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Conveyancing is the transfer of ownership of property or land from one person to another. It is necessary to insure that the new owner has proper legal title to the property.
- Who does the legal work?
- Conveyancing process
- Legal stages in England and Wales
- Legal stages in Scotland
Who does the legal work?
Legally, conveyancing can be undertaken by anyone. However, the process can be time consuming and complicated and most people prefer to employ a professional. In addition, most lenders will insist on a solicitor or licensed conveyancer acting for them if the transaction involves a mortgage.
While "family solicitors" can do the work involved, many people opt to use specialised conveyancers, who are qualified in property matters. In England and Wales, both solicitors and licensed conveyancers can deal with property conveyancing. Licensed conveyancers do not operate in Scotland. The important thing to remember when choosing a conveyancer is to check that the person that you choose to deal with your conveyancing matters is regulated by a governing body such as the Law Society or the Council for Licensed Conveyancers.
Conveyancing process
As the seller, your conveyancer should undertake the following...
Initial correspondence
Normally, the estate agent should send you a letter with the buyer's agreed price and contact details for buyer's conveyancer. He should ask you to confirm your conveyancer's details as well.
Serve authority to obtain title deeds to the property
This should be one of the first tasks your conveyancer undertakes, because it can take time to get the deeds from the past lender.
Property Information Form and Contents List
This form summarises the items that will go into the draft contract, such as fixtures, fittings, boundaries, etc. You should check that it meets your expectations, and send back to buyer's conveyancer once complete.
Receive title deeds
When your conveyancer obtains the title deeds, they should be checked meticulously to insure that all is in order.
Compile draft contract
This contract is a legal document that sets out the terms of the sale. It is initially drafted by the seller's conveyancer. It will contain details about the property, items that are to be included in the sale, the buyer's and seller's particulars, how much the property will be sold for, and the transaction date. It has two parts - The Particulars of Sale and The Condition of Sale. The Particulars describe the property and details of the lease or freehold. The Conditions have information about the proposed completion date and any deposit required when contracts are exchanged.
Fields enquiries from buyer's conveyancer
Usually, the buyer's conveyancer will send a list of questions to your conveyancer, such as:
- What is included in the sale? What contents will the vendor leave behind?
- What are the boundaries of the property? Who owns and is responsible for any perimeter structures (like fences, hedges, etc)?
- Is the property connected to all the appropriate utilities?
- If it is a leasehold, he'll ask: Who is the managing agent? Who is the freeholder? Is the owner up to date with service charge bills and ground rent?
Draft contract sent
Your conveyancer cannot send the draft contract until he receives the title deeds from the lender, because some of that information has to go into the contract.
Agree completion date
In the ideal world, you would exchange contracts the same day you pick up the keys. But that doesn't always work. You may exchange contracts several days or weeks before formally completing the sale by taking possession of the keys. This needs to be agreed at this stage in the process.
Both conveyancers accept draft contract
Once both of the conveyancers are satisfied with the contract, they send letters of acknowledgment.
You approve draft contract
After the conveyancers have approved the contract, then you review it and approve it if you are satisfied. Once all parties are satisfied (and you've seen the formal mortgage offer from the buyer), a final printed copy of the contract will be sent to you for signature. You sign it, and send it back to your conveyancer.
Arrange for exchange
Once contracts are signed, you are ready to exchange and prepare for completion of the sale by handing over the keys to your home's new owner.
Legal stages in England and Wales
First stage: Sale agreed- Seller's conveyancer
- Obtains your title deeds and asks you to fill in a detailed questionnaire.
- Prepares and sends out a package of legal information and a contract for sale.
- Requests a settlement figure for your mortgage and any other secured loans.
- Liaises with all relevant parties and negotiates a date for moving ('completion').
- Buyer's conveyancer
- Organises searches at the local authority on your behalf, and asks you for a sum on account of such expenses.
- Receives replies to questions raised, and reports to you with the contract for signing. Requests your deposit.
- Receives mortgage offer and deals with all the conditions on your behalf.
- Receives search results and deals with any problems revealed.
- Seller's conveyancer
- Receives the deposit as a down payment.
- Organises final accounts and prepares a final settlement for your approval. Collects any balance of funds required.
- Approves the deed of transfer and arranges for you to sign.
- Buyer's conveyancer
- Hands over the deposit to the seller's conveyancers.
- Prepares a final completion statement for your approval. Collects any balance of funds required.
- Prepares the deed of transfer and mortgage deed and arranges for you to sign them.
- Organises final searches to check for debts and bankruptcy.
- Seller's conveyancer
- Pays off the mortgage and notifies HM Land Registry.
- Hands over the deeds and sends balance of money to you.
- Buyer's conveyancer
- Receives and arranges for payment of any stamp duty to the Inland Revenue.
- Prepares and sends off application to HM Land Registry to register your ownership.
- If property is mortgaged, sends deeds to the lender.
Legal stages in Scotland
Sellers in Scotland may have an estate agent/developer to market the property and a solicitor to effect the transaction. To make matters simpler, sometimes the agent is also the solicitor. Where we have used the term solicitor below, this can in some cases also mean the agent.
First stage: Before an offer- Seller's solicitor
- Obtains title deeds from the relevant bank or building society.
- Requests a settlement figure for your mortgage and any other secured loans.
- Receives and processes any formal notifications of interest and passes relevant details on to you.
- Buyer's solicitor
- Notifies seller's agent of your interest in the property. The solicitor may try to obtain an assurance that the property will not be sold once you have put in an offer.
- Confirms you have a loan in place sufficient to cover the expected offer.
- Arranges survey for you if necessary and reports contents back to you.
- Seller's solicitor
- Receives formal legal offers from the agent marketing the property, summarises them and asks you what you want to do.
- Confirms with you that the contents of any offers are acceptable. He recommends changes to offers where necessary and forwards alterations to the buyer's solicitor in letter form. This process may be repeated a number of times.
- Buyer's solicitor
- Writes an official letter, with the details of your offer and any conditions you have attached, for example a time limit. Submits it to the agent marketing the property.
- Receives written confirmation from the seller's solicitor accepting or rejecting your offer. Acts on your instructions as to accepting any of the alterations proposed and returns a letter to the buyer's solicitor. This process may be repeated a number of times.
- Seller's solicitor
- Seller will have accepted one offer from the previous stage and instructs his or her solicitor to complete the missives. Once all parties are agreed on the final terms of the offer, including any amendments, a final letter concluding the bargain is sent to the buyer's solicitor. This is called concluding missives, and is legally binding.
- Receives full payment for the property on the agreed date of entry from the buyer's solictor.
- Passes over title deeds and any other relevant paperwork to the buyer's solicitor.
- Repays mortgage/secured loans (if applicable).
- Buyer's solicitor
- Acknowledges conclusion of the offer (Missives).
- Performs any necessary searches with relation to the property for sale.
- Prepares and sends off application to HM Land Registry to register your ownership.
- If property is mortgaged, sends the title deeds to the building society or bank.
- On the agreed date of entry, receives and arranges for payment for the property to be sent to the seller's solicitor and any stamp duty to the Inland Revenue.