Buying or selling property can be a confusing and stressful time. To assist you we have prepared a Guide to Conveyancing to explain the different steps and stages involved in the process.

A. Initial Agreement to Buy or Sell

1. The Buyer and Seller have to agree a price and instruct their respective solicitors to start the conveyancing process. Where Estate Agents are involved they will do this and will circulate the transaction details to all the interested parties. The Estate Agent or Seller will organise an Energy Performance Certificate if one has not already been commissioned.
2. The Seller’s solicitors will obtain the title deeds and documents relating to the property from the seller or if the property is subject to a mortgage from the seller’s Mortgage Company. If the property is registered at H M Land Registry (as most properties are nowadays) the Seller’s solicitors will obtain copies of the Registers of Title (known as “office copy entries”) from the Land Registry.
3. The Seller’s solicitors will have the Seller to complete a “Property Information Form” and “Fittings and Contents Form” which will be sent to the Buyer’s solicitors with the contract.
4. The Seller’s solicitors will prepare and send the contract to the Buyer’s solicitors together with details of the title of the property and copies of any important documents that are referred to in the registers. The Buyer’s solicitors may raise some specific enquiries of the Seller’s solicitors arising from the documents received or the information within the Property Information form.
5. If the Buyer is obtaining a mortgage he will make application to the Mortgage Company and will need a firm written offer of mortgage before he can be expected to proceed to exchange of contracts. The Buyer must have his finance in place (including any mortgage offer) before he can exchange. He will have to sign a Mortgage Deed which secures the Mortgage to the Property.
6. As the Buyer takes the property with any defects it may have, he should obtain a survey on the property before exchanging contracts. In practice this is often done by the Mortgage Company but the Buyer should consider whether this is sufficient for his needs and if he needs a more detailed survey (which can often be arranged through the Mortgage Company on payment of an additional fee).
7. The Buyer’s solicitors will carry out a Local Search and such other searches (e.g. Water and Environmental searches) as they deem appropriate for a particular property. The additional searches usually depend on the type of property being purchased and its situation.
8. If the Buyer has a sale and there is a “chain” of transactions, the same process is carried out for every property in the chain. Exchange of contracts cannot take place until everybody in the chain is ready to exchange and all parties have arranged their finance.

B. Exchange of Contracts

1. Once all the above steps have been carried out and all the parties in the transaction or chain of transactions have agreed a completion date the solicitors will exchange contracts. This is normally carried out by the solicitors by telephone. If a client has a sale and a purchase the solicitor ensures that exchange of contracts on both transactions is simultaneous and normally with the same completion date which has been agreed previously by the parties.
2. Upon exchange of contracts a deposit (normally 10% of the purchase price) is paid. If a Buyer is in turn selling his own property the deposit from the sale is usually used in connection with the purchase and no further deposit is required from him.
3. The Completion Date is normally 2-4 weeks from exchange of contracts and is agreed by the parties through their solicitors before exchange of contracts. The Completion Date has to be a weekday and is normally the date on which the parties move.
4. Between exchange of contracts and completion the Buyer’s solicitors will prepare the Transfer of the property which is approved by the Seller’s solicitors and then signed by the parties.
5. Where the Buyer is obtaining a mortgage the Buyer’s solicitor will send a report on the title of the property to the Mortgage Company in accordance with detailed instructions supplied by them and will apply to the Mortgage Company for the Mortgage Advance which he normally receives the day before completion. Frequently the Building Society will have requirements with which his solicitor has to comply.
6. The Buyer’s solicitors will make final Land Registry and Land Charges searches and obtain any balance of moneys required from the Buyer to complete.

C. Completion

1. On Completion the Buyer’s solicitors send the Seller’s solicitors the balance of the purchase money by telegraphic transfer. If there is a “chain” of transactions the parties must wait for the monies to pass down the line between the respective solicitors’ banks. Once the Seller’s solicitor has received the purchase monies he will release the key which is normally held by the estate agent. The Seller’s solicitors will send the Buyer’s solicitors the transfer of the property to the Buyer together with any other title deeds or documents relating to the property.
2. The Seller’s solicitors will redeem any mortgage or mortgages on the property and account to the Seller for the proceeds of sale.
3. The Buyer’s solicitors will send any stamp duty to the Inland Revenue together with a “Land Transaction Return” relating to the property.
4. The Buyer’s solicitors will receive a certificate from the Inland Revenue and will then proceed to register the Buyer’s title at the Land Registry.

Expenses Involved In Moving House

A. Buying

In addition to your solicitor’s fees there are various other expenses (called disbursements). These expenses will normally be the same whatever solicitor or conveyancer you instruct.

Stamp Duty

This is a government tax on the transfer of property. The rates for residential property are as follows:-

• Properties up to and including £125,000 are exempt. This figure rises to £150,000 if the property is in a ‘disadvantaged area’. We will advise you if this is applicable to your transaction. Thereafter the scale is:
• From £125,001 to £250,000 - 1%
• From £250,001 to £500,000 - 3%
• Over £500,000 - 4%

Please note that once a threshold has been passed the rate of charge is applicable to the whole of the consideration and not just that part that exceeds the particular level.

Currently, First Time Buyers are eligible for Stamp Duty Exemption. This means that they are exempt from paying Stamp Duty on properties which have a Purchase Price of up to £250,000.

Land Registry Fees

These are fees payable on the registration of your title with H M Land Registry. For transactions under £500,000 these are between £50 and £280.

Search Fees

It is wise (and the requirement of any mortgage lender) that a Local Search is carried out on any property you buy. The cost of this search with each Local Authority varies widely from about £100 to over £200 in some areas.

In some cases it is possible to effect Search Insurance which is considerably cheaper and has the added advantages that it is both quick and only needs to be effected on the point of exchange of contracts or completion. This is particularly advantageous in re-mortgage cases.

It is also usual to commission a Water and Drainage Search. This search provides details of the route of the mains water and sewers and whether the property is connected to the same. The search costs between £30 and £50 depending on the which Company serves the area in which the property is located.

Other searches which you can have carried out include.:-

1. Environmental Search - This gives advice on any likely adverse environmental factors including contaminated land and flooding.
2. Planning Report – This gives details of planning applications near the property.
3. Coal Mining Search – This provides details of the past, present and future mining activity in the area. It is usual to carry out such a search if the property is located within a coal mining area.

These three searches are not usually a requirement of any mortgage lender and are optional. We can advise you as to the advisability of have such searches carried out.

Other Searches

Land Registry and Land Charges searches normally cost £8.

B. Selling
Normally the only item which will be added to your bill is the fee of £8 to obtain the copies of the entries at the Land Registry – known as office copy entries.

Often your Mortgage Company will ask that the mortgage monies are telegraphed to them to pay off the mortgage for which we charge a Telegraphic Transfer Fee of £35 plus VAT although it will normally save you more than this amount in interest charges.

Please note that some Mortgage Companies charge you redemption penalties or fees especially if you have had the mortgage for only a short time. This will depend on the arrangements made when you took up the loan. Most major lenders now charge an administration fee when your loan is repaid.

You will also need to commission an Energy Performance Certificate prior to exchange of contracts. Your Estate Agent will usually organize the same prior to the property being marketed.

C. Anti-Money Laundering Requirements

In order to comply with the Anti-Money Laundering Regulations, we are required to undertake an on-line Identity Check on every client at the beginning of every transaction. The cost of this search is £7.05 per person.