Buying and Selling a Home FAQs

Conveyancing is the name given to the area of Law relating to the transfer of ownership of land or buildings from one person to another. This legal process comprises of a number of vital steps to ensure clients sell and buy property with a sound legal title and free from incumbrances and restrictions. The conveyancing process provides both protection and assurance to clients and mortgage lenders (if applicable) alike. Whilst parts of a property transaction can be managed independently, some aspects can be complicated. By instructing a suitably qualified Conveyancer who has professional experience and expertise in dealing with such matters will ensure your property transaction runs smoothly and efficiently.

Typically, a sale or purchase can take around 12-16 weeks to complete, but this does depend on the various matters such as if a mortgage offer is required or the length of the chain. First time buyers can take longer to receive a mortgage offer than a previous property owner. Leasehold matters can take longer as Management information needs to be reviewed and the process can be slowed whist this is awaited.

The total costs are made up of the conveyancing fees for the service, vat, stamp duty and searches. Additional costs can arise for complex and leasehold matters, such as managing agents or landlord fees. There are also potential mortgage costs, possibly an arrangement fee if you use a broker plus a survey fee.

All the same searches are carried out as if you were buying a house to check for things like planning issues but in addition when you are buying a flat, enquiries are made with the landlord about how the block of flats is looked after. This will include checking what rent and service charges are due and how the landlord then uses this money to repair, insure and maintain the block and importantly how fire and safety aspects are covered.

Most legal companies have separate departments dealing with residential and commercial matters, and Tollers employ specialists in each area.

The length of the lease is important to ensure that a mortgage lender is happy that there is sufficient time left on the lease. You will want to understand what the annual rent and service charge payments are likely to be and how this money is used to manage the building and commonly used facilities. It is advisable to check how well maintained the building looks to be and that safety and fire regulations are covered.

Tollers have a dedicated team of dispute lawyers who can help with issues such as boundary problems, disagreements over rights of way and enforcement of covenants. These are outside of conveyancing transactional matters.

It is recommended that you are represented in these matters. You can act for yourself but the legal process can be complex and dealing personally with Land Registry and HMRC presents its own set of challenges. Using a solicitor would give you piece of mind and allow the matter to proceed in the hand of professionals who deal with these matters every day.

You should always check that the plan that comes with the deeds accurately represents what you are buying. Rights of way are a big issue, these will be checked to ensure the correct rights are available to access the property and garden/land. Houses are often subject to covenants, which are promises made by property owners to do or not to do certain things on the property, for instance maintain a specific fence or seek permission before extending or altering the property.

A solicitor will collect information about the property from you then prepare a draft contract for the sale, generally assist with any enquiries that may be raised, exchange contracts, pay off any mortgage that is held and also pay the estate agents fees from the proceeds of sale.

The main searches a solicitor will carry out when you purchase a property are a local, drainage and environmental search. A local search will reveal information about whether the road used to access the property is adopted and maintained by the local authority, if there are any planning issues or any other information held in the local authority records which may affect your purchase. A drainage search will show if the property is connected to foul and surface water drainage and to mains water.

A property title can contain restrictions about how you can use the land/property so it is important to check that these do not contravene the way in which you want to use the property, for example if want to use the property to run a business this must not be prohibited.

There are many ways to select the right solicitor/conveyancer to assist you with you purchase, sale or remortgage, including:

• You can research a Solicitor/Conveyancer to ensure they are the right choice for you;
• You can use tools such as Law Society's "Find a Solicitor", CLC – The Specialist Property Law Regulator (clc-uk.org);
• You can read reviews on the firm and the individual solicitor/conveyancer;
• You can check for the firm or the individual solicitors/conveyancers accreditations;
• You can clarify the firm fee structures to ensure you fully understand all the costs involved;
• You can seek out recommendations from friends and family.

Whomever you decide to select to assist with your matter should ideally specialise in conveyancing matters and of course be suitably qualified.

