Useful Conveyancing Tips

With the experience of dealing with literally thousands of conveyancing cases, we often acquire useful tips that we endeavour to pass on to our clients.

Estate Agents

Always read through the contract
Find out how much they value your property at, not what you want to sell it for
Treat the estate agent like a potential buyer
Find out if they are being paid a referral fee for passing your conveyancing transaction on to their solicitors and, if so, how much as this might influence their choice
Be realistic as far as price is concerned, look at comparable properties within the area.

Removal Companies

Make sure these are available at the time of exchanging contracts but don't book before an exchange takes place.
See if you can find a removal company who will guarantee moving on the day that you want
Make sure you have got plenty of boxes and have a proper system for organising where each box goes
Make sure your property is properly covered by insurance on the day of removal

Frequently Asked Questions

Furthermore, there are a number of questions that we are frequently asked when it comes to conveyancing, so these might also help you...

How long will it take before I can move?
What do you mean when you say "searches"?
Why do Local Search costs vary?
How long do Searches take to do?
When do I pay the legal fees?
What deposit will I need to exchange contracts?
Do I need a separate survey as I've paid a valuation fee to my Lender?
My son, who is over 18, is not buying the property with me but my Lender wants him to sign a Deed of Postponement or Waiver. Why is this?
What is legal indemnity insurance?
When can I exchange contracts?
Why do you need to know my National Insurance Number?
When is stamp duty payable?
How is stamp duty worked out?
When do I need to arrange buildings insurance?
When can I get the keys to the property?
Where do I collect the keys from?
Some money will be due to me – when will I receive it?
What is a CHAPs charge or fee?

Answers

Q. How long will it take before I can move?
A. We wish we could guarantee that your house move will take 4, 8 or even 12 weeks. Unfortunately, we cannot.

If you are buying an empty property, without the aid of a mortgage and the seller's solicitors produce a draft contract and evidence of title within a few days of your decision to buy, the purchase should proceed very quickly. Timescale is, however, dependent on the receipt of satisfactory searches and that there are no problems with the seller's title.

If you are selling your own property, to buy another and the people that you are buying from are buying another property, you are in a "chain". The time taken here can be anything from 6 to 12 weeks on average. Each person in the chain will have their own requirements as to timing and more than likely require a mortgage. Each of the solicitors acting for the parties will need to raise searches and investigate the title. It is fair to say that the chain will move at the pace of the slowest person. The slowest person may be just as anxious to proceed but cannot because, say, he is waiting for his mortgage offer.

If you find yourself in a chain, our advice is to be philosophical. You cannot control the chain. The most important point is that we will do everything that we can to ensure that we are ready to proceed to an exchange of contracts and completion as soon as possible.

Q. What do you mean when you say "searches"?
A. When you buy property, it is our job to find out as much as we possibly can about the legal title and any matters which may affect its amenity or value. One way that we do this is to search the public registers. The main types of searches which we carry out against the property are:

Local Authority Search: This is sent to the Local Authority. The search tells us, amongst other things, if the property is accessed by an adopted highway or has financial charges registered against it. It will state whether the property is a listed building, in a conservation area or subject to a tree preservation order. It also reveals the planning history and whether there are any proposed traffic schemes within a certain ratio of the property.

Water and Drainage Search: This is made with the Water Authority. This search will reveal whether the property is connected to the mains water and sewage systems. Some searches give plans indicating the whereabouts of the mains systems. The search should also reveal whether the property is metered or not.

Coal Authority Search: If the property is in an area recognised as being a past Coal Mining area, this search is carried out to find out if there are any shafts within the boundaries of the property, when coal was last taken and whether any claims for subsidence have been made in the past.

Environmental and Planning Searches: These are desktop searches and are made against the postcode of the property. It will reveal the history of the area in which the property is built and detail any landfill or other waste disposal sites for example within a certain ratio of the property. It will also advise as to any flooding or other environmental issues. The planning search result provides you with a ten year snapshot of planning applications made within a radius of 500 meters around the property. It also provides you with general planning information for the area.

Bankruptcy Search: When you buy property with the aid of a mortgage, the Lender will insist that we carry out this search against you to check that you are not bankrupt. The search may reveal an entry which has been made against another person with the same surname. If this happens, we will send the search to you to ask you to certify that the entry does not relate to you.

