Conveyancing. The Ins, the Outs, and What the Process Actually Involves (2023 Update)
When it comes to buying and selling property, there’s one part of the process that nobody can escape, and that’s the progression of conveyancing. Despite being one of the most important and crucial parts of the buying and selling process, however, it’s one that confuses many.
Which is why we’re going to be covering all things conveyancing today! Read on if you want to learn more about the ins and outs of the conveyancing process, and what it actually involves.
THIS GUIDE WILL HELP YOU:
- Learn about conveyancing and how the process works.
Who is the guide for?
This guide is for homeowners who are already interested in the conveyancing process.
WHAT IS CONVEYANCING?
Three Important Things to Remember
Before we really sink our teeth into the topic of conveyancing, we’d like you to read and remember these three important things:
- Conveyancing is, very simply, the process that allows ownership of a property to be transferred legally from one party, to another.
- The vast majority of people moving house will have to hire a conveyancing solicitor or professional of some sort in order to complete their sale.
- A “no move, no fee” service is desirable when it comes to conveyancing, but do try to avoid any companies that are suspiciously cheap.
We will cover all of this in more depth further down in this post.
What Actually is Conveyancing?
Before going into details of the process in depth, we think it’s important to address this question first – what actually is conveyancing?
Very simply, the definition of conveyancing is as follows:
Conveyancing refers to the legal process of transferring the ownership of a property from one party to another. It is usually completed by either licensed conveyancers, or conveyancing solicitors.
In a little more depth:
- There can be various strands to the process of conveyancing.
- Generally speaking, however, this is simply the system that checks the transaction is legal, and that there are no hidden issues when buying property.
- The main objective of the process in its’ entirety, is to ensure that the buyer is buying the house that has been advertised, and that they think they’re buying.
It’s really that simple.
How Much do Conveyancing Fees Cost?
One of the most pressing questions – of course – is how much conveyancing fees are likely to cost. After all, none of us want to be out of pocket any more than is necessary, right?
Based on some of our past research and experience, we would estimate conveyancing fees for buyers and sellers to be slightly different, and to look a little like the following:
- When selling, fees tend to be somewhere between £700, and £1,250.
- When buying, fees tend to be somewhere between £950, and £1,900.
Of course these vary from organisation to organisation, but based on our experience, these tend to be the general cost of conveyancing solicitors and professionals.
When you’re buying a property, however, it’s likely that in paying this fee, you’ll be asked to send an upfront deposit to your conveyancing professional of something between £250 and £350.
The reasons for this?
- To ensure your conveyancer has the money in their account to pay for any expenditure on your behalf.
- Remember that it’s not an extra cost! It’s a deposit which will be accounted for in both your final bill and your completion statement.
Why Might my Bill be Different?
As we said above, those are the general prices that we’ve experienced in our career, but there are various other factors that will have a direct impact on the cost of your overall bill.
These include:
- The value of the property. Although this can be considered an outdated concept nowadays, many conveyancers will still charge either a fee or a percentage based on the overall value of the property. We would advise avoiding these firms.
- The tenure of the property. If you’re buying a leasehold property, then you can expect your legal fees to cost an extra sum of somewhere between £50 and £250. This is to cover the extra legal paperwork that comes alongside purchasing a property with a leasehold.
- The cost of your expenditure. For example, if you required extra searches being done on the property in question, this would cost more.
- If you require indemnity insurance. In some situations, you may find it difficult to find the necessary paperwork like guarantees, permissions and so on. Should this be the case, either the buyer or seller will have to purchase an insurance policy in order to protect them if the missing paperwork becomes an issue. This, of course, will cost them extra.
HOW TO GET THE BEST CONVEYANCING QUOTES
What Should I Know Before Gathering Quotes?
Okay, so you’re ready to start gathering quotes and ultimately choose a conveyancing firm to go through. What do you need to consider before doing so?
Well, a basic conveyancing quote should always consist of the following two things:
- The basic fee. This is the fee of the legal company that pays for their time.
- Expenditure. This is the extra stuff. Basically anything that your conveyancer will have to pay to an outside firm, such as property searches and stamp duty and so on. These should be roughly the same price, regardless of which firm you opt for.
How Much Will the Basic Fee Cost?
First things first, let’s take a look at how much the basic fee is likely to cost you.
This fee can land anywhere between £300 and £2,400, without including VAT. We know, that’s leaves a lot of scope for pricing.
Remember:
- When it comes to leasehold properties, you should expect to have to add an extra £50 to £250 to this, in order to cover paperwork.
- If your transaction involves a mortgage, then you can also expect to add somewhere between £50 and £250 to this cost in order to cover extra paperwork.
How Much will Added Expenditure Cost?
Now, let’s take a look at what added expenditure you may have to consider when instructing a conveyancing firm, and how much each one will cost.
- Copies from the Land Registry Office. These typically cost between £4 and £8 per transaction – so one for buying, and one for selling.
