This Guide has been prepared to explain the steps that your Conveyancer will undertake on your behalf, either in relation to your sale, or your purchase. It is not intended to be an exhaustive Guide, as matters do arise in the course of a transaction which are non-standard, but at least it should give you some idea of the work which is being carried out.

The definitions of commonly used terms will also give you a better understanding of some of the processes.

	Instructions received		Instructions received
	Confirm instructions with Client		Confirm instructions with client
	Send Property Information Form and Fixtures Fittings and Contents Form to client for completion		Receive Contract papers
	Request Deeds/Office Copy Entries		Review Contract papers, raise enquiries and approve contract
	Submit Index Map Search		Submit Searches
	Receive deeds.		Review search results and advise client of any matters affecting
	Prepare Contract		Receive Mortgage Offer
	Submit contract to Sellers Solicitor with Property Information Form, Fixtures Fittings and Contents form and copy deeds.		Review offer and report to client
	Consider position of any related purchase		Obtain deposit from client (if not to be received on related sale)
	Obtain clients signature to Contract		Consider position of any related sale
	Discuss completion date with client and other conveyancers		Review contract papers, searches and mortgage with client and obtain signature to contract
	Agree a completion date		Discuss completion date with client and other conveyancers
	Exchange contracts		Agree a completion date
	Exchange of Contracts		Exchange Of Contacts
	Send signed contract to Sellers Conveyancer		Send signed contract to Buyers Conveyancers with agreed deposit
	Request Redemption figure from Lender		Submit Report to lender and request Mortgage advance monies
	Confirm completion date to client and Agent.		Prepare Completion Statement and request balance of funds (if any) from client
	Prepare invoice and Completion Statement		Raise requisitions with Buyers Conveyancers and agree form of Transfer
	Answer Requisitions from Sellers Conveyancer and approve Transfer .		Submit Final Searches
	Obtain clients signature to Transfer		Obtain client's signature to Transfer and mortgage
	Completion		Completion
	Receive purchase monies from Sellers Conveyancers		Account to client for balance of money (if any)
	Release keys		Attend to Stamp Duty Land Tax and Registration
	Send deeds and signed transfer to sellers Conveyancers		Send balance of purchase money to Sellers Conveyancer
	Discharge mortgage
	Pay Agents
	Use money for related purchase and/or account to client

Conveyancing is the name for the legal process involved in transferring property from one owner to another. A Conveyancer is therefore the person handling the legal process usually a Licensed Conveyancer or Solicitor.

The Sellers Conveyancer will ask the Sellers to complete questionnaire forms which contain information about the property, which will be passed on to the Buyers, and upon which they are entitled to rely. These are mainly known as Sellers Property Information Form, and the Buyers Conveyancer may raise enquiries in addition to the Sellers Property Information Form which will be referred to the Seller. It is important that any information given is accurate and not misleading in any way.

This identifies the items that you will be leaving in the property which are included in the agreed sale price. There may be items which are not included in the sale price, but which you have agreed to sell at an extra price. You should let us know if there are any extras which will be paid for on completion.

The contract is the Agreement drawn up by the Sellers Conveyancer, which will be sent to the Buyers Conveyancer so that the terms of the agreement, the legal ownership and the extent of the property can be checked. The Contract will contain all the relevant conditions relating to the sale i.e. parties, price, address of the property, and any matters affecting it. The contract is in duplicate: one part retained by the Sellers Conveyancer for signature by the Sellers and one part for signature by the Buyers

Once the Buyers Conveyancer has the contract in his possession, he can submit any necessary searches against the property i.e. Local search, drainage search, environmental search, and possibly other searches which are particular to a particular area, i.e . mining searches.

When the Buyers Conveyancer is satisfied that the contract is satisfactory and that the searches reveal nothing of an adverse nature affecting the property he will be in a position to ask the Buyers to sign the contract. At that stage he will also need to have established that the Buyers funds are available to complete the purchase. If the buyers require mortgage finance, he will have received a mortgage offer, and if they are selling a property, their Buyers must also be in a position to proceed.

The Sellers Conveyancer will in the meantime have obtained his clients signatures to the Contract. If they have a related purchase, he will have been through the necessary processes to establish that they are ready to proceed with this.

Once all parties are in a position to proceed, and have agreed a completion date , the Conveyancers can enter into exchange of contracts. This is a physical exchange of the two parts of the contract, one signed by the Sellers and the other signed by the Buyers. This is nowadays usually effected by telephone.

