CONVEYANCING: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Conveyancing involves the legal transfer of home ownership from the seller to the buyer. The process begins once your offer for a property is accepted and is completed when you receive the keys. Our experienced conveyancing team can help with the following:
- Missives
- Examination of title
- Dealing with instructions from your lender
MISSIVES
Missives is the term used for the formal letters passing between solicitors during the sale process. Missives usually comprise:
- A formal offer
- An acceptance or qualified acceptance issued by the sellers solicitors (a qualified acceptance is a letter accepting our offer but subject to certain amendments)
- One or more additional letters until both sides reach agreement
If and when we receive a written letter of acceptance to your offer, we will contact you within 24-48 hours to talk you through the next steps.
If your offer is accepted without qualification then a binding contract will exist. This is often referred to as a "concluded contract" or "concluded missives". Until you reach that stage both the buyer and the seller have the right to pull out of the deal without penalty.
EXAMINATION OF TITLE
We will check the legal boundaries of the property to ensure you are buying what you think you are buying and that you have necessary rights of access. Examination of title also involves the search of official records relating to the property to ensure there are no issues before the transfer of title.
If buying a flat we will ensure that you are not burdened with unfair share of any common liabilities. We will also check various reports from outside bodies (e.g Property Enquiry Certificate) as well as reports on the title from the Registers.
DEALING WITH INSTRUCTIONS FROM YOUR LENDER
It's normal for your Lender to instruct us to deal with the preparation of the security documents on their behalf. We will prepare these documents and explain them in detail before asking you to sign. It's also our responsibility to prepare a report on the title of the property for your Lender.
If you are married or in a civil partnership but the title of the property will be in your name only, then your Lender will need your partner's consent towards security documentation. Your partner may wish to have some independent legal advice before providing that consent however, consent is not required if you are separated and your partner will not occupy the property with you.
REGISTERING YOUR TITLE
We will take care of the title registration on your behalf. After you've paid the price, we'll submit an LBTT (Land and Building Transaction Tax) form to HMRC and register your title in the Land Register. Once registered, a Land Certificate will be issued and if you have a mortgage, we will send this to your Lender. If you don't have a mortgage, we'll safely store the Certificate in our strong room and send you a copy (unless you advise us to send the original copy to you). The registration process can often take several months (even years) before you receive a copy of the certificate, so don't panic if you haven't heard from us for a while.