Land Registry Search: We check to make sure that the registered title offered by the seller's solicitors at the beginning of the transaction has not been added to.

Q. Why do Local Search costs vary?
A. Each Local Authority in England and Wales has the power to charge a relevant fee for the Local Searches that they provide. Some Authorities charge £75.00 whilst others charge £250.00. The fees are reviewed annually.

Q. How long do Searches take to do?
A. Most Local Authorities return the results of searches within ten working days. Some Authorities easily beat this time scale, others can take up to three weeks to return a search.

Water and drainage searches take about 5 days and environmental and planning searches less than 24 hours, Coal Authority Searches are turned around by the Coal Authority in 2 to 3 days. We can receive instant results for Bankruptcy and H M Land Registry searches.

Q. When do I pay the legal fees?
A. We ask for £250.00 to cover the cost of searches in relation to the purchase of property and £50.00 to cover the cost of obtaining copies of your title and any planning permissions in relation to a sale. These sums are payable immediately and any suplus is credited to your account. We do have the facility to pay these particular fees by credit card.

All other fees and disbursements (including stamp duty) are payable after exchange of contracts but before completion.

Q. What deposit will I need to exchange contracts?
A. The standard form of contract which is recognised by all lawyers states that 10% of the purchase price is payable when an exchange of contracts takes place. The contract can be changed. If you are selling a property and buying another for a higher figure, it is often the case that the deposit given by your buyers can be used for your purchase. If you are not selling but buying with, say a 95% mortgage and able to offer a 5% deposit, this is often acceptable to a seller.

Please be aware that if you do pay a reduced deposit on exchange of contracts, and do not proceed to complete the purchase, that you are still liable for the remaining 5% deposit that you have not paid.

Q. Do I need a separate survey as I've paid a valuation fee to my Lender?
A. If you are buying with the aid of a mortgage, your Lender will ask you for a "Valuation Fee" A surveyor will look at the property you want to buy but he is instructed by your Lender, not by you. As the surveyor is working for the Lender, he will only check that the property is sufficient to cover the mortgage advance. This Valuation is basic but should reveal the age and general state of repair of the property. You should not base your decision to buy the property on the results of the Valuation Report.

We recommend that you obtain a RICS Home Buyers Report which will be undertaken by a qualified Surveyor. This survey involves a thorough examination of the property and a full written report. Any major problems will be highlighted and advice given. The Surveyor will also give his opinion of the value of the property.

Before you pay a valuation fee, it may be possible to ask your Lender whether it will accept the Home Buyers Report as the valuation. If so, this may save you the cost of a valuation fee although your Lender is under no obligation to agree to this.

Q. My son, who is over 18, is not buying the property with me but my Lender wants him to sign a Deed of Postponement or Waiver. Why is this?
A. As you are buying the property, you will sign the Mortgage Deed and by doing so agree to the terms and conditions of the mortgage, including repayment of the capital and interest. If you fail to make the repayments, the Lender may evict you under the terms of the Mortgage.

If you have an adult who permanently resides at the property with you, but is not on the legal title and has not signed the mortgage deed, it will be difficult for the Lender to evict him. The Lender, therefore, wants your son to sign the Deed of Postponement to state that he is aware that you purchased the property with the aid of a mortgage and that should you fail to make the repayments and you are evicted, he will leave the property with you and have no legal right over and above the Lenders right.

A Lender will not give a mortgage advance until a Deed of Postponement has been signed by any permanent adult occupier. All Lenders are keen to ensure that any occupier receives independent legal advice on this particular issue.

Q. What is legal indemnity insurance?
A. Sometimes, there is a defect in the title or paperwork for the property. A defect could be anything from a restriction placed on the title which has been ignored or the lack of building regulation approval for an extension or structural alteration to the property.

The quickest and cheapest way to provide protection to a buyer for a defect is to give indemnity insurance which will protect the buyer against any action taken by a third party if and when that third party realises that they may have a claim against the owner of the property.

A one–off premium is paid. The level of the premium is dictated by the amount to be insured and risk the insurance company judge to be taking. Most premiums fall between £150.00 to £250.00.

The premium is usually paid by the seller of the property.

