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Buying and Selling houses and flats in England

The process from the acceptance of the offer to completion of the sale usually takes about 10 to 12 weeks.

Understanding of the process will help you to avoid some of the most common pitfalls of home-buying and make the process more enjoyable.

What is Conveyancing?

'Conveyancing' refers to all the legal and administrative work associated with transferring the legal ownership of a property from one owner to another. The conveyancing process starts after an offer has been made and accepted for a property, and solicitors' details have been exchanged. Usually an agent will prepare a sales memorandum which is a simple document listing things like the names and addresses of buyer and the seller, the sale price and the solicitors details.

Conveyancing: The Legal Process

Although it is impossible to give a precise idea of how long the legal process will take, it is possible to offer guidelines. From having an offer accepted to exchange of contracts can take up to seven weeks and from exchange of contracts to completion can take up to four weeks.

However, if there are any problems the time taken may be longer. Whether you are a buyer or seller most property transactions involve the following stages:

The price at which you buy and sell a property is for you to negotiate personally or through the estate agent. Any offer you make should be made “subject to contract” and “subject to survey”. Once negotiations have been completed a buyer should apply for a mortgage and arrange a survey.

Enquiries

Once you have instructed us, we will draw up a contract for the property you are selling. If you are buying, this is drafted by the seller’s solicitor. However, before the contract can be signed, we will ensure that there are no problems with the ownership of the property, rights of way, access, or future developments in the area that might affect the property. This is called ‘making enquiries and searches’. ·

Local searches

These are enquiries made to the local authority about any matters which affect the property which involve the local authority, such as whether there is a compulsory purchase order on the property. Local searches also include questions about any proposed changes or development in the area that might affect the property such as roads, housing and shops. During the local search, the local Land Charges Register is also checked. This gives information about any matter which affects the property such as planning permissions; tree preservation orders, if it is a listed building or in a conservation area; ·

Enquiries made to the seller

These are a set of standard questions about the property, boundaries, neighbour disputes and fixtures and fittings that will remain in the property. There may also be additional questions that we think are necessary such as restrictive covenants affecting the land, the transferability of guarantees for any work done on the house, for example, a damp proof course;

Arranging to pay the deposit

Whilst we are making the enquiries, you should sort out how you will pay the deposit that has to be paid when the contracts are exchanged. This deposit is traditionally 10% of the purchase price but it can vary. If you are also selling a house, it is usually possible to use the deposit received on the property being sold towards the deposit on the property you are buying. If raising the deposit is a problem, you may consider borrowing the money from relatives or you could try to get a bridging loan from a bank.

Insuring the property

You should make sure that buildings insurance is arranged from the date of exchange, because once contracts have been exchanged you are responsible for the property.

Exchange of contracts

The contract between you and the seller is exchanged when:-

You and the seller each have a copy of the contract which you must sign. These signed contracts are then exchanged. At exchange of contracts both you and the seller are legally bound by the contract and the sale of the house has to go ahead. If you pull out and you are buying, you are likely to lose your deposit.

You should make arrangements for the supply of gas, electricity and telephone service and make sure that the seller is arranging for final meter readings to be made.

Pre-completion

Before completion we will prepare the transfer deed and mortgage deed for you to sign and a certificate of title for your lender. We will request they transfer the mortgage money in time for completion. We will prepare the financial statement and ask you for the balance of money including stamp duty and legal fees. If you are selling we will obtain a redemption figure from your existing lender and an invoice from the estate agents.

Completion

Completion of the purchase usually takes place two to four weeks after exchange of contracts, although it can be earlier. On the day of completion:- the mortgage lender releases the money the deeds to the property are handed over to us the seller must hand over the keys and leave the property by an agreed time. On completion we also deal with the re-payment of your existing mortgage if any from the sale proceeds, the payment of any stamp duty land tax and registration procedures.