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Conveyancing Explained

Nov 12, 2024
Conveyancing Explained

If you’re a first-time buyer, purchasing a house can feel overwhelming. To help de-mystify the process, we’ve put together a comprehensive guide to conveyancing, including details on every step of the process and answers to frequently asked questions like ‘what is a conveyancing solicitor?’. Read on to find out more and embark on your homebuying journey with confidence. 

What is conveyancing?

Conveyancing involves the legal transfer of home ownership from one party to another and is usually handled by a solicitor or a licensed conveyancer. The process begins when you make an offer on a home and continues until your ownership of the property is registered with the Land Registry. 

What is a conveyancer?

A licensed conveyancer is a lawyer who specialises in property purchases and sales. They differ slightly from solicitors, who are trained in a wider range of areas and can also handle other, more complex legal issues. Whether you choose a solicitor or lawyer to help you buy a home is entirely down to personal preference.  

How does the conveyancing process work?

When your offer on a home is accepted, you’ll need to instruct a solicitor to do the conveyancing. The best way to choose a professional is to ask for recommendations from people you trust. 

Once you’ve found a solicitor, they will provide you with their terms and conditions and ask for signed acceptance of these, along with an initial payment, before setting to work. 

Your solicitor will contact the developer’s or seller’s solicitor to confirm that they are instructed to act on and request all relevant contract documents, i.e. draft contract, title documents and other essential information. Your solicitor will raise any relevant enquiries with the developer’s or seller’s solicitor. A report will be produced for you containing all the information you require, and you’ll receive a draft contract.

 

1. The draft contract 

You will need to read over the draft contract and any other documents that are provided to you. Your solicitor will be on hand to answer any questions. Once you are happy with the information, you can sign the contract.

 

2. Property searches

Your solicitor will conduct legal searches to assess different aspects of the property. These will be recommended by the solicitor and your mortgage lender and may include: 

 

  • Local authority search to check for any planned developments or health risks that may affect your new home.

  • Water authority search to confirm that the property is connected to mains water/drain and sewer.

  • Chancel repair search to check for medieval liabilities to maintain local churches.

  • Environmental search to find out if there is any contaminated land, nearby landfill sites, floodplains or land stability issues.

  • Other location-specific searches, such as mining searches in some areas of the UK or flood searches.

 

These searches can take up to six weeks, depending on the local authority. You may be offered Search Insurance, but your solicitor will discuss this with you if it is appropriate.

 

3. Your mortgage

You will need to obtain your mortgage offer as soon as possible. You must advise your mortgage lender who your solicitor is, and they will send a copy of the mortgage offer directly to them. Your solicitor will check any special conditions contained within the offer and verify that the information held by the lender is correct. A report will be produced for you outlining all the findings, and you will be asked to sign a mortgage deed.

Find out how long a mortgage application takes to ensure you allow plenty of time for this part of the process.

 

4. Exchanging contracts 

The next major conveyancing milestone is ‘exchanging’, where contracts between the seller and buyer are exchanged, resulting in a legally binding contract. The time it takes to reach an exchange may vary from six to eight weeks, but it may take longer if there is a chain (a series of linked sales and purchases).

The different stages of the process include:

 

 

  1. Land Registry searches will be undertaken by your solicitor in order to protect the financial interests of both you and your lender. You’ll also need to transfer your deposit to your solicitor, who will hold it until the exchange date. The contracts are exchanged by your solicitor. 

 

  1. Before exchanging, you’ll need to get buildings insurance, as you’ll be responsible for your home once you’ve signed on the dotted line. However, if you are purchasing a new build property, you will not need to do this until completion.

 

  1. Once you’ve exchanged contracts, the seller is legally obliged to sell, and you are legally obliged to buy. If you exchange contracts but fail to complete the purchase on the agreed date, you may lose your deposit and incur costs.

 

  1. After the contracts have been signed and exchanged, if your house is built, you may have a completion date (move-in date). However, the completion may be on notice. This means that once the property is built, you will be required to complete the sale within ten working days. Your solicitor will explain this to you in detail. 

 

  1. Your solicitor will send you an engrossed (official final copy) transfer or lease, which you should sign and return. This is the document that will transfer the ownership of the property to you.

 

 

Learn more about exchanging contracts in our in-depth guide. 

 

5. Completion 

Shortly before completion, your solicitor will provide you with a completion statement, and any outstanding amount will need to be paid to your solicitor the day before completion. You must ensure that your solicitor has cleared the funds the day before – keep in mind that a cheque can take a few days to clear. 

 

The mortgage company will also be requested to send the mortgage loan to your solicitors so that the full purchase price can be transferred to the seller’s solicitor on the day of completion. Once the payment has been received by the developer’s or seller’s solicitor, you’ll be able to collect the keys and move into your new home.

6. After completion 

There are a few jobs your solicitor will have to do after completion. They will send all the relevant documents to the Land Registry to register your ownership and the mortgage lender’s charge over the property.

Deeds are no longer physically held but electronically held. You will receive a copy of your registration to show that you own the property. Registration of a new build property can take some time; your solicitor will also pay Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) if applicable.

 

Ready to start your homebuying journey? At David Wilson Homes, we have new build properties to suit every preference. Browse our current offers and schemes to find out how we could help you get on the property ladder.

 

Call our Sales Advisers today to learn more.

 

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