A leading North East solicitor is helping people in the midst of buying or selling properties, with some advice on how to proceed during the current crisis.
Sunderland’s Richard Reed Solicitors has recognised that anyone in the middle of negotiations on buying, selling or renting properties is currently facing uncertainty.
And the Frederick Street-based company has issued some useful guidelines for anyone finding their deal caught up in the coronavirus outbreak.
Nicola Bennett, Head of Residential Conveyancing at Richard Reed, said that in these unprecedented circumstances people still need to be aware of their commitments under the law.
Understandably some people may want to delay exchanging contracts at present, but Nicoal warns that “once you have exchanged you will be legally bound to complete within a certain time frame.”
Law Society guidelines say that once the contracts have been exchanged but the completion does not go ahead because of Covid-19 “the parties not completed will be in default” and sellers/buyers may now need to take this situation into account.
“There may be many issues which could cause a delay in exchanging contracts,” said Nicola.
“It could be down to delays in obtaining search results if staff are not available to carry out the searches or issues in mortgage lending surveys or physical valuations which needs site visits.
“There are a lot of additional factors which need to be taking into consideration at present.”
The company – which has vowed to keep services “as normal as possible” for clients – advise people to speak to their solicitors about their legal position if they are in any doubt.
For further advice on the possible impacts of Covid-19 on property transactions, visit www.richardreed.co.uk