Get the Best Conveyancing Quotes by Understanding the Process

The following is our general guide to the conveyancing procedure when buying a property. If you are new to conveyancing or have any questions on specific issues please contact us. We will arrange for one of our solicitors to call you and they can help you through the conveyancing process.

First Steps

1. Firstly  you need to instruct a conveyancer to take on your purchase/sale. Use the helpful tools on this site to find the best conveyancer for you.
2. Your conveyancer of choice will draw up a draft contract, known as terms of engagement. It sets out their charges and deposits required.
3. Your conveyancer will write to your seller’s solicitor to confirm they are instructed. They will request a copy of the draft contract plus any other details, such as the title  deeds and other standard forms.

Legal Work

Your conveyancer will examine the draft contract and supporting documents. Any queries will be raised with the seller’s conveyancer. You must to go through the forms the seller has completed. Raise any queries or concerns with your solicitor. Check the tenure of your new home: is it leasehold or freehold? If  it is leasehold, you must check the length of the lease yourself. Leases below 80 are problematic and can be costly to extend. You need to have owned the property for 2 years before you are eligible to do so. It is best to avoid leases of under 60 years.

Property Searches

The conveyancer will do a set of legal searches to ensure there are no other factors to be aware of. Some searches will be recommended by the solicitor for all purchases. Others will be required by the mortgage lender to protect them from any liabilities. We have grouped these searches into a comprehensive search pack covering England and Wales. A single all inclusive price which includes:

• • • Local authority searches: Search the local area for any plans that will affect the value or condition of your property. For example, plans for a motorway being built through your back garden.  This costs between £70 and £400 depending on the Local Authority and usually takes 1-2 weeks, but can take up to 6 weeks.
    • Checking the ‘title register’ and ‘title plan’ at the Land Registry: these are the legal documents proving the seller’s ownership. The title register check costs £3 and the title plan check costs £3. Both are legally required to sell.
    • Checking flood risk: this can also done at the Land Registry. If you are getting an Environmental Search it may be included in that.
    • Water authority searches: this investigates how you get your water and if any public drains on the property might affect extensions or building works. This will cost between £50 and £75.
    • Chancel repair search: checks for potential leftover medieval liabilities on the property to help pay for church repairs. This is a necessity and costs £18. You may choose to take out Chancel repair insurance instead for £20 or so. The laws around Chancel repair changed in October 2013 so the onus is on the Church to establish and lodge liability with the Land Registry.
    • Environmental Search: this report is nearly always made on property transactions. It is provided by either Landmark or Groundsure.  Depending which product your solicitor uses, the report will give information on,- Contaminated Land in or around the Property
      – Landfill Sites
      – Former and Current Industry
      – Flooding Predictions
      – Radon Gas Hazard
      – Ground Stability Issues and other related information.
      – This costs approx £50 to £60 including VAT.

Optional and location specific searches: extra searches needed or recommended. This depends on the location or type of property or due to particular concerns raised by the buyer.  These could include:

• • • Tin Mining searches in Cornwall
    • Mining searches in various parts of the UK and Cheshire Brine searches
    • Additional Local Authority Questions such as Public Paths, Pipelines, Noise Abatement Zones, Common Land, etc.

Your Mortgage

Ideally your mortgage offer will be in place prior to making an offer on the property. You must ensure you have the financing available for a mortgage deposit. Your conveyancer will receive a copy of the offer and go through the conditions.

You will need to get a mortgage valuation. It’s carried out on behalf of the mortgage company so they know the property provides sufficient security for the loan. You have to pay for it unless included in the mortgage company fee. Mortgage companies include it in the fee to attract business.

You may have any other necessary surveys done depending on your specific circumstances.

Before exchange of contracts is made, your lender will require you to get Buildings Insurance for your new home. You are responsible for the property as soon as contracts are exchanged.

Signing Contracts

After receiving the draft contract from the sellers solicitor, your solicitor will communicate with you what is involved. Before you sign, your solicitor will need to ensure:

All enquiries have been returned satisfactorily .
All the fixtures and fittings included, are what was agreed.
A completion date has been agreed between both parties. This is usually 4 to 12 weeks after exchange of contracts
Arrangements have been made to transfer the deposit into your solicitors account, so that it clears in time for exchange. Different mortgages require a different percentage of mortgage as a deposit. Even if you pay less than 10% you are still liable for 10% of the value of the property if you later pull out of the agreement. Therefore if you pay a 5% deposit and pull out of buying the property you will not only lose your deposit but also legally owe an additional 5% of the value of the property.

Exchanging Contracts

You and the buyer/seller will agree on a date and time to exchange contracts at any time on any given day

Your conveyancer will exchange contracts for you. Usually done by both solicitors/conveyancers reading out the contracts over the phone (which is recorded) to make sure they are identical.  They are immediately sent to one another in the post.

If you are in a chain the process is the same. Only if all the other people in the chain are all happy to go ahead. This means if one person pulls out or delays, then everyone in the chain gets held up.

Once you have exchanged contracts you will be in a legally binding contract to buy the property with a fixed date for moving. This means that:

If you do not complete the purchase, you will lose your deposit. If the deposit was less than 10% you will owe the seller more.
The seller has to sell or you can sue them
The seller can no longer accept another offer (you don’t need to worry about being gazumped)

Between Exchange and Completion

Your solicitor will lodge an interest in the property which will mean that the deeds to the property are frozen for 30 working days. This allows you to pay the seller and lodge your application to the Land Registry to transfer the deeds into your name.

The solicitor will send you a statement showing the final figure to pay. It needs to be cleared into your solicitor’s bank account at least one day before completion.

On Completion Day

Completion is normally around midday on the specified date. In practice takes place when the seller’s solicitor confirms that they have received all the money that is due. Once this happens the seller should drop the keys at the estate agents for your collection. You can then move in.

After Completion

Your solicitor will tie-up some loose ends:

Pay Stamp Duty Land Tax on your behalf.
Send documents to the Land Registry
You receive your legal documents around 20 days after completion
Send a copy of the title deeds to your mortgage lender. They stay here until you pay your loan off
Notify the freeholder if the property is leasehold
Send you a bill.