- A Telegraphic Transfer fee. These typically cost between £20 and £30 per each transaction – so one for buying, and one for selling. Remember that this is only payable on amounts of £60,000 or more. This is because any lower amounts can be sent via BACS, free of charge.
- Bankruptcy Search. These typically cost between £2 and £4, and only count if you are buying with a mortgage.
- Local Authority Searches. These typically cost between £100 and £200. This can vary, however, according to authority. So for example, if you can provide your conveyancer with a postcode, then they can give you a more accurate search.
- A Drainage Search. This typically costs between £30 and £40, but will vary from water company to water company.
- Chancel Repair Liability Search. These will typically cost around £10, plus VAT. This will be to check whether or not you’re liable to pay for the upkeep of the parish church.
- Environmental Search. These will typically cost between £30 and £35, plus VAT. These are performed in order to check for land contamination.
- Location Specific Local Searches. These will typically cost between £40 and £70, and that will be per search. It all depends on the location of the property that you’re buying, because in some cases additional searches will be necessary, e.g. mining. We would recommend ensuring that these are included in your quote by double checking with your conveyancing firm as soon as you can.
- Land Registration Fee. This will typically cost somewhere between £40 and £700. Again, it all depends on the value of the property you’re buying.
- Stamp Duty Land Tax or This should already be calculated and included in your quote.
What Shouldn’t I Have to Pay For?
So, those are some of the things you may find yourself having to pay for, but you should never have to pay for any of the following:
- Photocopying. Unless a ridiculously excessive amount is necessary.
- Telephone calls. Unless they are overseas calls, and a large amount of these are necessary.
- Postage. Again, unless there is an excessive amount required.
- Filing the Stamp Duty Land Tax
- A Professional Indemnity Service. This is usually referred to and listed as “PI contribution”.
Our Top Tips!
Before moving on from gathering quotes and the payment side of things, we want to leave you with our top tips on how to gather the best quotes, and how to do so well.
Remember that many conveyancing quotes could trick you, so be vigilant. It’s a competitive business, so many firms will use tricks of the trade to have their quotes appear as cheaper than they’ll actually turn out.
To protect yourself from this kind of behaviour, we recommend doing the following:
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Ask for a fixed quote, and NOT an estimate. Ensure it’s of the amount you’ll have to pay in total.
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Ensure the bill you receive is detailed, and that all forms of expenditure are listed.
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ALWAYS read the terms and conditions, so that you know if there are likely to be any hidden charges. Check the pesky small print!
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If there’s anything you’re unsure of, be sure to ask.
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Finally, avoid any companies that will charge extra for items that are a normal part of business transactions, because these should be included in the service. We listed some of these above, e.g. postage, photocopying and so on.
YOUR CONVEYANCING QUESTIONS ANSWERED
If I Wanted to, Could I do my Own Conveyancing?
Many buyers and sellers will wonder whether or not they can do their own conveyancing.
In short, yes, there’s no reason why not. But there are risks involved, and we wouldn’t recommend it.
- This work is detailed, it’s time consuming, and furthermore, it’s risky.
- Say you’re buying a house, but you miss something that’s integral to the property only after the transaction.
- If you’d done this conveyancing yourself, then you would have no recourse against the seller.
- This would be due to the common principle of law called “Caveat Emptor”. This translated to “let the buyer beware”, and applies to all property in the UK.
- So, in an attempt to save somewhere between £300 and £500, you could end up owing tens of thousands of pounds. Is it worth the risk? We wouldn’t say so.
- When you hire a professional, you at least have the security of them having professional indemnity insurance, so you could sue them for any damages.
- No lender will sell to someone attempting do it yourself conveyancing, so if you’re buying with a mortgage, you can forget about even trying it. A lender will always insist that you hire a professional conveyancer.
How Long Should the Conveyancing Process Take?
Generally speaking, if a sale is fairly straight forward and everything goes relatively easily, then the conveyancing of your property should take somewhere between eight and twelve weeks.
However, this can vary, dependent on other circumstances. One of these which you should take into account, is how hot or cold the market you are selling / buying in is.
How Long Should Conveyancing Searches Take?
The amount of time that conveyancing searches should take entirely depend on how quickly the individual conveyancing firm responds.
A lot of local authorities can turn a search around in as little as a week, and some even in a matter of days. Some of them, however, may take weeks to respond, sometimes as many as six.
How Long Should there be Between Exchange of Contracts and Completion?
Generally speaking this tends to be around two weeks. However, it doesn’t necessarily have to take two weeks.
If you have things to clear out of your home and sort out etc, then you can ask for a longer timeframe to be given.
If this is your first purchase, however, you could even ask if this could be sped up.
It all depends on what’s convenient for you, as well as the other members of the property chain, should you be in one.
How Can I Make Sure that I Find the Best Possible Conveyancing Solicitor?
We would recommend shopping around before making a decision, but if you want to find the best conveyancer possible, then don’t just go for the cheapest option.