Q. When can I exchange contracts?
A. The contract is the legally binding agreement to sell or purchase property and we need to ensure that you can perform the contract before we commit you to do so. We shall require your clear and unambiguous authorisation to exchange.

We cannot advise you to exchange contracts in relation to a purchase until:

We hold a contract signed by you.
We have investigated the title to the property and are satisfied that it is a good marketable title.
We are in receipt of all searches and they have produced satisfactory results.
We are in receipt of your mortgage offer and we have checked that all conditions are satisfied.
If you are arranging buildings insurance independently of your Lender, that appropriate buildings insurance is in place.
We hold cleared funds for a deposit (assuming a deposit is being paid and you do not have a property to sell).
Everyone in the "chain" has agreed to exchange and has agreed the completion date.

In relation to a sale:

We hold a contract signed by you.
We have checked that any mortgage that you hold over the property will be repaid from the proceeds of sale.
You are able to give vacant possession on the suggested completion date.

Q. Why do you need to know my National Insurance Number?
A. After 1st December 2003, the forms that are sent to the Inland Revenue to pay the stamp duty changed. One of the questions asks for your National Insurance Number.

The new form – known as the Land Transaction Return – is quite long and we will complete it and send it to you to check and sign. This will be done at no extra cost to you.

Q. When is stamp duty land tax payable?
A. Stamp duty land tax is payable on completion of your purchase. We shall send the signed Land Transaction Return to the Inland Revenue with a cheque for the stamp duty land tax payable.

Q. How is stamp duty worked out?
A. This is calculated on the price of the property as a percentage of the purchase price:

PRICE OF PROPERTY	DUTY
Under £175,000	No duty payable
Over £175,000 but under £250,000	1% of purchase price
Over £250,000 but under £500,000	3% of purchase price
Over £500,000	4% of purchase price

If you are buying a property for less than £170,000 and the property falls within an area known as a "disadvantaged area" no stamp duty will be payable.

If you are purchasing a new long leasehold property, stamp duty may also be payable on the rent element of the Lease.

Q. When do I need to arrange buildings insurance?
A. If your Lender is arranging buildings insurance as part of the mortgage offer – then you need not worry.

If you are buying a leasehold property, and insurance is undertaken by the Landlord, again you need to concern yourself. We will obtain details of this insurance.

If you to insure independently of your Lender, we suggest that you set up preliminary arrangements for buildings insurance as early as possible and let us have details of the proposed insurance company, their address and the reference policy number. We will need this information to check that the insurance you have arranged is satisfactory for your Lender.

We will advise you when to put the policy on risk – it will be either on the date we exchange of contracts or the date we complete.

Q. When can I get the keys to the property?
A. Keys will not be released to you until the seller's solicitors have received all of the purchase monies.

The purchase monies are transferred from one solicitor to another by Bank Telegraphic Transfer. The Bank Transfer may take minutes or it could take four hours to get through – it depends how busy the Bank Transfer system is on any one day.

Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do about the Bank Transfer system. We recommend that, if you know you are in the middle or at the end of a chain, aim to move in by mid to late afternoon.

Q. Where do I collect the keys from?
A. If you viewed the property through Estate Agents, those Agents will hold the keys and will let you have them when the seller's solicitors have informed the Agents that the purchase money has arrived.

If there are no Agents, you should liaise with the seller to arrange to collect the keys directly from them. No doubt, the seller's solicitors will advise the seller when they are in receipt of the purchase money.

Q. Some money will be due to me – when will I receive it?
A. We aim to forward any monies due to you on the day of completion. This can be done by cheque or by a telegraphic transfer into your Bank Account. If you want us to transfer the money directly into your Bank Account, we will need your bank details from you. There will be an additional CHAPs charge of £30 + VAT.

What is a CHAPs charge or fee?
A. On completion of a sale or purchase, monies are payable to your lender to redeem a mortgage or to your seller's solicitors to pay the consideration monies. These funds must be cleared. The traditional method of transferring cleared funds immediately is by the use of the Bank's telegraphic transfer system.

We charge telegraphic transfer fees or CHAPs fees at £25.00 plus VAT. The bank charge us approximately £6.00 plus VAT. The difference between the Bank Charge of £6.00 and the fee of £25.00 is retained by the lawyers as a fee for the work undertaken in processing, approving and submitting the CHAPs payment to the relevant recipient.

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