Buying



Here we’ve set out the conveyancing process from the point of view of the buyer:

Offer to exchange

1.  You’ve put an offer in and it’s been accepted.  Plus you have a mortgage offer in place.

2.  Now it’s time to instruct your conveyancing solicitors.

3.  You will receive a client care letter from your solicitors.  You should sign this and return it together with proof of your identity.

4.  Your conveyancing solicitor will contact the seller’s solicitor and obtain the contract pack.

5.  Your solicitor will carry out the necessary property searches.  These will include a local authority search, an environmental search and a water and drainage search.

6.  Your solicitor will obtain a copy of your mortgage offer.

7.  Meanwhile, you should arrange a survey.

8.  Your conveyancing solicitor will review and prepare a report on the contract pack, the search results and your mortgage offer.  This report is for you and now is the time to discuss anything that’s unclear or which you’re not sure about with your solicitor.

By this time you should also have your property survey results back.  If there is anything untoward in the survey results now is the time to negotiate any changes in the price or the contract.

9.  Once the negotiations are complete, and with your input, your solicitor will negotiate a completion date with the seller’s conveyancing solicitor.

10.  At this point you will sign your copy of the contract and return it to your solicitor.

11.  You will also need to send your solicitor the deposit monies so that they are in place in time for exchange.

12.  The solicitors will now “swap” the signed contracts – this is the exchange part.

13.  At the same time as the contracts are exchanged your solicitor will arrange for your deposit to be paid to the seller’s conveyancing solicitor.

14.  Congratulations – you’ve exchanged!

The contract is now legally binding.  If you back out now you may lose your deposit unless you were misled into entering the contract.

Exchange to completion

1.  Your conveyancing solicitor will prepare the completion statement and carry out the pre-completion searches.

2.  Your solicitor will prepare a transfer deed (known as a form TR1), which they will send to you.  When you receive the transfer deed you should sign and return it to your solicitors who will then pass it on to the seller’s solicitors to be signed by the seller.

3.  Your solicitor will request any mortgage monies from your lender ready for completion.

4.  On the day of completion your solicitors will send the seller’s solicitor the outstanding balance of the purchase monies.

From the seller’s solicitor they will receive:

5.  Once this has all been done you will receive the keys to your new home.  Congratulations – you’ve completed!

6.  Following completion you solicitor will:

  • Send the transfer deed and any stamp duty (SDLT) payable to HMRC
  • Register you as the new owner of the property at the Land Registry

7.  Once your solicitor has received your new title deeds from the Land Registry they will forward them to your lender if you have a mortgage or to you if you are a cash buyer.

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