Conveyancing
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What is conveyancing?
Conveyancing is the legal process of buying a home.
Land Registry, a Government department that keeps a database of who owns each property in the country, makes a note of all purchases. As there is a lot of paperwork involved and certain areas of the law can be complex, a solicitor or licensed conveyancer is best placed to help you.
Conveyancing starts once your offer to buy has been accepted. You’ll have to appoint a solicitor at the same time as applying for a mortgage. Lenders need to know who you’re using so they can communicate with them. In most cases, banks work with a pre-approved panel of firms. In addition to representing you, your solicitor works for the bank. They ensure all legal conditions are met for funds to be released.
Nowadays you don’t need to physically travel to your solicitor’s office so you can appoint a firm anywhere in the country.
How do I choose a conveyancing solicitor?
Your estate agent and mortgage broker will often have firms they work closely with, usually in exchange for a small referral fee.
You can also ask family and friends for recommendations.
Get a couple of quotes so you can compare cost. It’s also worth checking how responsive the firm is; if you want an update or need to speak to someone, can you get a reply quickly?
What is involved in conveyancing?
Initial paperwork
The first thing your solicitor is likely to do once appointed is send out their terms of business alongside an initial questionnaire for you to fill out.
You need to provide ID documents and paperwork to show where your deposit is coming from. This is part of standard anti-money laundering checks. Your solicitor will tell you exactly what they need.
They can’t start working on your case until they get some initial paperwork from the seller’s solicitor. This paperwork confirms the seller’s intent to sell and that you are the buyer, allowing both solicitors to work together to move the deal forward.
Paperwork from the seller
The seller has to complete similar paperwork to yours as well as a Fixtures and Fittings Form. This form shows what they are leaving in each room. It includes details like roof insulation, doorbells, toilet roll holders, and curtain poles, as well as bigger items like kitchen appliances, fitted wardrobes, and carpets.
They also fill out a Property Information Form, which provides details such as the gas and electric suppliers.
Receipt of mortgage offer
After completing the initial paperwork, most solicitors ask for money up-front for searches. (We’ll explain searches in a moment.)
We recommend waiting until you have the mortgage offer before making any payments. This is because searches are specific to the property. You don’t want to spend money on searches if you can’t get a mortgage for the house.
Once you pay for and start the searches, the money is usually non-refundable.
Why The Mortgage Store Chorley?
Exclusive rates you won’t get directly from lenders
A dedicated point of contact from initial enquiry right through to completion and beyond
Appointments seven days a week, to best suit your schedule
Ongoing rate monitoring until completion as standard
What Our Clients Say
Searches
Your solicitor investigates various aspects of the property by getting information from other companies. With so many parties involved, it’s hard to say exactly how long it will take to get the results. Usually, you wait a few weeks.What searches are done when buying a house?
Local authority searches
Your solicitor asks the local council for information. This search can tell you if the property is a listed building or in a conservation area. It also shows future developments, like new roads or nearby planning permissions, that might affect your property.Water searches
Your solicitor checks if the local water company is responsible for water and sewerage supply and maintenance. This search also checks if there are any sewers within the property boundaries. Water companies have legal rights to maintain access for repairs, so keep this in mind if you plan to build over a sewer.Environment searches
Your solicitor identifies if the land has contamination risks or if the property is in a flood risk area.Mining searches
If you are getting a mortgage, your lender will usually require this search. A mining search checks if there was any previous mining activity on the land. Sometimes there may still be tunnels or mine shafts, and if they weren’t filled in properly, they could collapse and damage your house.Other searches
Your solicitor or lender might recommend other searches. One common search checks for chancel repair liability. This is an old right of the church, dating back to 1536, to request funds from homeowners for certain repairs. Because it’s so old, it might not be recorded at Land Registry. Your solicitor may recommend an insurance policy to protect you from claims.Chat with our expert advisor
Enquiries
Enquiries involve your solicitor asking questions to understand any potential legal issues that might affect the property.
For example, if someone built an extension, did they get planning permission and follow building regulations? If not, the council might demand that it be torn down, even if you didn’t build it.
This is why enquiries are vital to any property transaction. You need to know the situation and understand your rights.
The seller’s solicitor might answer some enquiries immediately. However, others might need to be referred to the seller or other third parties for verification. Your solicitor will decide if the reply is satisfactory or if more information is needed.
Enquiries are usually the longest part of the conveyancing process. Your solicitor must be satisfied with the answers so they can report properly to you and your lender. They don’t want to rush and approve something that they shouldn’t, as there could be lasting implications. For example, the issue might come up again when you decide to sell in the future.
Exchange of contracts
Once everybody is happy, both parties can agree a date for exchanging contracts.
You need to put your buildings insurance in place as soon as you agree a date.
At exchange, you pay your deposit and commit to buying the property. This then becomes legally binding, and after this point, neither party can change their mind without incurring a penalty.
Completion
This is when you legally become a homeowner!
Although sometimes it happens on the same day as the exchange, it’s more common to have a week or so between the two. (For new builds, it could even be months!)
This date is pre-arranged to give your lender enough time to release funds. You can also book time off work if necessary and arrange for things like removal vans.
Completions can take place any weekday, but Fridays are popular so people have the weekend to unpack and settle in.
Completion can happen at any time on the agreed day. The seller’s solicitor must confirm receipt of all the funds first. If you’re in a chain, you’ll have to wait for those further up to complete first.
Your solicitor will tell you when completion has happened so you can go and get the keys.
Your Questions, Our answers
Our answers to some of the most common questions we get asked about conveyancing.
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How long does conveyancing take?
The most commonly asked question, and the most difficult one to answer!
It greatly depends on the circumstances of the purchase and of others in the chain.
Some purchases have flown through in four weeks, whereas others have taken six months or more.
Thinking it will take three or four months is a good starting point.
What does conveyancing cost?
There is no set price for conveyancing – each firm can charge what they want.
The exact cost will depend on the price of the property, the details of the transaction, and the firm you choose. We’re able to get quotes from multiple firms for you – just let us know if you’d like us to do this.Why does buying a house take so long?
The process is archaic and involves reaching out to numerous different people and organisations (rather than information being held on a central database).
Your solicitor is reliant on others getting information back to them and answering questions in enough detail for them to be able to sign off on the enquiry.
Your solicitor has to be thorough and they only have your best interests at heart. They do not want to hold up transactions unnecessarily.Will using the same solicitor as the seller speed things up?
The same person or indeed office is not allowed to act for both buyer and seller; it’s deemed a conflict of interest.
If the firm is big enough to have two or more offices, you can appoint the firm but someone in a different office to your seller’s solicitor would have to look after you. The exception is if it is a private sale, in which case both parties have to use different firms entirely.
What's the difference between freehold and leasehold?
Freehold means that you own the property and the land the property sits upon.
Leasehold means that instead of owning the land you purchase the right to occupy the property for a given number of years.
The property is empty - can I start moving in before exchange or completion?
Legally, no. You can’t do anything to the property until completion, when you become the homeowner.