Two of the top things to check are:
- If it’s a conveyancing solicitor that you’re using, they should be a member of the Law Society.
- If it’s simply a conveyancer you’re using, then they should be a member of CLC.
If you want to make sure you’re going with the best possible conveyancer, then follow the tips we list below:
- Gather between three and five quotes. Ensure that everything included in these is at a fixed fee, and that you won’t be charged further down the line.
- Never, ever pay by the hour.
- Ensure the list provided includes all of the charges.
- Make sure that the conveyancer of choice has experience in handling your specific property type. So for example, a new build, a leasehold and so on.
- You should always be given a named contact, as well as their direct phone number and address.
- If a conveyancer is difficult to get a hold of, won’t meet face to face, and isn’t willing to communicate outside of traditional business hours, then think twice before using them.
- Check out their online reviews.
- Check whether or not they can work with your preferred timescale.
The Practice of a Good Conveyancer
Below, we’re going to be listing the practices of a good conveyancer:
- They will carry all work out efficiently and accurately.
- They will always seek to reduce stress by providing expert support and guidance that’s in your best interest, throughout the process in its’ entirety.
- They will be pro – active in their role, and push the sale onwards.
- They will be willing to negotiate successfully with other parties, and help you to do so.
- They will attempt to speed up the time frame of completing your transaction.
- They will be advanced enough technologically in order to offer you a modern conveyancing service.
- They should carry professional indemnity to the sum of at least £1,000,000.
- Finally, they should be on the list of conveyancers approved by your mortgage lender, so that they can work on your mortgage without you having to pay extra costs.
The Practice of a Bad Conveyancer
However, a bad conveyancer will be more likely to do the following things:
- Put the overall success of your move at risk.
- Not read important documents carefully.
- Fail to answer your questions clearly and concisely.
- Ignore phone calls.
- Take a longer than necessary time to complete the work.
- Not alert you to potential issues.
- Cost you more money, and increase your stress levels overall.
Should I Always Use the Conveyancer that my Estate Agent Recommends?
The answer to this is very simply, no! Not necessarily!
We would advise thinking very carefully before automatically agreeing to use your estate agent’s recommended conveyancing solicitor. This is because much of the time, these recommendations will cost the conveyancing company a fee of somewhere between £100 and £300 to the estate agent.
Generally speaking, we would say to avoid conveyancing services that are recommended by both corporate estate agent, and online / hybrid agencies.
There are a concerning number of stories online that convey the poor services offered by conveyancers recommended by estate agencies. We would suggest going online and checking them out before making any decisions.
Is this Always the Case?
We should, however, mention that this isn’t always the case.
Some estate agents do actually have the best interests of their clients at heart, and want to help them move as quickly and successfully as possible, meaning they won’t necessarily be as interested in earning the referral fees.
In some cases they will simply recommend someone local who they have experience of working with, and know will be reliable. This is more than often the case with independent, well – established, and smaller estate agencies.
What Does a Conveyancing Solicitor Actually Do?
We may have covered a lot of things, but we haven’t actually gone into detail on what a conveyancing solicitor actually does.
They do different things depending on whether you’re a buyer or a seller, and we’re going to cover both of those.
What they Cover for Sellers:
- Checking the identity of the buyer.
- Verifying the funds they have to make the purchase.
- Advising you on legal issues that affect the sale.
- Obtaining legal copies of title deeds from the Land Registry.
- Providing information about the property to the legal representative of the buyer.
- Preparing the contract ready for sale.
- Exchanging the contracts with your buyer’s conveyancer.
- Handling the transferral of money, paying off the mortgage and typically paying the estate agent.
- Preparing and sending transfer deeds to the legal representative of the buyer.
- Finalising the completion statement and paying any money that’s owed.
What they Cover for Buyers:
- Verifying your identity.
- Advising on searching orders, and analysing the results when they come back.
- Ensuring that funds are in place and the mortgage offer is acceptable along with its’ terms and conditions.
- Requesting and reviewing legal packs from the seller’s legal representative.
- Examining the survey and raising any necessary concerns. These will then be reported back to you.
- Raising any queries about the property information form, and the fixtures and fittings form.
- Checking your seller’s contract.
- Agreeing to a completion date with the conveyancer of the person you’re purchasing property from.
- Exchanging contracts with your seller’s legal firm.
- Preparing and transferring the deed to your seller’s conveyancer.
- Arranging a funds transfer from your mortgage lender.
- Paying stamp duty on your behalf if this has already been agreed with you.
- Registering you as the owner of the property with Land Registry.
What Does a Conveyancing Solicitor Actually Do?
We may have covered a lot of things, but we haven’t actually gone into detail on what a conveyancing solicitor actually does.
They do different things depending on whether you’re a buyer or a seller, and we’re going to cover both of those.
What they Cover for Sellers:
- Checking the identity of the buyer.
- Verifying the funds they have to make the purchase.
- Advising you on legal issues that affect the sale.
