Buying a new home is really exciting. But it’s also complicated, with lots of legal jargon to deal with and complicated processes to work through. Doing that on your own can seem daunting, but luckily there are plenty of professionals who can support you through every stage of the process. A big element of this conveyancing. "But unless you've bought a property before you may not be familiar with the conveyancing process, so we're going to do our best to explain it today.
What Is Conveyancing?
Conveyancing is essentially the legal process of transferring ownership of a property from one person to another. That’s it. It really is as simple as that, even if the name sounds mysterious. But there are a lot of nitty-gritty legal bits involved in buying a property, and that starts when you first put in an offer on the house and ends when you're handed the keys.
Who Handles The Conveyancing Process?
Someone like us! In truth, a solicitor's practice can handle the conveyancing process as well, and it will often be part of a wider ‘home-buying’ service they offer, but you’re almost always better served by a conveyancing specialist. Since this is what we do all day every day, the process is often simpler, quicker and more cost-effective for all involved.
Six Stages of Conveyancing
Instruct Your Conveyancer: First things first, give your chosen conveyancer the green light to work their magic. This is called ‘instruction’, and means they will be able to legally act on your behalf for the purposes of the transaction. Often your estate agent will recommend a conveyancer, but bear in mind you don’t have to use them, and independent conveyancers will almost always cost you less.
This step involves reading and signing a contract from your conveyancer, who will then contact the seller’s conveyancer and start the process of buying the property. At this stage, that’s requesting a draft contract so they can review it, and requesting details about the property.
The Legal Heavy Lifting: This is where a big chunk of legwork happens. Your conveyancer will essentially become a detective investigating your property. They will scrutinize documents, do property searches, local authority checks, title inspections and even search for hidden factors about the property. In short, they make sure you know exactly what you’re getting into with this property. The legal property search will include:
Local authority searches
Checking the title register
Checking flood risk
Water authority searches
Chancel repair searches
Environmental searches
Optional and location-specific searches (for example tin mining searches in Cornwall).
Mortgages: Unless you’re one of the very lucky ones buying outright in cash, you will need a mortgage in order to buy your property. You can work with a broker or directly with a lender to sort out your mortgage, and once you’ve got an offer in place a copy is sent to your conveyancer for review and make sure it’s suitable.
The Legally Binding Bits: In other words, your contacts. During the whole of this process, your chosen conveyancer should have been in contact with the seller's conveyancers, making sure the whole process is going smoothly behind the scenes. It’s their job to make sure that all enquiries have been answered, that a full fixtures and fittings list has been done, and there is a rough completion date in the diary. It’s also the conveyancer's job to make sure that your deposit funds have been received and then transferred to the seller.
Now it’s time for the big moment – the exchange of contracts! This sounds very exciting as it’s what makes the sale and purchase legally binding, but actually, it’s a bit dull. The solicitor or conveyancer for both the buyer and seller will get on a recorded phone call and read out the contracts to ensure they match. They will then send signed copies to each other to confirm. Once this happens the price and the move date are fixed, and there’s no turning back.
Completion: Otherwise known as the big finish! Once the contracts have been exchanged your conveyancer will lodge something called an ‘interest’ in the property with the government. This means the deeds will be frozen for 30 days, during which time they pay the seller and apply for the deed transfer. The seller will move out, and you’ll be focused on the immense task of packing! Before the official moving day, you'll receive a statement with the final amount to pay at least a day before the official move.
Post-Move Loose Ends: Despite the name, completion isn't the end of the process! Once you've moved in, your conveyancer will still be tying up loose ends, Including:
Paying Stamp Duty
Sending legal documents
Sending copies of title deeds to your mortgage lender
Notifying the freeholder (if the property is a leasehold
Sending you their bill
And voila! It's not a walk in the park, but it's certainly a manageable adventure, and the reward at the end is one of the best there is. If you're ever curious or confused about the conveyancing process while you’re applying for a mortgage, feel free to drop us a line and we would be happy to help. We’re a team of experienced conveyancers who are ready to help you sail smoothly into your new home.
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