant they ceased to issue Land or Charge certificates and destroyed any that were sent to them after 13th October 2003. Instead, registered titles are now being kept on their computer database. However, ‘Official Copies’ (previously called ‘Office Copies’) can still be obtained.
• New buyers of property will receive a title information sheet, but this is not the Title Deed and cannot be used as evidence in court.
• Lenders have also been moving towards dematerialisation and many now do not wish to receive the bulk of paperwork that once accompanied a Charge Certificate, such as planning permissions and NHBC certificates. Solicitors acting for buyers and sellers often store these documents themselves in their own storage facilities or send them on to their clients for their own safekeeping. This bundle is sometimes called the ‘Pre-registration Deeds’. If you bought your property after 2003 and are now selling it, it may be worth consulting your original conveyancing solicitor and asking about these documents, before approaching your mortgage lender.
• The lease. Unless your home was bought ‘freehold’ there is likely to be a Lease governing the length of term (usually 99 or 999 years) during which you can use the property. After this term expires the property ownership reverts to the ‘freeholder’. The lease also contains written conditions which you as the owner are bound to observe. The original lease may have been kept with the deeds but you are likely to have been given a copy by your solicitor prior to purchase.
• Any planning consents or variations. If you have altered your home in some way, for example by building an extension or conservatory, then it is likely you will have had to obtain planning consent from the local authority and provide evidence of them adhering to building regulations. There may also have been some agreement for a variation, sale or transfer of land or boundary. Gather together any contracts or letters describing such changes.
• The memorandum and articles. If you pay a service charge and/or management charge to a landlord or management company then there will be a document detailing the regulations and rules of the company and its association with you as the tenant or lessee. It may seem strange to describe the owner of a property as a tenant or lessee but, in law, that is exactly what they are if the property was bought leasehold. Any buyer of your property will need access to the memorandum and articles and, if these documents are not held by you, your solicitor or mortgage lender, then contact the landlord or management company and ask for a copy. At the same time check whether there have been any subsequent new rules or regulations introduced affecting you and any new buyer.
• Your mortgage documents. Keep all up-to-date records in your file, including the name, address and telephone number of the lender, and your account and reference number. The company may have changed name and premises over the years. Double-check that your information is accurate.

Property documents

These will include:

• Insurance policies. There are various forms of ’indemnity insurance’ policies and ‘restrictive covenant indemnity’ is one of the more important elements for property buyers and sellers. A restrictive covenant is a promise that binds each owner of the land not to do certain things, such as building on it without receiving formal consent from the original developer (a common covenant). It may also be the case that over the years a prior owner or yourself have inadvertently broken the terms of use through either desire or necessity, for example by rebuilding part of the property or by running a business from it or by making some fundamental alteration to a fence or wall.

When the matter is not easy to resolve, a solicitor will advise you (or any subsequent buyer) to purchase an insurance policy which protects you (or any subsequent buyer) against any losses should the covenant be enforced at some future date. The insurance now available covers a whole host of legal problems that may have arisen, for example where the landlord has disappeared or where there is a problem with the lease. The original policy is normally kept with the title deeds. Check with your solicitor whether such a policy was or will be needed and obtain the document or a copy of it for your folder.

Other policy documents to locate include any buildings insurance, mortgage protection insurance, and any valid National Housebuilders Council Certificate (NHBC), the latter of which relates to the property rather than the owner and is therefore a policy that a new buyer will require.

• Warranties and guarantees. Locate all warranties and guarantees relating to work you may have had done to the property over the period of ownership. These may include installations such as double-glazing or repair work to a damp-proof course. In addition, you should retrieve any guarantees for fixtures, installations, equipment and appliances that will remain in the property after it has been sold. Some of these documents may not be transferable to the new owner or their effective term may have expired – check the wording of each document and highlight the appropriate dates or text.
• Manuals and instructions. These should include all property installations such as heating systems, together with instructions and manuals for fixtures, appliances and equipment being sold inclusive with the property.
• SAP certificate. SAP stands for ‘Standard Assessment Procedure’, which is the government’s approved process for calculating the energy rating of homes. SAP considers and rates the shelter, shade, orientation, space heating and water heating elements of a property. A score of 80 or more (120 is the highest score possible) is generally accepted as evidence that a home is energy efficient, though it has been suggested that most of the UK housing stock has an actual score of less than 50. The building regulations (Part L1, 1995) introduced an obligation on builders to provide a SAP rating for each property constructed. A bill is currently progressing through the European Parliament, which if passed, will ensure every home sold or privately rented, regardless of age, will have to have a SAP certificate. This document may be demanded from you (if relevant) by your buyer’s solicitor or surveyor.