- Obtaining legal copies of title deeds from the Land Registry.
- Providing information about the property to the legal representative of the buyer.
- Preparing the contract ready for sale.
- Exchanging the contracts with your buyer’s conveyancer.
- Handling the transferral of money, paying off the mortgage and typically paying the estate agent.
- Preparing and sending transfer deeds to the legal representative of the buyer.
- Finalising the completion statement and paying any money that’s owed.
What they Cover for Buyers:
- Verifying your identity.
- Advising on searching orders, and analysing the results when they come back.
- Ensuring that funds are in place and the mortgage offer is acceptable along with its’ terms and conditions.
- Requesting and reviewing legal packs from the seller’s legal representative.
- Examining the survey and raising any necessary concerns. These will then be reported back to you.
- Raising any queries about the property information form, and the fixtures and fittings form.
- Checking your seller’s contract.
- Agreeing to a completion date with the conveyancer of the person you’re purchasing property from.
- Exchanging contracts with your seller’s legal firm.
- Preparing and transferring the deed to your seller’s conveyancer.
- Arranging a funds transfer from your mortgage lender.
- Paying stamp duty on your behalf if this has already been agreed with you.
- Registering you as the owner of the property with Land Registry.
The Typical Conveyancing Time Line
Next up, we’re going to be looking at the typical time line that accompanies both the buying and selling process.
The Time Line of Conveyancing when Selling a House
WEEK 1: The legal company will be instructed, and forms will be completed.
WEEK 2 – 12: This can be longer. The legal company will obtain the copies of your title deeds, draw up a draft contract, and answer questions from the buyer. They’ll also negotiate exchange and completion dates, and confirm mortgage applications.
WEEK 8: Again, this can be longer. This is when contracts are exchanged.
TWO WEEKS LATER: This is usually when completion takes place.
The Time Line of Conveyancing when Buying a House
WEEK 1: An offer will be made, and the legal company will be instructed, and fees exchanged. Initial fees will be paid for.
WEEK 2: Order searches will be made. The mortgage valuation and survey will be conducted.
WEEK 3 – 8: This can be longer. Legal companies will examine searches and the survey. This will raise questions for the seller. They’ll examine the contract from the seller.
WEEK 6 – 12: Again, this can be longer. This is the usual exchange of contracts.
TWO WEEKS LATER: This is usually when completion takes place.
What is Online Conveyancing?
You can do just about anything that you can do in “real life” on the internet too, can’t you? Conveyancing is no exception to that rule. But what is online conveyancing, and how does it work?
Well, very simply, it’s the same process as traditional conveyancing, legally. The only difference is that all business is conducted either online, or over the phone.
So, when it comes to choosing your conveyancer, you have the choice. Will you go traditionally high street, or will you opt for the modern method of online?
However, we will offer you some advice when it comes to doing this.
As with there being a mixed bag of traditional high street conveyancing firms, there are online too. There are just as many bad ones as there are good ones. There are those who are terrible, those who are great, and those who are very much middle of the road – and there are more of these than anything else.
One thing we would say, is to be careful when working with large conveyancing companies online. They tend to look appealing, as they’ll advertise the following things:
- Attractive, cheaper prices.
- Instantly offered quotes.
- A “no sale, no fee” service, or a fixed fee service.
- Online case tracking.
- Extended opening hours.
Does it sound too good to be true? Then it probably is. You might be likely to encounter the following issues further down the line:
- The fact that the company are overrun with cases due to their low price rates is likely to slow down the rate of your transaction, as well as decrease the level of service that you actually receive.
- It’s likely that you won’t be assigned one agent, but will instead be dealing with a different person every time. This will cause continuity to be lacking, and you’ll probably have to explain your situation every time you come into contact.
- The service is therefore far less likely to be tailored to what your individual needs are.
- The costs are often hidden in the small print, so further down the line it could end up being more expensive than expected.
- As we said, you’ll probably speak with a different person every time you contact the firm. This means that you won’t have any single point of contact, and therefore contact will automatically become more difficult.
- When problems do arise – and they tend to – it’s likely that rather than working actively to resolve it, your case will simply be put on hold. Not ideal for those working on any sort of time scale – which in property, we all usually are.
So, Should I Use an Online Conveyancer, or Not?
It’s likely that after reading that, you’re left asking the question, should I use an online conveyancer or not?
- Well, to tell the truth, we have in the past. We deal with property all over the UK.
- One thing we will mention, is that there has been no face – to – face contact for the duration of our dealings with these companies. It’s always been via email, post, or over the phone.
- It’s completely down to you. If you prefer face – to – face interaction, then online conveyancing probably isn’t for you, whereas if you’d rather everything was done online, over the phone etc, you might find it more convenient.
- All we’d say is avoid the firms like we’ve described above.
- Local conveyancers will try and acquire your business by boasting about their “local knowledge”, but don’t fall for it. Realistically all conveyancers have access to the same information, so it really doesn’t matter.
