Understanding the Process
Get the Best Conveyancing Quotes by Understanding the Process
What is Conveyancing?
When you are buying, selling, or remortgaging a property, you will need a conveyancer to complete the legal work. Once an offer is accepted, your conveyancing solicitor will ensure all relevant contracts are signed and money transfers are completed. Amongst other things, they will oversee the transfer of property deeds. Use our comparison tool to compare quotes and find a conveyancing solicitor.
Your conveyancer’s job includes a range of tasks, including:
- Liasing with the other party’s solicitor to negotiate a contract,
- Ordering the necessary local authority searches,
- Arranging potential completion dates with both parties
- Swapping contracts with the other party’s solicitor
- Anti Money Laundering checks.
- Transferring your deposit
- Preparing a completion statement and transfer deeds
- Liaising and making arrangements with your mortgage lender
- Submitting a tax return and paying the required Stamp Duty (SDLT) to HMRC
- Forwarding documentation regarding the transfer to the Land Registry
This is just a brief outline of what your conveyancer does. Let’s take a closer look at some of the most important parts of conveyancing.
Conveyancing is the legal process of transferring the ownership of a property from one person to another. Conveyancing should always be undertaken by specialist conveyancing solicitor or a licensed conveyancer. They act on behalf of both buyers and sellers.
Solicitors in England and Wales should be registered with The Law Society and regulated by the Solicitors Regulations Authority (SRA).
Conveyancers need to be licensed and regulated by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC).
Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own societies; the Law Society of Scotland and the Law Society of Northern Ireland.
To choose your local Conveyancing Solicitor be sure to compare both conveyance fee and the quality of service. Whether buying, selling or remortgaging your home, you want the legal process managed as efficiently as possible. Quality of service comes before cheap, low cost fees. Use our comparison tool to compare quotes and find a conveyancing solicitor. compare quotes Now
To choose your local Conveyancing Solicitor you must compare both conveyance fee and the quality of service. Whether buying, selling or remortgaging your home, you want the legal process managed as quickly as possible. Quality of service comes before cheap, low cost fees. Use our comparison tool to compare quotes and find a conveyancing solicitor.
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Why Do I Need Conveyancing?
Buying, selling or re-mortgaging a property, requires a licenced Conveyancing Solicitor to meet the necessary legal requirements. They will oversee the transfer of deeds to ensure that no legal issues arise.
Some mortgage lenders require you to use a conveyancing solicitor on their managed panel. You can compare quotes for panel solicitors by using our online comparison tool.
What Is Fixed Fee Conveyancing?
Fixed Fee Conveyancing is where a pre-agreed price is set for the conveyancing service offered. The price agreed to at the beginning should be the price you pay at the end.Compare conveyancing quotes from Conveyancing Supermarket now.
The term ‘fixed fee’ relates only to the price of the legal services offered. The fixed element of the quote rarely includes conveyancing disbursements as it’s difficult to predict exactly which searches are required and their costs.
Fixed fee conveyancing is common throughout the UK. However, a few conveyancing solicitors still use an hourly rate service. It’s important to make this distinction when comparing conveyancing solicitors so you can budget accordingly.
Customers often prefer fixed-rate services as it allows them to budget for the expected costs. Otherwise, if you have an estimated amount, you may encounter hidden fees.
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What Will My Conveyancing Quotes Include?
Your local conveyancing solicitor quote will include basic fees, disbursements and expenses. Basic fees are the general solicitors fees. Compare quotes here.
What Are Disbursements?
Disbursements and expenses are costs that are incurred and passed onto you.
These might include:
Buying a property
Bankruptcy Search – £2 – £4
Your mortgage lender will need to know that you, or any other person named on the mortgage, has not been declared bankrupt.
Local Authority Searches – £250 – £450 [link to new searches page]
The cost of Local Authority searches can vary and depend on which borough the property is in.
Land Registry Office Copies – £4 – £8
Your solicitor will arrange a pre-completion search to ensure the vendor legally owns the property you’re buying.
Environmental Search – £30 – £35 plus VAT
These are additional to the basic Local Authority search. They will investigate specific concerns such as subsidence, flooding or industrial contamination.
Drainage Search – £30 – £40 plus VAT
This ensures the property is connected to fresh and foul water sewers. The cost will vary between water companies. It should not fall too far outside the range given above.
Local Searches – £40 – £250
These are location-specific and are suggested by your solicitor if there is a history of mining from coal, tin to limestone.
Telegraphic Transfer Fee – £20 – £45 plus VAT
This is charged by your bank to cover the cost of transferring the money to the seller’s conveyancer.
Land Registration Fee – From £20
(for properties under £80,000) to £1,105 (for properties over £1,000,000)
This is a fixed cost disbursement that depends on the cost of the property being purchased. Conveyancing quotes should state the cost of the land registration fee.
Stamp Duty is another cost incurred by Buyers – Have a look at our Stamp Duty Guide for more information.
Selling a property
Land Registry Office Copies – £4 to £8
These documents confirm that you are the legal owner of the property you wish to sell.
Telegraphic TransferFee – £25 -£45
Cost to transfer money to pay off your existing mortgage.
Our Simple Guide to Understanding the Conveyancing 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.
- Step1 > First Steps
- Step2 > Legal Work
- Step3 > Your Mortgage
- Step4 > Signing Contracts
- Step5 > Exchanging Contracts
- Step6 > Between Exchange and Completion
- Step7 > After Completion
First Steps – Conveynanicng Quotes
- 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.
- Your conveyancer will draw up a draft contract, sometimes called the terms of engagement. It sets out their charges and deposits required.
- 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 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
Your conveyancer will do a set of legal searches to ensure there are no areas of concern. Some searches are recommended 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 be 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.
We have a whole guide on conveyancing searches so be sure to take a look
Your Mortgage
Ideally your Agreement in principle 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 may need to get a mortgage valuation. This is 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 each conveyancer receives draft contracts they will communicate with each other 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.
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Ideally your Agreement in principle 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 may need to get a mortgage valuation. This is 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.
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.
A date and time will be agreed to exchange contracts. The conveyancers will exchange contracts for you, Usually done by both solicitors/conveyancers reading them over the phone. Once contracts have been exchanged, 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)
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Between Exchange and Completion
You and the buyer/seller will agree on a date and time to exchange c
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.
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ontracts 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.
A date and time will be agreed to exchange contracts. The conveyancers will exchange contracts for you, Usually done by both solicitors/conveyancers reading them over the phone. Once contracts have been exchanged, 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)
Compare Conveyancing Quotes in just minutes. Just enter a few details and we will do the rest..
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.
Conveyancing Fees
When you compare conveyancing quotes and find a conveyancing solicitor. you will notice they are split into two parts:
- The legal costs charged by the conveyancer
- The disbursements, or third-party expenses involved during the sale.
If the sale comes with a number of complications, there may be extra conveyancing-related costs to bear in mind:
For sellers:
- The solicitor or conveyancer’s basic fee – expect this to be higher if the property is leasehold
- Land Registry copies
- Telegraphic Transfer fees – amounts under £60,000 will be cleared using the free Bank Automated Clearing System or BACS
For buyers:
- The basic fee
- Land Registry fee
- Land Registration fee
- Searches including Local Authority, drainage, environmental and location specific
- Telegraphic Transfer fees
- Stamp Duty – you can check this calculation using a stamp duty calculator
Fixed Price Conveyancing
It’s important to ensure your conveyancing quote includes all fees and disbursements and that it is fully itemised. This way you know from the beginning the exact fees you need to pay.
We guarantee no hidden fees when you compare quotes with us.
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