SECURE MOVE

Innovation Designed to Improve Property Transactions

Nicholsons SecureMove is a revolutionary process designed to speed up the sales process by reducing conveyancing times and minimising fall-throughs. Making property transactions more reliable and providing certainty for both sellers and buyers.

The Problem with Property Transactions

Have you ever experienced a property transaction fall through - a seller who has accepted a higher offer from another buyer after they had agreed a sale to you, or a seller who had decided not to move?

If you have you will know how stressful and costly this can be.

Whether you’re a seller or a buyer until the point where sale contracts are exchanged, either party can withdraw from a property transaction without giving a reason. There is no route of recourse or compensation available to the innocent party.

Currently - just under two in every five sales agreed nationally fail to reach exchange of contracts. The loss of the purchase of your dream home is incredibly stressful and finding another property that suits your needs can be difficult, a purchase falling through can cost you up to six months in time and with abortive legal fees, lost search and survey fees the costs can comfortably be into the thousands.

To reduce the chances of this happening Nicholsons have introduced a game-changing solution called SecureMove which reduces our fall-thought rate to just one in twenty and provides buyers with £1000 in compensation if their seller withdraws for the sale or tries to renegotiate.

How SecureMove works

Nicholsons SecureMove combines a Buyer Information Pack with a law society-approved reservation agreement.

The Buyer Information Pack is created as soon as we are instructed to market a property and contains everything that you and your solicitor need to make an informed decision about the property at the point that your offer is accepted allowing any potential legal issues to be handled immediately.

The law society-approved reservation agreement stops either party from just walking away or attempting to renegotiate the price after an offer is accepted.

If either party breaks the agreement then compensation is payable and £1000 is awarded to the innocent party to help with any costs that have been incurred such as abortive legal fees.

Speeding up the Legal Process

SecureMove allows the sales process to be completed significantly quicker as the legal work, usually done in the first four to eight weeks after the sale is agreed, is completed upfront. The searches, which typically take up to five weeks to arrive, are ordered on the day we are instructed by our clients and are transferable to the successful buyer to be used as part of their legal due diligence. The included things in the pack are listed below.

The TA forms, land registry information and searches give you and your solicitor everything you need to make an informed decision about the property at the point the offer is accepted.

Our searches are supplied by one of the largest search providers in the UK and replace the searches that you would ordinarily need to purchase through your solicitor. At the point your offer is accepted, we will raise an invoice to you, which covers the cost of the searches. Once paid the searches and the remaining contents of the Buyer Information Pack will be transferred to you and your solicitor.

The searches are supplied at £350, but if you choose to instruct our recommended solicitor we will apply a £100 discount reducing them £250.

**Mining Search only in applicable locations
TA6 - Property Information Questionnaire
TA10 - Fittings and Contents Form
Land Registry Title, Plan & Conveyancing Deeds
Local Authority Search
Environmental Search
Mining Search**
Water & Drainage Search

Reliability Through Reservation

Nicholsons offer a higher level of certainty to Sellers by having a Reservation Agreement in place before we remove your property from the market.

The reservation agreement stops your buyer from just walking away or attempting to renegotiate the price after an offer is accepted. With SecureMove once the offer has been agreed, both Buyer and Seller sign a Reservation Agreement, the property is then formally withdrawn from the market and both are bound by the terms within.

If either party withdraw and break the agreement then the innocent party is entitled to a guaranteed £1000 compensation payment to help with any costs that have been incurred such as abortive legal fees. This gives both parties security and peace of mind that the sale is secure and means that you reduce the risk of fall throughs.

The reservation agreement is handled by a third-party company who guarantees the compensation payment and offers legal support if either party has any questions or concerns.

The upfront cost of setting up the reservation agreement is covered by Nicholsons.