Category: Selling


Tags: CONVEYANCING, LEGAL

What is home conveyancing and how long will it take?

25th June 2018

If you are new to the house buying process or you've not bought or sold in a long time, the word 'Conveyancing' will be referenced quite regularly throughout the process. If you've not heard of this term before, it may seem a little intimidating, but fear not... we go through the entire chain of events that happens once a sale is agreed on a property and at the end provide a useful, easy to understand infographic which you can use as a quick reference guide to the whole process.

What Is Conveyancing?

Conveyancing is defined simply as ‘the work involved in the legal process of moving land or property from one owner to another’.

Below is a quick reference overview of the Conveyancing process. We’ll also cover the timescales for when you should expect each step to happen.

 

 

How Long Will Conveyancing Take?

Hopefully, the timeline above will have given you a bit of an understanding of the process, but if you are new to the buying or selling process, here is an overview of the timescales for when you can expect everything to happen.

If you’ve read our previous blog post What estate agents do for their fee, you’ll know that most of the value that estate agents provide, is put in after the sale is agreed. The national average for sales that reach completion is only 66%, which means 1 in every 3 buyers never actually move in. This is where you will most easily see the value of a really good estate agent – one that is on your side, supporting you throughout the process, chasing the relevant parties and holding everything together to make sure that the sale reaches exchange.

 

The First 48 Hours

Once both the buyer and seller have agreed on a price the property is to be purchased for, the first thing most agents will do is compile a list of all parties involved in the sale and if the buyer is also selling a property, the agent will obtain details of the sequence of buyers linking the successive house purchases – one buyer dependent on the next to purchase their property. This is referred to as the ‘chain’.

One the sale has been agreed, your estate agent should take all of the stress away from this process so you should be able to rely on them to guide you through they process. Remember estate agents have dealt with hundreds of house sales so know the process inside out!

In the first 48 hours, your estate agent will check the following:

  • If solicitors have been instructed
  • If the necessary buyer and seller ID checks have been completed
  • That the buyer has paid the initial monies to the solicitor for essential searches
  • Checked that the purchasers’ solicitor confirmed with the vendor’s solicitor that they are instructed and requested a draft contract
  • Ensure all parties completed any required mortgage applications and have the valuation/survey been booked
  • Make sure that all parties are working towards the agreed exchange date

The First Week

The vendor will complete and return the Sellers Information Form (SIF) and a completed a Fittings & Contents Form. These documents will outline precisely what is included in the sale of the property, detailing all the appliances included e.g. fridge, light fittings etc. Additionally, the vendor will supply to their solicitor, details of Leasehold information if appropriate.

The Draft Contract should have been prepared and dispatched to the purchaser’s solicitor.

In the first week, the Valuation/Survey should have been booked with the Lender so they can be satisfied that the property is worth the value of the mortgage (if required).

Within 14 Days

Before two weeks have passed the purchaser’s solicitor should have received the following documents from the vendor’s solicitor:

  • Draft Contract
  • Replies To Standard Enquiries
  • Land Registry Form for the transfer of registered title deeds (TR1)
  • Raised Additional Enquiries

At this point the selling estate agent should establish what enquiries the buyers have regarding the property and help, if necessary, in obtaining the replies/chasing the vendor’s solicitor/chasing the vendor to ensure they are dealt with promptly.

The purchaser’s solicitor should have applied for the following initial searches:

  • Local Authority Searches
  • Land Registry Searches
  • Environmental Searches
  • Water Authority Searches
  • Location Specific Searches
  • Chancel Repair Search

As a guide, the searches should take approximately 2-3 weeks to come back, at which point the purchaser’s solicitor will raise any queries about anything that may have been discovered.

At this stage, your estate agent will also check the progress of mortgage applications to make sure there will be no delays when it comes to exchange of contracts.

Upon Receipt Of Searches

When the purchaser’s solicitor receives search results they will raise any related enquiries to the vendor’s solicitor.  The vendor’s solicitor will then answer any additional enquires raised and any search related enquiries.

The purchaser’s solicitor will receive the mortgage offer and instructions from the purchaser’s lender.

Leasehold Transactions

If it is a leasehold transaction you should check that the purchaser’s solicitor has received a copy of the lease together with Leasehold Information Forms.

The vendor’s solicitor will need to purchase the management pack from the building’s managing agents for a leasehold property.  Your estate agent should be on the case and check that the vendor’s solicitor obtained funds from his client to purchase this.

Nearing Exchange 2-3 Months

The term ‘exchange’ refers to the moment that the buyer commits to purchasing and the seller (vendor) commits to selling. Both parties sign their respective contracts which are then ‘exchanged’ between the two solicitors. Exchange is really the point of no return, after which it is extremely costly for either party to withdraw.

Exchange normally takes place over the telephone, normally by way of what is known in the industry as law society ‘Formula B’.

Once exchange has happened, the matter is now legally binding and a fixed completion date will have been set.

When the agreed exchange date is approaching, all parties should have signed and returned contracts. The purchaser will have paid their deposit to their solicitor and a completion date must be agreed.

Exchange Of Contracts

When contracts have been exchanged between the buyer and the seller’s solicitors, the seller’s estate agent will make arrangements for keys to be collected on the day of completion.

The seller’s estate agent should collect a set of keys from their vendor so that on completion the property can be left locked with spare keys left inside.

