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Conveyancing Process Explained (when buying, up to exchange of contracts)
1.Know the basics
5.Make an offer
Conveyancing is the legal process of transferring ownership of a property from one person to another. It is usually carried out by a solicitor or licensed conveyancer.
When buying a property, your conveyancer’s role is to secure title, together with all the rights of the land, and make sure you’re aware of any restrictions before you become legally committed to the purchase.
Expect conveyancing fees for a standard freehold purchase to total up at approx. £700 – £1,500 (this does not include any stamp duty land tax liability). For a relatively straightforward purchase (with a short chain), expect the conveyancing process (from‘offer acceptance’ to ‘completion’) to take approximately 8 – 12 weeks.
2. Line up your mortgage
Make enquiries about new mortgages, obtain quotes and application forms (if no broker involved).
3. Choose your conveyancer and protect against abortive costs
ProTip: Given 1 in 3 purchases fail to complete: Choose a
conveyancing firm that offers a ‘no completion, no fee‘ guarantee so you don’t have to pay your conveyancer’s basic fee if your transaction fails to complete. Take out a cheap home buyers insurance policy for less than £40 so you can also claim back on any lost survey & search fees (which can be in excess of £1,000).
4. Instruct your Solicitor / Licensed Conveyancer
Telling a solicitor or licensed conveyancer that you want them to do your conveyancing is called ‘instructing’. To avoid unnecessary delays & reduce your chances of being gazumped, it’s a good idea to find and instruct your conveyancer before you find a property to buy – That way you can provide your conveyancer’s details to the seller’s estate agent as soon as your offer is accepted and get the ball rolling.
Client Care Letter
Once an offer has been accepted you’re off to the races and the conveyancing process starts in earnest.
Not all agents do this but its best practice for them to ask you to provide contact details for your conveyancer, proof of deposit and Agreement in Principle (AIP) for a mortgage.
Ask for the property to be taken off the market and expect a decent estate agent to encourage their client to agree to this on the proviso that within 14 days you (the buyer) have show to be proactive (i.e. have instructed a conveyancer, booked a mortgage valuation survey &/or building survey etc.).
Inform your conveyancer that your offer has been expected and confirm they receive a memorandum of sale (MOS) from the estate agent.
Provide your conveyancer with a list, in writing, of any queries you have about the property you are buying, such as access issues, parking etc. Discuss a timeframe for the transaction with your conveyancer and agree a provisional completion date with the rest of the chain (other buyers/sellers).
survey to your conveyancer as it may provide them with more information to ask questions and make checks.
8.Review your conveyancer’s legal report
Once all enquires are answered, searches reviewed and mortgage offer checked, your conveyancer will write to you to report on all matters. You will need to read everything they send you and ask questions if you have any worries or find things you want to check further.
Tip: Make sure you read the ‘fixtures and fittings’ and
‘property information forms’ carefully to ensure they match what you’d agreed with the seller/agent, for example what appliances, carpets and curtains are being left behind.
Tip: Check the type of ownership i.e. freehold or leasehold.
Believe it or not, your solicitor / licensed conveyancer may not check this. If the lease has less than 80 years, it can be expensive to extend and you’ll have to own the property for at least 2 years before you can apply for a lease extension.
9. Sign documents
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6. Request paperwork & ask questions
Your conveyancer will send you a ‘ ’ which outlines their fees, terms of
Letter of Engagement /
business and confirms you have instructed them to act for you. Read all the paperwork that’s sent to you and ask any questions if you’re unsure about something.
• You will be asked to send proof of address and ID.
• You will be expected to provide around £300 on account so the solicitor has funds available to buy searches on your behalf.
• You will also need to provide proof that you have the funds to proceed with a purchase, in the form of bank statements and/or a mortgage offer in principle.
Fill in, sign and return all requested documents as quickly as possible and follow up to make sure they have been received.
Your conveyancer will write to the seller’s conveyancer to request a copy of the draft contract and legal pack. They will also order property searches, which provide detailed information on planning, draining and environmental issues.
Your conveyancer raises specific enquiries (questions) with sellers’ conveyancer following receipt of contract pack. Your conveyancer receives the search results; checks them, investigates any issues and asks additional enquires to sellers’ conveyancer if needed.
7. Finalise your mortgage
You will need to finalise your mortgage and give the details to your legal company so they can check the offer terms and conditions and organise funds when required.
Tip: Send a copy of your mortgage valuations &/or building into the contract. 12. Get building insurance
You must supply written confirmation of building insurance cover (for your new home) to you conveyancer before exchange of contracts can take place.
13. Exchange contracts
Until the contracts are exchanged you or the seller may pull out of the deal at any time (and unless homebuyers insurance has been taken you will be left out of pocket to some degree). The formal exchange of contracts usually takes place via a recorded telephone call between the two legal representatives working for you and the seller.
Exchange can only take place when everybody in the chain is ready to proceed.
Your conveyancer will contact you to request your authorisation to exchange.
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When you and your conveyancer are satisfied with all the information provided by the seller, your conveyancer will send you the final contract andTR1 form to read and sign. Return these documents by registered, next day post or by hand to ensure they are received quickly. Always ask your conveyancer to confirm receipt of important documents.
10. Send deposit
Before you can exchange, your conveyancer will need to hold your deposit as cleared funds. Deposits are traditionally 5-10% of the purchase price but if you’re part of a chain, the deposit from the buyer at the bottom of the chain may be ‘passed up‘ and utilised by all parties (even though it will be a lot less than 10% of the value of the property at the top of the chain).
11.Agree completion date
Conveyancers will negotiate a completion date and once agreed with all parties have this written
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