- The only time that local or specialist knowledge may come in handy, is when it comes to leasehold property. Other than that, it’s really quite irrelevant.
CONVEYANCING LEGAL PROCESSES
What are Title Deeds? Here’s Everything You Need to Know!
A lot of people are confused by the term “title deeds” and what they stand for – and that’s totally okay!
Below, we’re going to list everything that you could possibly need to know about title deeds, what they are, and what they mean.
- Very simply, title deeds are official documents that show the ownership of a property, and who that belongs to.
- These were originally paper documents in the past, but in recent years are more often than not found electronically on the Land Registry site.
- The original paper deeds will likely be stored by a solicitor or mortgage lender.
- If it happens to be the case that your property has not changed hands – or been re – mortgaged – since back in 1990, it’s likely that the deeds will not be stored digitally. This means that in order to register with the Land Registry for the first time, you’ll need access to the paper documents.
- If the title deeds can not be found in paper form, this could cause issues.
Registered and Unregistered Titles
It’s important to find out whether or not your property is registered.
- If you aren’t sure, there is a small fee you can pay online and find out.
- If your property is registered, we would still recommend keeping the original paper deeds. These will contain useful information about things like boundaries, which wouldn’t necessarily be available in the Land Registry alternative.
I’ve Lost my Deeds. What do I do?
If you have lost the deeds to your property, then don’t panic! There are things that you can do.
- In some cases, deeds can be lost, or even destroyed.
- We would recommend talking to your conveyancer or solicitor in this situation. They should be able to apply for what is called “first registration” on your behalf.
What is a Deed of Transfer?
Finally, we’re going to be looking at what a “deed of transfer” is.
- The transfer deed, also known as the TR1 form, is the paperwork that will transfer a property’s ownership from one party, to another.
- This must be agreed on and signed by a vendor and a buyer. This must be done in front of an independent witness before completion can take place.
- More often than not, nowadays this is signed prior to the exchange.
What is a Land Registry Title Plan? Everything You Need to Know, Explained!
Now, you might be wondering what a Land Registry Title Plan is and what it stands for. If this is the case, read on to find out everything you need to know.
Very simply, once a property is registered with HM Land Registry, a title plan is created. This was previously referred to as a “filed plan”.
But what does this look like? Well it’s literally a drawing of the property, explaining its’ general boundaries and showing its’ layout.
Remember, however, that boundaries will only be shown exactly on these if they were on the title deeds in the first place.
The title plan will form party of the registered title. This will include:
- A title plan.
- A title register.
- Any other supporting documents that are referred to in the register, or are filed with HM Land Registry.
What are Office Copy Entries? Read on to Find Out More!
It’s likely you’ll have heard of the term “office copy entries”, and if you haven’t, then don’t worry. We’re going to explain them in full, right here, right now, for you.
- When you come to sell your property, you have to obtain the official copy of the “Title Register”. This is what confirms that you are the legitimate and legal owner of the property.
- Very simply, the “Title Register” is the digitally stored version of your title deeds. These are kept by HM Land Registry.
- These are what’s known as “Office Copy Entries”. They cost a mere £3 to acquire from the Land Registry, so simply get in touch with them if need be.
- The vast majority of the time, they are sent with the Land Registry title plan. Again, this will cost an additional small fee of £3.
- Office Copy Entries will contain the date and time of the official copy. These are therefore only valid for six months from the date stated.
- If it becomes apparent that completion is likely to take place more than six months after the date stated on the Office Copy Entries, then we would recommend sending for a further copy to avid complications.
What are Conveyancing Searches, and What is the Process of Them?
Conveyancing searches are a huge part of the overall conveyancing process, and they determine whether or not a property really is fit for sale.
But what are they, and what do they involve?
- Very simply, when you come to purchase a property, a conveyancer or solicitor will order professionals to conduct searches of the property itself. This is to find out more about not only the property, but the local area too.
- A big part of this, is ensuring that any potential issues are highlighted before the completion of the transaction, when the process reaches a point of no return.
- These issues can include a risk of flooding, or building work being due to take place nearby to the property in the near future.
- There are certain searches that are applicable to all property types.
- Some searches, however, are actually area specific. A prime example of this would be if you lived in a location that was formerly a mining area.
- If you are a cash purchaser, then it’s not actually compulsory that you have a conveyancing search carried out.
- However, we would strongly recommend having one done anyway, as a precaution. This is because if a problem arises later on, then you’ll have no form of redress, should you choose to avoid having searches completed.
- If you’re buying with a mortgage, then lenders will insist that you have searches carried out prior to buying.
- Your conveyancer, however, will be the one to give you advice on what kind of searches you should have carried out.
The Most Common Types of Property Searches
As we mentioned above, there are a range of different property searches that can be conducted. We’re going to explain what these are and what they include in a little more detail below.
The Local Authority Search
The first kind of search we’re going to be taking a look at today, is the local authority search.