At this point the contract becomes legally binding, and neither party can withdraw or vary the terms of the agreement. If they do, they will be in breach of contract, and be liable to be sued by the other party and incur severe financial penalties.

The Buyers Conveyancer will carry out various searches against the property to establish that there is nothing affecting it which may affect the Buyers' decision to proceed.


This will reveal whether there are any planning decisions affecting the property, whether the roads are adopted and maintained at the public expense, and whether there are any road schemes within 200 meters of the property. It will also reveal whether the Local Authority have placed any charges against it, or are contemplating any enforcement action (for building an extension without planning, for example). It will not reveal any planning applications relating to adjoining properties. If you have any concerns about possible developments near to the property, you should make enquiries with the Local Authority Planning department.

 
This will reveal whether the property is connected to publicly maintained drains, and if not whether there is any agreement for them to be
adopted in the future. It will also indicate the location of the nearest public sewer .

These will reveal whether the property is potentially affected by any environmental issues such as radon gas, or possible consequences resulting from being built on an old industrial or landfill site.

In some areas it is necessary to conduct a mining search to establish whether the property may potentially be affected by present or past mining works.

These are carried out by the Buyer's Conveyancer prior to completion and may include a search at the H. M. Land Registry (if the property is registered) to confirm that the details of ownership and matters affecting the property have not changed during the transaction, a search against the Sellers of the property to establish that they have no second mortgages or judgements registered against them and a search against the Buyers (on behalf of a Lender) to confirm that they do not have any Bankruptcy orders against them.

 


Covenants are obligations which have been imposed upon the owner of the property, to do (a positive covenant), or not do (a restrictive covenant) something usually relating to the use of the land. An example of a positive covenant may be to maintain fences, or contribute to the maintenance of a shared facility i.e. a driveway. A typical restrictive covenant may be to prevent the sale of alcohol from the property, or not keep pigs. Your Conveyancer will advise you if there are any such matters affecting the property.


The Contract is the agreement to sell the property, the completion date is the date for the transaction to be finalised, when the money is paid over (less any deposit paid) and the keys are handed over. The completion date is therefore the moving date.
Whilst completion dates are discussed prior to exchange of contracts, they are not fixed until contracts have been exchanged. It is not advisable to make any arrangements for removal until exchange of contracts for this reason, although provisional bookings may be made.

On completion we will ensure that the correct money is received, and it is usual to delay handing over the keys to the Buyers until such time as the money is received by us. If the keys are left with the estate agents, we will notify them when the keys can be released. If you are making arrangements to hand over the keys direct, you should check with us before you do so.


Prior to completion a completion statement will be prepared by the Conveyancer and sent to the client. This statement will show the full breakdown of all moneys paid or received in the course of the transaction, and will identify any balance due to the client, or any money due to the client.

If money is required to complete the transaction, it will need to be in the conveyancer's bank and cleared by the completion date. If it is not transferred by Bank Transfer, a cheque will need a minimum of three days to clear.


These are questions raised by the Buyer's Conveyancer with the Sellers Conveyancer to establish the procedure on completion (i.e. the bank details for the transfer of the money) and also to confirm that any mortgage secured against the property will be discharged. The Seller's Conveyancer will enter into an undertaking to discharge this as soon as the sale proceeds are received.

This is the document which is sent to the Land Registry to record the transfer of the property. See Registration.

Stamp Duty Land Taxis payable on any purchase of land or property, where the price paid is more than £120,000. It is only paid by the Buyer. The amount paid depends on the price in accordance with the following table:

	0 - £125,000	Nil
	£125,001 - £250,000	1% of the purchase price
	£250,001 - £500,000	3% of the purchase price
	£500,001 -	4% of the purchase price

 
Nowadays every transaction involving property has to be registered at the HM Land Registry, who maintain a centralised record of ownership for every property and piece of land in the country. The register holds a plan of the property, showing its extent, and records the owners and any mortgage that they have secured against the property. It will also reveal any matters affecting the property, such as covenants . Following registration the Buyers Conveyancer will be sent a copy of the updated register. He will check the details are correct, and then, if there is a mortgage, send the deeds to the Lender (if they require them) and send any documents that are not required by the lender to the Buyer for safekeeping. If there is no mortgage, the deeds will be forwarded to the Buyer.

It should be noted that any deeds/documents sent to the Buyer after completion of the registration should be kept in a safe place, as they will be required when the property is sold.