The conveyancing process encompasses various, essential steps which must be followed in their entirety to ensure a property is transferred with a sound legal title and free from any matters which would affect or prohibit the registration of the property at Land Registry. In regards to sale transactions the various steps of conveyancing include:

• Obtaining the legal title from Land Registry and preparing draft Contract papers;
• Responding to enquiries raised by a buyer’s Solicitors and redeeming any existing mortgages registered on the property.

In terms of a purchase transaction the steps include:

• The Solicitor/Conveyancer carrying out a full investigation of the legal title, submit various searches and check results;
• check a client’s mortgage offer (if applicable) and ensure full compliance with lender’s requirements;
• check source of funds evidence to ensure Money Laundering Regulations can be complied with;
• assess stamp duty liabilities.

Once the Solicitor/Conveyancer has carried out all of the necessary legal work for the sale or purchase, they will liaise with the parties in the chain and formerly exchange the contracts which will make the transaction legally binding. It is upon exchange of contracts that the completion date is set which is the date upon which the property is legally transferred from one person to another and keys are handed over. Finally, a Solicitor/Conveyancer will arrange to register the transfer of ownership at Land Registry.

Tollers have an experienced team of new build conveyancers who deal with new properties all over the country. There are certain complexities involved such as planning issues and completion timetables which we can help a client navigate.

The process can take quite a few weeks due to length of chain or transactions and time taken to obtain a mortgage offer. Whilst some of these are out of solicitors/conveyancers hands, a pro-active approach is taken to try and minimise delays. Maintaining open channels of communication is vital, addressing document discrepancies and following up is vital to keep transactions from falling through. We provide legal guidance and can help negotiate a way through these challenges. We would stay in regular contact with lenders where there are several important conditions in a mortgage offer. We may suggest seeking specialist advice were necessary for if complex issues of for example planning and or stamp duty arises.

There are three searches which are always required by mortgage lender, these being the Local Authority Search, the Drainage and Water Search and the Environmental Search. However, certain areas of the UK may require other searches be undertaken (eg coal) and your conveyancer will advise you if they are necessary.

The Local Authority provides details as to planning permissions, building regulations, Listed Buildings consent and road and rail schemes which may have an impact on the property, together with additional information that may be relevant. The Drainage and Water Search will confirm where the pipes which benefit the property are situated and if the property is connected to Mains water and sewerage.

The best way to speed up the conveyancing process is to respond promptly to enquiries raised by your solicitor, although this is dependent on all the other parties within the chain doing so as well. Unfortunately, the conveyancing process can sometimes be lengthy, especially if there is a Management Company or other third party from whom information is required.

This search provides information on exactly what it says it does, environmental matters which could adversely affect the property. It is usual for such searches to include information in respect of potential Radon gas, flooding, ground instability or energy and infrastructure matters which could have an impact on your use and enjoyment of the property. Please note, these searches do not always take into account the topography of an area and a property may be considered to be at risk even if you do not believe it to be physically possible for it to be.

There are two types of Notice fees in conveyancing. One is payable in respect of a notice sent to a landlord/Management Company confirming that you have bought the property and advising of the details of the new owner and any mortgage registered against the property. The second type of Notice fee is usually only payable if a Notice to Complete is served on someone due to a breach of the contract, meaning completion has had to be delayed. The Notice fee is paid to the solicitor which has been required to prepare and serve the notice on the solicitor acting for the person who has caused the delayed completion

A conveyance document is something which transfers the ownership of land between parties. In the past, these would have included Conveyances and what were known as Indentures but with the advent of registered land, most transactions now use Transfer Deeds and Leases to effect a change of ownership. In the event that a property is being transferred to beneficiaries under the terms of a Will, the conveyance document used is known as an Assent.

Your mortgage lender will require that you have a solicitor to deal with the transaction but you may find that some lenders will insist on using their own in-house conveyancing team. If this is the case, you will not need to instruct a solicitor directly but, in the event that your lender does not have an in-house team, you will need to do so, as most lenders will not release mortgage monies to an individual. This is so that the lender can be sure that their monies are safe and will only be used to re-pay any existing mortgage secured against the property.