- This kind of search will be conducted by the local area being examined, and will tell you whether or not a property is listed.
- The conveyancing search professional will also find out whether or not the area in which you’re buying property is a conservation area, or if there are any restrictions on the property. These restrictions can include factors such as livestock, and whether or not an area is a “smoke – free” zone.
- This search will aim to highlight any potential risks to the property, such as flooding and radon gas. If this is the case, then further searches may be carried out.
- It’s often assumed that this kind of search will uncover any sort of planning permissions (PP) that have already been applied for. Although this can be done, it’s not always guaranteed.
- We would recommend that if you’re buying, you check information sources such as online and in the newspapers for any sort of possible or pending planning taking place in the near future.
A Drainage Search
A drainage search is a little bit different, as it includes acquiring information from the water company, rather than conducting a physical search.
The information obtained should be about the following things:
- The location of drains nearby.
- If there are any publicly maintained drains that run through the property.
- Whether or not the property being purchased is linked or connected to the mains water supply.
- The location of the local public sewers.
- How any surface water will be drained away.
If you are intending on extending the property you have purchased in the future, then this purchase is absolutely integral. This is because if the extension would have to be over the top of drainage – which you’d only find out through a drainage search – then you’d have to secure the permission of the water company before continuing.
The Chancel Repair Liability Search
It’s important to find out whether or not your property is registered.
- If you aren’t sure, there is a small fee you can pay online and find out.
- If your property is registered, we would still recommend keeping the original paper deeds. These will contain useful information about things like boundaries, which wouldn’t necessarily be available in the Land Registry alternative.
Environmental and Flooding Searches
This is about as simple as it sounds.
The search conducted will uncover whether or not the land in the area of the property has been at all contaminated by industrial use, and whether there are any risks of subsidence also. This will often include a flooding search.
Local Searches Specific to Location
Finally, we come to local searches which are specific to the location of the property.
- This is likely to be advised to you, entirely depending on the area in which you’re buying the property. These are additional searches to local authority searches.
- A prime example of this would be in the Midlands, where it’s been found necessary to perform coal mining searches.
- Again, in Cornwall, it might be the case that you’re advised to have tin mining searches conducted.
What is a Leasehold Property?
You’ll have noticed that throughout this guide, we have mentioned leasehold properties and the complexities they can bring to the conveyancing process. But what actually are they? Read on to find out more!
- Effectively, leasehold is the long – term rent of a property.
- The ownership of the property which the land sits on is usually communal areas, which will belong to either a landlord or freeholder.
- If you are the leaseholder, it’s likely that you’ll pay the following costs: maintenance fees, a service charge and ground rent.
- The vast majority of flats in both England and Wales are sold as leasehold properties.
- The rules in Scotland, however, tend to differ, as leasehold is now more rare there.
- Leases should not be allowed to drop below eighty years. This is because at this point, they become far more expensive to extend.
- We would recommend finding out how much it would cost to extend the lease of a property that is close to or below eighty years, before you go ahead and purchase it.
What is a Freehold Property?
As with leasehold properties, we have mentioned freehold properties continuously throughout this guide. Read on to find out more about what it really means.
- The vast majority of houses are sold on a freehold basis.
- This very simply means that you not only buy the building, but the land it sits on too. This means that you own the “title absolute”.
- Back in 2017, there was some controversy about this in regards to new build homes. They were being sold as “virtual freehold” properties, with incredibly long leases of nine hundred and ninety nine years.
- Not only this, but these were also accompanied by increases of ground rent charges, which were considered as unfair and retaliatory to the leaseholder.
- At this point, there are still consultations with the government on the ending of this practice
What Does it Mean to Share a Freehold?
In some cases, freeholds are shared.
- This is where leaseholders may agree to have the freehold as a joint purchase.
- This is often known as “collective enfranchisement”.
- This is the case even if a landlord does not wish to sell the property. This was made so in the law made under the 1933 Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act.
- Certain criteria must be met in these circumstances. One of these is that at least half of the leaseholders in the said block agreeing to it.
- The freehold that is then purchased, will then be run by a freehold company.
- This can be done by an external agency being paid to do so, or can actually be formed by the leaseholder themselves.
- There is more lease advice available online, should you need any.
What are Legal Enquiries?
Legal enquiries are often made through the conveyancing process, after your conveyancer has received all of the information they need, and they come about for a multitude of reasons. This is why it’s important we’re all on the same page as to what they are, and when they might happen.
- So, once your employed conveyancer has received all of the relevant information that’s relating to the property you’re buying, they will be in the right position to examine anything, or raise enquiries if necessary.
- The necessary information mentioned above will include the following: survey searches; the draft contract; a leasehold information pack if the property is a leasehold and so on.
- This is simply to ensure that the property you’re investing in is a solid purchase.
- A property needs to be mortgageable, ultimately. This is even the case if you personally happen to be a cash buyer.
- There must be no issues with the property which would prevent it being sold in the future.
