Selling A Property 2

Having done so before, I am hoping to act for myself in the sale of a property. It has no mortgage. Can my estate agent be my deposit stakeholder? Can the final money transfer come direct to the sellers still?

3 Answers

The estate agent cannot hold the deposit following exchange, only another solicitor can do that however there are two simple solutions. Either exchange and completion can take place on the same day, so no deposit is paid because all of the purchase price is paid on completion or the buyer's solicitor can retain the deposit following exchange and hold it to your order, which means he holds it until either completion takes place in which case it is paid to you together with the balance of the purchase price or if the buyer fails to complete he pays it to you by way of compensation. He cannot return it to his client but he has given an undertaking to you not to.

As for completion, the buyer's solicitor can pay funds directly to you unless there is a mortgage to repay in which case either he will need to agree to repay the mortgage directly on your behalf or you will need to appoint another solicitor to receive the proceeds and pay the mortgage.

If you are acting for yourself you might like to register with us. Just visit http://freeconveyancingadvice.co.uk/register to get access to lots of useful documents and guides.

The estate agent cannot hold the deposit following exchange, only another solicitor can do that however there are two simple solutions. Either exchange and completion can take place on the same day, so no deposit is paid because all of the purchase price is paid on completion or the buyer's solicitor can retain the deposit following exchange and hold it to your order, which means he holds it until either completion takes place in which case it is paid to you together with the balance of the purchase price or if the buyer fails to complete he pays it to you by way of compensation. He cannot return it to his client but he has given an undertaking to you not to.

As for completion, the buyer's solicitor can pay funds directly to you unless there is a mortgage to repay in which case either he will need to agree to repay the mortgage directly on your behalf or you will need to appoint another solicitor to receive the proceeds and pay the mortgage.

If you are acting for yourself you might like to register with us. Just visit http://freeconveyancingadvice.co.uk/register to get access to lots of useful documents and guides.

It wouldn't really make sense to have the estate agent hold the deposit. Better that the buyer's solicitor holds the deposit to order or that you exchange and complete on the same day, thus taking away the need for a deposit.