Guide to conveyancing in England and Wales
Conveyancing is the legal transfer of a property from one person to another. The property can be leasehold or freehold.
On behalf of the buyer, the conveyancing solicitor or licenced conveyancer must ensure that he or she obtains 'title' to the land; i.e., that the person selling the property has the right to sell with no factors that would obstruct a mortgage or a re-sale.
It is best to get several quotes from conveyancing solicitors.
Under English and Welsh law agreements are not legally binding until contracts are exchanged. This gives both parties the advantage of freedom before contract, but also the disadvantage of wasted time and expense in the event the deal is not done.
The normal practice is for the buyer to negotiate an agreed price with the seller. The buyer then organises a survey and the buyer’s solicitor subsequently carries out searches and pre-contract enquiries. On houses sold with a Home Information Pack, searches and a draft contract should be included in the pack, to be approved by the buyer's solicitor. Some solicitors accept the searches in the HIP, some will prefer to commission their own.
The seller's conveyancing solicitor will also collect and prepare property information to be provided to the buyer's solicitors.
It takes approximately 10-12 weeks to complete a conveyancing transaction but this can be affected by many factors such as personal, social and financial.
In the phase before the exchange of contracts (exchange is the point when the transaction becomes legally-binding) either party can cancel the transaction. This can be done at any time and for any reason, with no obligations to the other and can lead to a risk of gazumping and its opposite, gazundering.
When you exchange contracts, you commit yourself to the purchase and to the agreed terms. This is an important hurdle in the home-buying process and you will also normally pay a deposit, typically 10 per cent of the purchase price.
At the completion date, you pay the balance of the price (and stamp duty and other fees), and take ownership of the premises. This is organized via the Transfer Deed; a document that passes the ownership of the property from the seller to the buyer.
It is dated with the completion date and will be sent to the Land Registry after completion. The Land Registry needs this deed to change its records and show the buyer as the new owner of the property.
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