Buying a house is exciting and worrying at the same time. House purchase is probably the most expensive purchase you will ever make and it is important to get it right.Finding your “dream home” is only half of the story, for majority of the buyers, it will be necessary to find a suitable mortgage and a solicitor or a licensed legal conveyancer who will complete the purchase.Once you offer to accepted, you will need to start a legal conveyancing process which will transfer an ownership of the property from seller to buyer.Theoretically, you can attempt to do it yourself, but the...Read more

Buying a house is exciting and worrying at the same time. House purchase is probably the most expensive purchase you will ever make and it is important to get it right.
Finding your “dream home” is only half of the story, for majority of the buyers, it will be necessary to find a suitable mortgage and a solicitor or a licensed legal conveyancer who will complete the purchase.

Once you offer to accepted, you will need to start a legal conveyancing process which will transfer an ownership of the property from seller to buyer.
Theoretically, you can attempt to do it yourself, but the process is so complicated, it is wiser to employ a professional legal conveyancer, as mistakes can be very costly indeed. In addition, no bank or building society will be happy to proceed with the mortgage, unless you use a reputable solicitor or a licensed conveyancer.

Your conveyancer will act as your legal adviser and will need to ensure that all paperwork is complete and done correctly. He will communicate with the seller's solicitor and will draft the contract for your agreement, will check a valuation report and your mortgage offer.

Before you instruct the nearest solicitor, you may want to request conveyancing quote and check their reputation. It is no longer necessary to instruct conveyancer in person, it can be done online or via the telephone, but if you prefer a face to face contact you should choose your local conveyancing solicitor, but don’t forget to check with your lender that your chosen solicitor is on their panel.

It is quick and easy to compare conveyancing solicitors online; it will save you a lot of time and effort of calling several companies. Additionally, you will be able to see their reputation and customers reviews and decide whether you prefer the cheapest conveyancing quote or the best service, but after all you will still prefer a local solicitor, you will able to instruct your(a) local firm there and then.

Once you compare few quote, you will realise that charges can vary considerably as different companies have different charging structures. Some conveyancing solicitors have fixed conveyancing charges(fees), while others can only provide estimates.

Whatever, their charging structure may be, all conveyancing solicitors folllow similar procedures.

Conveyancing process can be a very lengthy process as there are a lot to check and a lot of document to prepare.

There are several stages in the conveyancing process:

 - Pre-contract stage

Your conveyancer will contact seller’s solicitor and request relevant property documents such as plan, entries on the property register from the land registry, fixtures and fittings form. He will also need to check the property title, to ensure you will gain full ownership on completion. It will be necessary to conduct the necessary searches such as local, water and drainage, and environmental searches. The legal conveyancer will need to ensure that property is not subject of any unfair conditions such as the right of way or proposed motorway and all the necessary planning permissions were obtained for any alterations. Your legal conveyancer will prepare a contract which will need to be agreed with the vendor’s solicitor and will form a part of the sale agreement.

Your conveyancer will fill in Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) return form and will prepared a Transfer Deed, which will be  send to seller’s conveyancers and in many cases a mortgage deed for the lender. The property survey will be checked and accessed prior to the exchange.

 - The Exchange

As soon as all the necessary conveyancing procedures completed, seller and buyer will need to sign the contract prepared by the conveyancers , which outlines the terms and conditions of the sale. Both parties’ conveyancers will exchange contracts and from this moment you and the seller will be legally committed to complete the deal. You will be required to pay your deposit and arrange for an insurance policy to start from the exchange date as you will be responsible for any loss or damages to the property.

 - Completion

On completion the money for the property is transferred from buyer to seller and the keys are handed over. From this moment, the property ownership will be transferred to the buyer. Completion is a very exciting time for a buyer, but a very stressful time for a legal conveyancer as they have to ensure that all the funds are received from the lender and transferred to the vendor’s conveyancing solicitor on time.

 - Post-completion

At this stage your conveyancer will need to register the change of ownership of the property with the Land Registry, and pay Stamp Duty Land Tax (Stamp Duty).If your solicitor is also acting for a lender, he will also register a mortgage deed.

The residential conveyancing process described is a general outline only and will vary whether the property you buy is freehold or leasehold. Please note, that conveyancing process in Scotland is different and you will need to find a Scottish property lawyer if you are purchasing a house in Scotland.