The Ins and Outs of the Draft Contract Pack
Next up, we come to the draft contract pack. As well as simply including the draft contract of a sale, a draft contract pack will contain all of the information about the property being sold.
It should include the following things:
- A Draft Contract. This will be the first version of it, and will be before it is agreed on by both sides.
- A Property Information Form. This is the TA6. It will contain information about drains, building work, rights of access and so on.
- A Fixtures and Fittings Form. This is the TA10. This will specify which items are, and which items aren’t included in the sale. It will also include items which are available separately for an added price.
- The Leasehold Information Form. This is the TA7. If the property happens to be a leasehold, then this form will give additional details of the lease, as well as service charges, and details of the management company.
What Does it Mean to Exchange Contracts?
Exchanging contracts is a massively significant moment in the process of conveyancing. But how does it occur, and what does it actually mean?
- Exchanging contracts will only occur once both the buyer and seller have agreed to the terms of the contract, and have signed it.
- After both parties have signed a copy, the contracts will be given to the conveyancer who will be instructed to take the next step, which is sending each other their client’s signed contract.
- Both parties’ legal representatives will usually exchange contracts formally. This is normally over the phone, and the conversation in its’ entirety is usually recorded.
- This is what makes the transaction legally binding, which is why it’s so important to have all of the relevant information prior to the contacts being exchanged.
- If one party does choose to pull out of the transaction following the exchange of contracts, then it’s likely they will be liable for costs of the other party.
What are Solicitor ID Checks?
Your solicitor will conduct ID checks when you instruct them. But how will these be carries out, and why?
- In order to instruct a solicitor or conveyancer, you will be asked to provide proof of both your identity and your address. This is usually done using a photo passport, or a driving license.
- They will also usually request that your ID is accompanied by another document. These tend to be things like utility bills, correspondence from HMRC or council tax bills.
- The vast majority of conveyancers nowadays will use an online ID checking service. This will usually cost you somewhere between £5 and £25, per person.
- Of course, when it comes to property transactions, there is a lot of money being transferred. This is why there is a larger risk of fraud. Therefore, in order to comply with Money Laundering Regulations, as your legal representative they must check your identity and address before continuing with the conveyancing process.
- If any fraudulent activity or mishaps were to happen during the process and your conveyancer had missed this step, then they may be considered jointly responsible.
The Ultimate Moving House Check List from the Conveyancing Process Onwards – What You Need to Know and Must Do!
So, if you’re reading this in detail, chances are you are looking to move house or buy property soon. So we’ve decided to help you out by providing a fully inclusive check list, from the conveyancing process onwards. Let’ get started then, shall we?
- If it’s required, then you should look to get a mortgage offer in principle. Remember that a full mortgage offer will not be given until you find a property to buy, and a full valuation has been carried out.
- Instruct either a conveyancing firm, or conveyancing solicitor.
- Make an offer on a property of your choice. You’ll usually have to view a couple before making a decision.
- Order a survey to be carried out.
- Raise and answer any queries on the property.
- Read all of the contracts and legal forms quickly, but thoroughly. Once you’re sure of everything, fill them in and sign them.
- Look into removal and packing services, and secure quotes on these so you have a good idea of overall costs.
- Arrange for insurance on the new property so you are ready to exchange.
- Exchange the contracts through your legal company.
- Book your removal company.
- Let any utility and service providers know that you’re moving, and provide them with final meter readings, as well as either ending or changing up your contracts with them.
- Inform your contacts of what your new address will be.
- Complete the contracts. Completion, hurrah!
- Now it’s time to move in.
Not so complex really, is it?
The Ultimate Guide to the Law Society Conveyancing Protocol
We wouldn’t expect you to sit and read the entire Law Society Conveyancing Protocol. It’s a long document – thirty one pages to be exact – which describe in detail the duties and obligations of a legal company when they’re working for a buyer or seller.
Below, we’re going to briefly list the “general obligations” that they list for legal professionals to follow:
- They must act in the best interests of their client.
- If they are acting for more than one party in the transaction, then conflict of interest can occur.
- They must guard against all illegal activity and fraud.
- They must remain courteous, honest, and fair at all times.
- They must share information and co – operate to assist in the transaction, without ever compromising the confidentiality of the client.
- They must respond to all matters of communications within a timely fashion, as well as acknowledge when they receive data and documents.
- They must always arrange for cover in their absence.
- The process should always be transparent with no ulterior or hidden motives.
- They should always provide their client with a written confirmation of the name of the person who is carrying out the legal work, as well as the individual that has been regulated to supervise the work and the procedure of complaints.
What Could the Future of Conveyancing Look Like? Are There Any Pressing Issues Right Now?
The property market and how it runs is ever changing due to advancements in technology, as well as socio – economic circumstances. In particular, the transaction of the legal ownership of property is always under criticism. Why, you ask? We’re going to explain in further detail below.