Completion

Completion is when the balance of monies is transferred from the purchaser’s solicitor to the vendor’s solicitor. Upon receipt of balance, the vendor’s estate agent is authorised to release the keys to the purchaser and the sale is complete.

Post completion the purchaser’s solicitor will deal with the registration of the new owners against the property at the Land Registry using the details supplied on the TR1 Form.

Introducing Curchods Home Conveyancing

Finding the right home conveyancing partner is key to a successful move. At Curchods Home Conveyancing we will deal with all legal aspects of selling or purchasing a property, making sure you exchange contracts in a timely fashion whilst offering you help and support and always keeping you up-to-date throughout the entire process.

No Move, No Legal Fee

We’ve already discussed the national fall through rate for sales in the UK – on average 1 in every 3 purchasers in the UK never end up moving into the property after their offer is accepted. This usually means that you will have already paid for the searches and other initial fees with the conveyancing solicitor.

With Curchods Home Conveyancing if your move does not take place, whatever the reason, you will not pay for the legal work we have carried out for you. Whilst you will still be responsible for any third party payments made, it is quite unique for a solicitor to offer to do all the initial work, but not charge should the sale fall through.

Unlike other lawyers, our ‘No Move, No Legal Fee’ pledge covers the most important searches required on a purchase, which means that you’re covered if your purchase falls through. You won’t have to pay again for the same searches on your replacement property purchase.

In the event that your purchase falls through before exchange of contracts for a qualifying reason*, we guarantee to refund the cost of a further set of searches on your subsequent purchase after completion.**

The searches included in our Purchase Search Pledge include:

  • Local authority search compiled by a personal search agent
  • Drainage and water
  • Environmental and flooding
  • Planning applications and other potential changes within the surrounding area, that are not covered by above searches
  • If other searches, specific to certain localities (eg: an area of past or present coal mining) are required, these are not covered by Purchase Search Pledge
  • Additional search information covering environmental issues, flooding planning applications and other potential changes within the local area that would not be revealed in a standard local authority search result

In the event that your purchase falls through before exchange of contracts you will qualify for a refund if one of the following applies:

  • You have an adverse mortgage valuation of more than 5% of the purchase price
  • Your seller has withdrawn from the sale (unless there has been unreasonable conduct or delay on your part which resulted in the seller withdrawing)
  • Your seller has accepted an offer on the property from another interested party

 

How Curchods Help You Achieve A Faster Exchange

We understand that your time is precious. Which is why we will allocate you with your own personal lawyer. Having one point of contact throughout the process will save you both time and money, which in turn will speed up negotiations, exchange of contracts and money transfer on the completion date.

You will also be given access to our secure online portal allowing you to check progress, manage every aspect of your transaction and view useful video guides and online support 24/7. This will provide you with peace of mind at all times.

We’ve also made the overall process of searches much quicker, as we carry them out electronically.

Fixed Transparent Pricing

We offer fixed transparent pricing for all of our Conveyancing services, therefore allowing you to budget with confidence. As a vendor the fixed charges are as follows:

  • £0 – £250,000 £749 +VAT
  • £250,001 – £300,000 £799 +VAT
  • £300,001 – £350,000 £849 +VAT
  • £350,001 – £400,000 £899 +VAT
  • £400,001 – £450,000 £949 +VAT
  • £450,001 – £500,000 £999 +VAT
  • £500,001 – £600,000 £1,049 +VAT
  • £600,001 – £700,000 £1,099 +VAT
  • £700,001 – £800,000 £1,149 +VAT
  • £800,001 – £900,000 £1,199 +VAT
  • £900,001 – £1,000,000 £1,249 +VAT
  • £1,000,001 – £1,250,000 £1,499 +VAT
  • £1,250,001 – £1,500,000 £1,799 +VAT
  • £1,500,001 – £2,000,000 £2,299 +VAT
  • £2,000,001 – £2,500,000 £2,899 +VAT
  • £2,500,001 – £3,000,000 £3,499 +VAT
  • If a leasehold or commonhold property: add £300 +VAT

 

Open 7 Days A Week And Evenings

We’re here to make things easier which is why we’re open 7 days a week and in the evenings Monday-Friday so you can contact us at a time that suits you. In fact we’re only closed on Christmas Day, Easter Sunday and on Bank Holidays.

For our opening hours please see below:

Monday-Friday: 9am – 7pm
Saturday: 9.30am – 4.30pm
Sunday: 10am – 3.30pm

If you still have any questions on any part of the Conveyancing process, please feel free to call your local Curchods office.

FIND OUT MORE

 

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Premium Marketing

We are proud to deal with the sale of more high value homes than many of our competitors. Curchods Prime is our premium marketing service for high value and exclusive residential properties.

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Our experienced property management team based in branch, are readily available to respond to your enquiries, maintenance issues and any emergencies. We respond quickly and professionally providing guidance and advice throughout your tenancy.

Tell Us What You Are Looking For

Not every property we have to let is listed on our website - we arrange many tenancies before they ever appear online, exclusively to people registered on our database. Registering with us will give you the best chance of finding your dream home.

Licenced & Regulated

We are members of ARLA Propertymark, the UK’s foremost professional body for letting agents which means we are required to operate in a transparent way, providing services which are subject to independent scrutiny, giving you peace of mind at all times.

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