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What happens during the conveyancing process? - A Conveyancing Guide
Note: This is a guide only. Your experience and/or process may differ. Nevertheless,
we hope you find it informative.
If in doubt always ask your conveyancing
solicitor.
Choose a Solicitor
Choosing a solicitor is the place to start the process. You should be looking for
an experienced solicitor who is transparent about their pricing and charges. They
don't need to be local. A solicitor with consumer feedback is always a bonus. You
can read up on the experiences (good or bad) that other clients have had using their
services.
Once you have chosen an appropriate solicitor you will need to Instruct them.
This simply means that you are telling them that you want them to handle your case.
Make sure you have a clear understanding of their charging structure and policy.
For example, if your sale/purchase should fall through, will you still be charged
the legal fees?
Once you have instructed your solicitor you should receive a welcome / care letter,
and perhaps an information pack.
Important Note: It is extremely important that you make every effort to fully
disclose and supply accurate information to your solicitor throughout and at every
stage of the process. Inaccurate and/or misleading information could ruin the sale/purchase
process and/or lead to criminal prosecution and civil law-suits.
You will need to read all of the enclosed documents carefully, and contact the solicitor
with any questions you hay have. Conveyancing cannot proceed until you sign and
return the enclosed agreement, enclosing any required proofs of identity and details
of your mortgage (if you have one). You should consider sending any copies of sensitive
documents by recorded mail.
If you are selling a property then the process will likely proceed as follows:
Form Filling will be the next stage of the process. Don't worry… if any of
the forms are confusing you, then your solicitor will be more than happy to assist
you with filling them in correctly. Mistakes at this stage could cause a delay.
The forms will likely comprise: Any guarantees you have relating to work done on
the property and/or the build-mark guarantee supplied by your builder if you are
selling a property that is less than 10 years old. Fixtures and Fittings, Property
Information and, if you should be living in a leasehold property, you will need
to complete a form giving information pertaining to your lease. Finally, you will
need to list any planning permission you have been granted or applied for (including
consent to convert your loft, erect a conservatory, or convert any other room in
your property, such as a garage).
Once you have armed your solicitor with this information he or she will proceed
to request various documents for the relevant parties. In the case of a leasehold
property, a few more documents are required. The basic documents will be copies
from the Land Registry offices, and your Title Deeds (the documents showing that
you are the legal owner of the property). If you are a leasehold client then your
solicitor will also try to obtain the details of your building insurance, a copy
of the lease, the last 3 years history of your service charges and finally the projected
/ estimated annual costs.
Once these documents have been obtained your solicitor should begin to compile a
Draft Contract. The contract will remain draft until all of the parties involved
are happy with it and the dates of exchange can be written in. Before this can happen,
the draft contract is compiled into a pack, along with any other necessary documents
and is sent to the solicitor of the person who is purchasing your property.
The solicitor handling your case will reply to any questions that your buyer's solicitor
has regarding the contract pack. He / she will also ensure that your buyer's mortgage
application is valid and has been approved, or in the case of a cash-buyer will
ensure that the funds are available.
The solicitors will now try to agree a completion date between them, and then write
it into the contract. You and your purchaser will be involved in this process. All
parties involved will receive letters confirming the agreed dates, and willingness
to proceed with the process.
You will be sent a copy of the completed contract by your conveyancing solicitor.
You need to read if very carefully, and contact your solicitor with any questions
you may have. If you are happy with it then read it again, date it, sign it and
return it to your solicitor. Again you should consider using recorded mail.
The purchaser's solicitor and your solicitor will now exchange signed contracts.
Your solicitor will collect a deposit from your purchaser. Your conveyancer
will hold this deposit for you.
IMPORTANT: At this point, you have legally exchanged! You are now legally
committed to the sale, and any attempt to pull out of the process is could result
in legal action! The remainder of the process, from the exchange of contracts to
what is known as completion will now begin.
Now your conveyancer will proceed to agree / confirm the figure outstanding on your
current mortgage with your mortgage lender. This is known as the settlement amount
or redemption amount.
Your buyer's solicitor will now send your conveyancing solicitor a transfer deed.
Your solicitor will check it, and then send it to you. You need to check it, sign
it and return it by recorded mail with no delay!
Your buyer's mortgage lender will send your solicitor the full amount for the purchase
of your property. This will be sent via the buyer's conveyancing solicitor.
Your solicitor will not send the transfer deed and title deeds for
your property to your buyer's solicitor. He will then take his own remuneration,
and may pay your estate agent their fee (if you used one), and then finally pay
the redemption settlement amount owing to your mortgage lender.
At last!! You will say a tearful goodbye to your property, get out, and arrange
to pass over your keys to your buyer. At this point you have completed. There a
few small things that will still happen:
Your solicitor will complete the process with the H.M. Land Registry of registering
you as the legal owner of your purchased property (if you are buying), and, if you
had a loan to purchase your new property, will send your title deeds to your lender.
If you did not borrow to purchase your new property then you will receive the title
deeds. KEEP THESE VERY, VERY SAFE!!
You will now receive any remaining money from your solicitor that is left over from
the sale… or if you are buying a property from someone else, this money will be
passed to their solicitor... You will also take possession of the transfer deed
and title deeds for your purchased property. You should also receive the keys!!!
What is DIY conveyancing?
DIY conveyancing is the process whereby you try to do the conveyancing on your own
property transaction. This is a very risky business! Conveyancing solicitors
have insurance that cover them in the case that they make a mistake. Should you
attempt to do your own conveyancing then you will not have this insurance, and will
be fully liable for all costs and penalties. After all, how much are you going to
save? Only a few hundred pounds at the most. Our panel of solicitors offer great
prices. In our view, the risks of diy conveyancing massively outweigh the benefits.
Also, it could take you up to 3 working days just to fill in all of the paperwork!
This is a task that should most definitely be left to the professionals!
Conveyancing Costs
Conveyancing costs fall into two broad categories. One set of conveyancing costs
will comprise the solicitor's legal fees. These are the costs that vary wildly between
solicitors. The other set of conveyancing costs are called disbursements. These
include charges that should not change between solicitors. They include land registry
fees, telegraphic transfer fees, stamp duty and the like. Be careful though, some
solicitors “hide” costs in their disbursements, such as photocopying fees, charges
for telephone calls and charges for filling in certain forms. Our panel has agreed
to totally transparent pricing! There are no hidden costs, and we bring you some
of the lowest legal fees that you'll find.
Conveyancing Explained
How can conveyancing be explained simply? Well the dictionary definitions vary wildly,
but here is a definition that encompasses many other definitions...
con.vey.anc.ing - a noun.
Conveyancing is the branch of legal practice that consists of the examining of titles,
the ensuring of their validity, and the drawing up of deeds; this for the purpose
of the transfer (conveyance) of title and ownership of property from one person
to another person.
Did you know - every person has a list of words that they always spell incorrectly?
conveyencer, conveyense, conveyencers, conveyencing, conveyncing, conveyancey, conveyency,
conveyencing, conveyance, conveyacing...
These are just a few of the ones we've seen!
Questions We Have The Answer To
Whare are solicitor costs for selling houses? What are home conveyancing fees? Can
you find me a no sale no fee solicitor? Find me a shared ownership conveyancing
solicitor. Get me a solicitor quote for purchasing property in the uk. What are
solicitors costs for selling property? Show me shared ownership solicitors quotes.
What are solicitors charges for conveyancing? Compare solicitor house buying fees.
What are solicitors fees in the UK? I'm looking for an online conveyancing solicitor.
Q. Who pays solicitors fees if house sale falls through? A. With AgentQuote... nobody
does. No move-no-legal fee.