Additional property information

Useful additions to your folder are minor items of information that viewers may enquire about. These could include:

• Copies of bills paid over the last 12 months for council tax, electricity, gas, water, contents insurance, service/management fees, ground rent.
• An estimate of rental value. Your buyer may be planning to let the property and, although they are likely to undertake their own research, any evidence you can supply will be helpful. Ask local letting agents to give a rough assessment and obtain details of any similar sized properties being advertised to let in the neighbourhood.
• Any useful information about the history of the property and the site upon which it stands. Has the area been used as a film or TV location? These are good talking points to introduce when viewers call. They will stimulate interest and add to the general appeal of your home.
• Use a compass to ascertain the direction that both the front and rear aspects of your property are facing. Mark this on a diagram and keep it in your folder should the question be asked.

LOCAL MERITS AND FACILITIES

Gather as much information as you can about local schools, bus and train routes, fitness and leisure centres, the nearest small shop and supermarket, health centre, dentist, the best local pub and restaurant, the nearest park and safe children’s play area, and any open land for dog-walking.

It is also helpful to mark these facilities (and any others you can think of) on a large scale map showing the proximity of each to your home. Viewers will be amazed at your knowledge and impressed by your organisational aptitude ... and they will be very grateful of the information.

USING THE INTERNET FOR RESEARCH

The Internet is an invaluable source of information for the vendor selling without an agent. The greatest problem will be to identify the items of data that are the most valuable for your document folder without being swamped under a deluge of extraneous material. The following merit a visit:

• www.homecheck.co.uk This invaluable site offers free environmental reports pertinent to specified post-coded areas. Aspects covered include the risk of flooding, subsidence, radon, coal-mining, landslip, landfill sites, air quality and pollution. Any adverse data should be discussed with your solicitor before disclosing to any third party.
• www.neighbourscan.co.uk This independent site claims to offer essential information about your neighbourhood and neighbours. Use any good points to promote your property and its locality.
• www.upmystreet.com Another fantastic source of local information, including the effectiveness of the local authority: how crime affects the area compared with national averages; where the nearest cinema is located. This site will even tell you how to get a pizza delivered.

THE HOME INFORMATION PACK (HIP)

The government released a Consultation Paper in 1998 through the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, titled The Key to Easier Home Buying and Selling. The outcome was a package of proposals now planned for implementation on 1st January 2007 (according to the latest information from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister) which is likely to change the face of buying and selling in England and Wales.

The intention of these changes is to:

• ensure that buyers and sellers are better prepared with as much information as possible right from the start
• help simplify and speed up the transaction process
• help both the buyer and seller feel more secure at an earlier stage that the transaction will go through.

Whether these proposals succeed in achieving their objective is open to debate and only time will tell. If the proposals are implemented without amendment the onus will fall on the seller to have available a variety of documents for would-be buyers to inspect. These must be prepared before the property is advertised or placed on the market for sale. It is estimated that the cost of producing these documents will be approximately £500 and perhaps more if particular items have to be updated over a prolonged selling period.

It may be that some firms of solicitors and estate agents will subsidise the cost of the Home Information Pack by using in-house surveyors or by obtaining information and documents electronically. The best advice would be to contact several agents and solicitors to obtain full details of their fees inclusive of compiling the pack. You can then discuss the matter with your choice of solicitor and ask what areas of the Home Information Pack you can deal with direct so that costs can be reduced.

At the time of writing it is anticipated the information pack will have to include the following:

• The terms of sale.
• Evidence of title (ownership).
• Replies to standard preliminary enquiries made on behalf of buyers.
• Copies of any planning, listed building and building regulations consents and approvals.
• Copies of warranties and guarantees, if the property being sold is a new one.
• Any guarantees for work that has been conducted at the property.
• Replies to local searches.
• A home condition report based on a professional survey of the dwelling, including an energy efficiency assessment.

For leasehold properties, the pack will also require copies of:

• The lease.
• The most recent service charge accounts and receipts.
• The insurance policy covering the building and receipts for premiums.
• Current regulations made by the landlord or management company.
• Memorandum and articles of the landlord or management company.

You will be pleased to note that much of this information has already been dealt with earlier in this chapter and all that should be required are one or two outstanding items that can be obtained with the help of your solicitor, plus the survey report. If you wish to save some legal expenses and speed up the selling process, read Chapter 5 which goes into greater detail about the documents required.

It is proposed that copies of all these documents should be made available for inspection by any prospective buyer – they must therefore be stored in your folder for viewing on-site or kept by your solicitor or agent who will then offer them for inspection. Once an offer has been accepted, the proposals suggest that copies of all material in the pack should be passed on to the buyer and/or his solicitor.

TO SUMMARISE

• Invest in a mobile file system in which all pertinent records and information can be stored.
• Confirm the location of legal documents and attempt to obtain copies.
• Assemble all relevant insurance policy documents, guarantees, warranties, instructions and manuals.

• Research the neighbourhood, recording the variety and location of amenities.
• Take advantage of the Internet as a source of valuable information.
• If appropriate, prepare or procure all documents required for the Home Information Pack before advertising the property for sale.