The Conveyancing Process

The term 'conveyancing' refers to all the administrative and legal work associated with transferring the ownership of buildings or land from one owner to another. It is usually carried out by a solicitor or licensed conveyancer, although it is possible (although somewhat risky) to do the conveyancing yourself. Professional services have become cheaper in recent years and it is well worth the cost to successfully complete the purchase and to resolve any possible problems.

What Does Conveyancing Involve?

Conveyancing typically involves the following tasks:

• Checking whether land has been registered
• Checking that any structural alterations (extensions, loft conversions) have the necessary planning permission and building licences, and whether they have a warranty
• Verifying ownership and ensuring that a 'good' title is obtained
• Carrying out local authority searches
• Checking the existence of any restrictive covenants or rights of way
• Checking the lease and its clauses (leasehold property only)
• Ensuring that there are no debts against a property or that they're cleared before completion
• Arranging registration of the title in the new owner's name after the sale of the property
• Drawing up a contract of sale

Conveyancing Stages

There are three major stages in a typical conveyancing transaction:

1. The first takes you up to the exchange of contracts, the draft contract is received and negotiated, the completion date is agreed, enquiries and searches are made and the formal mortgage offer is received.
2. The second stage is the exchange of contracts , when the contract is signed and the buyer hands over a deposit; final searches are made and the mortgage deed is requested for the buyer to sign.
3. The third stage leads to the completion of the sale , when the buyer pays the balance owing, becomes the new owner and receives the title deeds and the keys to the property.

How Long Does it Take?

In theory, conveyancing can be completed in a just a few days but it normally takes longer than this, with the whole process from agreeing a sale to the exchange of contracts taking 8-12 weeks. There are some aspects of the process that can be speeded up, for example buyers can pay approximately £50 for a personal search, which will speed up the local authority searches from weeks to just a few days.

How Much Does it Cost?

Conveyancing costs are typically about 0.5 to 1% of the purchase price of the property. This means that you should expect to pay around £1,500 for a home costing £200,000, although you may find that your lenders offers an inexpensive fixed-fee service. Do be wary of anyone offering a very low basic rate, as you may find that this price does not include a range of expensive 'extras'. It's also worth bearing in mind that disbursements (fees such as search fees, Land Registry fees and stamp duty) are payable separately on completion and VAT will also be added to the total.

To top