The main pressing issue is usually the uncertainty that comes with making an offer, and whether or not it will be accepted. Once it is, the chance of the sale or the purchase actually going through in its’ entirety sits at a mere 70 – 75%. This leaves a lot of room for buyers and sellers to end up out of pocket.
There is always risk involved, and there is always the fear of someone putting in a higher offer than you. As well as this, it’s a possibility that you may not be able to acquire and secure a mortgage that supports the sum of the offer you have made on the said property. All of this revolves around uncertainty.
Moving is stressful enough, particularly when you factor in other life events such as divorce and bereavement. It can begin to feel like a minefield.
It’ll not surprise you to hear that technology is likely to play an enormous part in the future development of conveyancing. It already has in many ways, with large conveyancing “factories” taking some level of prevalence on the market.
The issue with these, as we did mention above, is that although they do appear to be a cheaper alternative for buyers, many of them have been found to hide charges in their small print, and not provide as thorough a service as companies with a smaller, more focussed work force.
We have also found in our research that the industry is keen to make changes in “Modernising the Home Moving Process”, which was written in 2016.
Below, we have taken some of their main highlighted changes that could massively help the process of buying and selling property:
- Reducing the level of money laundering and fraud in the industry. In some cases, properties are sold without the owner knowing, and the account details of legal representatives are hacked by criminals who steal the money from clients. They want to reduce the risk of this happening.
- A better organisation of both Property Information and Title Information when the property is marketed.
- A recommendation to require a stronger legal commitment when offers are made, to reduce the number of fall through’s that occur. This currently ranges between 25% and 30% after the offer stage.
- The early repayment of money rather than it simply being done “on the day”. This could also help to reduce the number of sales being postponed due to issues with transfer.
- Another suggestion, is that mortgage agreements in principle should be achieved without the credit score of clients being affected.
Leaseholders VS Freeholders
We’re now going to take a look at the changes that could occur for leaseholders VS freeholders.
The relationship between the two of these could be reviewed, especially in regards to the controversy caused by new build homes being built with lease terms that are deemed unfair.
The legal “power” if you like, between leaseholders and freeholders, very much depends on the freeholder. This is because they’re the one who has the financial resources to engage with legal experts. It can be difficult and expensive for a leaseholder to fight this.
There is some advice available online for leaseholders who are experiencing issues with this.
A consultation carried out by the government, which closed in September 2017, questioned the relationship of between leaseholders and freeholders. As well as this, there has been a court case taking place, which challenged the ways in which some freeholders price lease suggestions. Many people are actually paying more than they should be, according to some sources.
The Development of eConveyancing
Of course, with the development of technology advancing all of the time, there is room for a greater level of transparency throughout the conveyancing process.
A lot of agents and solicitors actually offer many web tools, and online tracking. The main issue with these is that they often require some sort of manual input, so are still reliant on the accuracy of the person inputting the data.
One of the newest models, is an automated system which goes by the name of “View my Chain”. When using this, agents will sign up to the service, and it will help them to track all of the vital stages of the buying and selling process in its’ entirety.
Buyers and sellers can also register with them, and it’s for free! This allows them to view the progression of the sale as it happens, and they can even set it so that they receive alerts if something is causing a hold up. An example of that would be searches not being ordered.
In theory, this is great! It provides a higher level of accountability for lenders, brokers, agents solicitors and conveyancers, and also gives them more of an incentive and drive to keep the process running, and running smoothly at that.
Will this revolutionise the system of conveyancing and how it works? We will see in due course, I suppose.
The Ultimate Guide to the Law Society Conveyancing Protocol
Residential conveyancing is the traditional form of conveyancing, and is still one of the most commonly used services to this day. This is despite the ever changing technological advancements happening in 2020.
So, we feel it’s only right to finish off our guide by looking at a brief history of residential conveyancing, in order to understand why it remains popular to this day.
- Solicitors have held a monopoly over the entire conveyancing industry way back since 1804.
- Back in these days, solicitors could charge whatever they wanted for this service, because no one was allowed to legally provide conveyancing services.
- It took until 1985 for the government to actually do anything about this.
- It was in 1985 that the government acknowledged Licensing Conveyancers as a new “profession”, which very quickly began to chip away at the masses who only used solicitors at one point.
- So long as you can accept that you may not need to meet with your legal representative on a face – to – face basis, and so long as you do your in depth research on online companies, there’s no reason why using an online conveyancer would put you at any sort of disadvantage.
- However, we would always advise looking very, very carefully.
- Remember that some of these online organisations may seem cheap, but have hidden costs.
- Furthermore, some of them employ too many staff for you to receive a personal service, and the staff themselves are overworked and will therefore struggle to work to the best of their ability at all times.
- This is the thing about price comparison shopping. It’s not always the most accurate in terms of the service you’ll receive.
- Many companies will drive down their costs in order to acquire business – but, much of the time. to the detriment of their service. Remember that.
We hope that we have helped you to better understand the conveyancing process and all that it entails here today.
Thanks for reading!