Tips for winter vendors – Always sign your sales documents as soon as possible.
04 November 13
If you are fortunate enough to have a buyer lined up at the moment, are considering an offer or actively going through your conveyancing process around the months of November / December, please keep in mind that the sales documents you will sign (or have already signed) to empower your agent or your solicitor to complete the sale for you, are only valid in this calendar year.
After the 31st December some of the documents will automatically become invalid and thus unusable by your solicitor or agent, unfortunately it is impossible to complete sales without all documents being valid on the day of completion, as such if your sale has not completed by the 31st December, then you will be asked to resign new documents in the New Year after 1st January.
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Please be very aware of the end of year cut off as this is a government deadline and cannot be extended or appealed. New documents will again have to be signed at the embassy or at your local solicitor’s office and then Apostilled, which can be expensive and frustrating given that you would have previously been through the process and will need to pay the Notary or the embassy for a second time.
Your agent or your solicitor will always advise you of this deadline and warn you of any short timescales. Generally, every year this deadline means that all sales made after the 15thNovemeber cannot be successfully concluded until January. As many authorities shut down of the Christmas period we work to have all active sales completed by the 20th December to avoid uncontrollable delays caused by third parties during the holiday period, however each year we are always working right up to the deadline on the 31st for the few cases which invariably overrun, but we can still complete just in time.
The best way to avoid this problem and the expense it brings is for all vendors and buyers to sign and complete their documents as soon as they receive them; sitting on them for just a few days and then getting around to it can often lead to extra costs for you and disappointment for all parties concerned. Always act promptly and you will have the best chance of receiving the full funds from your sale in your bank account before Christmas. |
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