Selling your home can be an emotional time in your life, here at MSB Solicitors, we aim to make this process as smooth and stress free as possible. This blog post is perfect for those who are selling their home or for those who may have questions as to how to complete their initial documentation. Before we can issue our contract pack to the buyer’s solicitors, you will need to complete a series of questionnaires about your home. It is important that these documents are completed accurately and in full. This is your chance as the seller to inform the buyer of what will remain the property once you vacate, or if you would like to offer any additional items in the sale. The followings documents may need to be completed… 

Property Information Form (TA6) 

This is a general questionnaire about your home which is designed to give the buyer detailed information about the property. The Property Information Form asks questions regarding boundaries, disputes, utilities and building works and will be reviewed by buyer’s solicitors before proceeding to exchange.  

The Property Information Form must be completed by all sellers and must be completed fully. Any sections left blank will be questioned by the buyer’s solicitors and will form part of their enquiries.  

It is a good idea to obtain any documents that you may need to provide a copy of when completing this form, for example a building regulations certificate.   

Fittings and Contents Form (TA10) 

This form provides details of which fittings and contents are to be left in your home upon completion. This gives you the chance to decide which items you would like to take with you, and the buyer the chance to purchase any extras. The form is designed to make it clear for both parties which items are to stay in the property, and therefore it must be completed accurately by the seller.  

Leasehold Information Form (TA7)
The Leasehold Information Form is completed by the seller when the home they own is leasehold. This is similar to the above TA6 and TA10 but includes aspects that would only be applicable in a leasehold property. When the property is leasehold, we may also have to obtain further documents where there is a Management Company involved. As your solicitors, we will do this during the enquiries stage of the transaction.  

Recent example 

A recent transaction has been in the news regarding buyers who were able to hand back their purchase property; after discovering it had an undisclosed moth infestation. As the above Property Information forms show, the seller has a duty to disclose all aspects of the sale property. As the seller, you have a legal obligation to disclose any known defects or issues that the property is affected with, this can be anything from damp, disputes and infestations.  

This recent example shows how a failure to disclose any issues can lead to legal action and potentially even see the transaction be reversed. Transparency is key, and here at MSB, we encourage this honesty and communication from the start of the transaction.  

We hope this blog post has informed our sellers of the importance of completing the protocol documents in full. We encourage our clients to refer to this blog post when instructing MSB in the sale of their home.