The buyers guide to conveyancing

 

 

Buying a home is likely to be the biggest single biggest financial transaction you make, and to make sure that you get what you think you bargained for, it is worth having a conveyancer on board early in the process, so that you can act quickly once you have found your property.  We recommend an associated firm of conveyancers who offer our clients some of the best costs in the UK.

There are many detailed tasks to be carried out, particularly in raising and answering queries about the purchase and what is included, but these actions fit into a number of key steps:

Step 1:  Your conveyancer will contact the sellers solicitor/conveyancer and ask for the “information pack”, which contains 4 key items:

• property information form: a standard questionnaire, which will give details of boundaries (and disputes) and other key property information
• fixtures, fittings and contents form:  this tells you what is and is not included in the sale of the house.  There is often debate about what has been included in the sale (furniture, curtains, etc.), so you should be careful to agree with the seller what you are getting and let your conveyancer know if there are likely to be any areas of concern.
• title deeds:  these documents show that the person selling the property owns it, and secondly set out any rights or obligations that affect the property.
• contract: this is drawn up by the sellers solicitor/conveyancer, and sets out the main terms of the proposed agreement, including names and the price.

Step 2:  The conveyancer will then carry out a number of searches.  The local authority search is a list of questions about the property which are sent to the local authority. This search confirms a number of things, such as proposed changes to the local area, whether there have been planning applications on the property.  It doesn’t say whether there would be planning permission for any extensions you are thinking of.  You would need to request this separately.  If the property is in a mining area, then the solicitor will also carry out a mining search.

Step 3: You will then need to negotiate and agree the contract, based on this and any other surveys you have had carried out.

Step 4:  You next need to get a copy of a mortgage offer (if you are buying with a mortgage) on this specific property (not just an agreement in principle) which will be given once contract terms have been agreed.

 Step 5: You are now ready to agree a completion date (the date when the house becomes yours) and can exchange contracts along with a deposit.  This is no longer refundable if you pull out of the sale.  The minute you exchange contracts, the sale is set in stone – you must buy (at the price stated) and the seller must sell.

Step 6: Your conveyancer now draws up a purchase deed and send it to the seller’s solicitor/conveyancer, and reports to your lender, requesting mortgage funds.  Your conveyancer will then report to you requesting any residual balance, if applicable.

Step 7: Your conveyancer hands over to the seller’s solicitor the remainder of the purchase money (buying price less the deposit you have provided) and in return your conveyancer receives;

• the transfer document, which is needed to show the house is now transferred to you (and will need to be sent to the Land Registry) and
• the title deeds, which is the evidence of ownership and sets out the obligations on the owners.

You can now move in……………………………………..