Conveyancing Guide - mortgages.co.uk

Conveyancing

Conveyancing is the legal process to transfer the ownership of a property from the seller to the buyer. People usually opt to hire a solicitor or licensed conveyancer for their conveyancing purposes.

If you are buying a property, your solicitor generally works on behalf of your mortgage lender, who usually insists on certain searches before they will release the money for your house. When selling a property, the solicitor of conveyancer will draw up a contract for the sale. They will also apply title deeds from your mortgage lender. They will also organise searches and send a list of questions to the buyer's solicitor.

Searches for conveyancing

Lenders will always require a local authority search, showing details of planning permissions given on the property, and any plans to build roads within a certain radius of the property. However, it does not nearly go into the detail of a plan search; it will not reveal details about planning permission on nearby properties.

A drainage search is also a given. This uncovers whether the waste water produced by your house goes into a public or private sewer. A land registry search will also be conducted to make certain that the property has not changed hands. A land charges search will ensure that you are not, and have not been, bankrupted.

The types of searches conducted do have regional variations. Lenders may ask for different types of searches for different areas of the country. For instance, in Cornwall where much of the land is covered by disused tin mines, they may ask for a tin mining search.

Survey

A survey is usually undertaken at the same time as conveyancing. This survey will show up any repair or renovation work that needs to be done. If work is necessary, you may be able to renegotiate your offer and the terms of the transaction.

Contract exchange and completion

Following completion of the survey and searches, and a mortgage offer is in place, your solicitor should be able to organise a date for you to exchange contracts. At this point, the sale becomes certain and contracts between buyer and seller are swapped.

Contracts generally include a date for completion, and at this stage you are the official owner of the property. When you have completed, you will be able to pick up the keys from an estate agent, and move into your new house. The deeds for the house will be passed to your mortgage lender, who will hold them until you decide to sell.

Fees

Solicitors are expensive, although fees do vary between individuals and practises. Some will charge a fixed fee, whereas others look for a percentage of the value of the property.

As well as solicitor's fee you will also have to pay for disbursements. Disbursements include the transfer of money from lender to the account of property owner, VAT, postage and other costs that may occur from conveyancing work.

Stamp Duty

Stamp duty is another cost, and is applicable for all houses over £120,000. Some properties may qualify for an exemption from stamp duty, and it is the responsibility of your solicitor to know if this applies to you. Properties are liable for different levels of stamp duty dependent on their value.

Properties up to £120,000 = Nil

Properties between £120,000 and £250,000 = 1 per cent

Properties between £250,001 and £500,000 = 3 per cent

Properties over £500,000 = 4 per cent