Conveyancing Explained

Whether you are buying or selling a property you will need to go through a legal process called conveyancing which is carried out by a conveyancer or a conveyancing solicitor. In this guide we will look at what conveyancing is and what happens during the conveyancing process.

Conveyancer or conveyancing solicitor?

The first thing to cover is the difference between the legal professionals who carry out the conveyancing process. There are two options here:

• A Conveyancer is someone who is qualified only in the legal aspects of property sales and purchases. They are fully qualified and licenced by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC)
• A conveyancing solicitor is a fully qualified solicitor who is qualified in all legal services but who specialises in property transactions. They are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

For the most part the level of service you will get will be exactly the same and the process will be exactly the same whether you use a conveyancer or a conveyancing solicitor. Typically, a conveyancer is cheaper than a solicitor but they might not be able to deal with the most complex transactions in which case they might refer you to a solicitor. For the remainder of this article, we will just refer to the conveyancer, but this is just being used as a generic term and refers to either a conveyancer or a conveyancing solicitor.

What happens during conveyancing?

The process is slightly different depending on whether you are buying or selling a home and we will cover them separately.

Selling Process

The selling process is a little simpler as far as conveyancing is concerned. The seller will be required to supply certain documents to their conveyancer. These include

• TA6 form which details all the property information
• TA7 or TA9 if the property being sold is either a leasehold or commonhold property
• TA10 which is the fixtures and fittings form detailing everything that is included in the sale
• TA13 which is the form which captures the completion details
• EPC certificate
• Any documents relating to new windows, extensions or new electrical work such as FENSA certificates, building regulation compliance certificates and planning permission documents
• Land Registry documents
• Any new build warranties
• Information on the leasehold or commonhold if applicable

It would pay to have all of this information ready when instructing a conveyancer for a sale.

The conveyancer will send all required documents to the buyer’s conveyancer and start to draw up the contract of sale which will need to be signed, but not dated. The seller’s conveyancer will get questions and requests for more information from the buyer’s conveyancer which will need to be answered as quickly as possible. Once everything has been agreed, all questions and queries answered contracts are exchanged and completion agreed. The seller’s conveyancer will ensure that all monies are transferred and that any mortgage balances are paid off. Keys will then be handed over and the seller is no longer the owner of the property.

Buying Process

The buying process is slightly different. The buyer’s conveyancer will request the contract from the seller’s conveyancer and pass it on for signing, but not dating. The buyer’s solicitor will also request all the relevant forms and information as detailed above and make any queries of the seller’s conveyancer. The buyer’s conveyancer will then conduct the “searches”. This is where the conveyancer looks into aspects such as flooding, drainage, environmental aspects and things such as any planning applications which could affect the property. Some common searches are:

• Local Authority
• Environmental
• Water and drainage
• Flood risk
• Mining searches
• Planning searches
• Chancel repair liability

Searches are really important and the conveyancer will detail to the buyer any issues flagged up from the searches which would potentially have a material impact on the decision to buy the property.

The buyer’s conveyancer will need a copy of the formal mortgage offer, if a mortgage is being used to finance the property and will also need details of the deposit finances.

Once the buyer’s conveyancer has all the information together, has answers to all the queries and requests for information they will put together the final pack with the completion statement, the transfer deed and the mortgage deed all of which are signed by the buyer. Once this happens, the transfer deed is sent to the seller’s solicitor and contracts are exchanged and the deposit paid to the seller’s conveyancer. Legally the transaction must now go through or be subject to penalties.

Completion is the final stage when all monies are exchanged and the buyer becomes the new owner. The buyer’s conveyancer will then arrange for any stamp duty to be paid to HMRC and register the buyer as the new owner of the property with the land registry and pass the title deeds on to the mortgage lender if there is a mortgage. For cash buyers, the title deeds are passed on to the buyer immediately.

Conveyancing is a vital part of buying or selling a property and the legal transfer of ownership needs to be done properly and professionally.