Getting Documents Ready For Your Purchase
Your lawyers will guide you through the documentation required for the purchase of a London property.
Cash purchases are simple. You will only need to provide some identity documents, proof of address using a utility bill or bank statement, as well as proof of funds for the purchase. The money laundering rules in UK are very strict. You have prove that you own the funds, usually by way of bank statements showing that you have accumulated the funds over time. Some lawyers will require statements over the preceding three months. Some lawyers or developers will require that the identity documents are certified by a lawyer, bank or notary. There may be a minor cost incurred for the certification.
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| Cash purchases are not uncommon, so we heard. |
Loans with Singapore Bank
Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR) rules will apply. This is the MAS regulation and the banks have zero flexibility on this. The paperwork isn’t any more difficult than taking a loan for a Singapore property. With the TDSR rules in place, you will have to gather your pay slips, IRAS income statement, credit card statements, and all documents relating to all financial you are currently servicing. We have however found Singapore banks extremely efficient in processing loan applications. Foreign banks (we have one loan with Lloyds) generally take a longer time to process.
The property completion period is usually the most eventful period as far as paperwork goes. Once notice of completion is served by the developers, you usually have 10 working days to complete.
Some law firms try to get all the paperwork (such as stamp duty form, legal charge, proof of funds etc) done way in advance, to minimize the hassle during the completion period. Other law firms operate on a different work cycle and leave it till the completion period to carry out all the work at one shot. If you are taking a loan, the legal charge must be signed before the bank will disburse funds. Your law firm will receive the lease when notice of completion is issued; the lease will be couriered over to you for your signature, and you must courier it back to the lawyers for completion.
On the day of completion, the signed lease, together with the completion monies (from you and/or your bank) will be handed over to the developer’s solicitors, and the keys will be released.
The notice of completion given by developers is 10 working days, which is 2 weeks. You will be liable for late completion charges if you are not able to complete on time. So far, we have not run into late completions. The banks and legal firms we have worked with have acted swiftly and have not delayed completion.
Phew!
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