Step-by-Step Guide to the Conveyancing Process
This guide is not intended as an exhaustive list of each step but is a guide to give you an idea of the overall process.
| Sale – Instructing Us | Purchase- Instructing Us |
|---|---|
| You instruct us by providing us with the following: 1. Signed initial care letter If you have not already done so you will need to advise your Estate Agents that we are acting. | You instruct us by providing us with the following: 1. Signed initial care letter If you have not already done so you will need to advise the Estate Agents and mortgage lender that we are acting for you. |
| Sale – Preparing documentation | Purchase- Receiving and checking documentation |
|---|---|
We obtain your Title Deeds and prepare the Contract Package which contains: –
We will also need to get management information, which is usually in the form of a standard Management Pack. A fee is likely to be payable to the managing agents. | We receive and examine the Contract Package from the sellers’ solicitors. This contains:
Having now received the Plan, we are now able to carry out any searches required. |
| Sale – General and legal enquiries | Purchase- Raising enquiries |
|---|---|
| If your buyers raise general additional enquires we will send these to you for you to complete and return to us. There are likely to be legal enquiries, which we deal with. | We have to make standard enquiries. There may also be other enquiries that arise from the Contract Documentation. If a Managing Agent handles the property it is essential to clarify certain details about the way in which the Apartment block is run. These enquiries would include:
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| Purchase- Mortgage Offer |
|---|
| We receive your mortgage offer and check that the conditions can be complied with. |
| Sale – Requesting outstanding mortgage balance |
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| If you have a mortgage we will get a figure from the lender indicating how much it will cost to bring your mortgage to an end. This is called a Redemption Statement. |
| Purchase – Requesting outstanding balance |
|---|
| We now review your file and draw up a completion statement, which shows how much money is needed from you to complete the transaction. |
| Sale – Appointment/Signing Documentation | Purchase- Appointment/Signing documentation |
|---|---|
| We invite you to attend the office to sign the Contract and Transfer Deed. If you are carrying out conveyancing online, we will send these to you with guidance. | We invite you into our offices to sign the relevant documents including:
We will also explain your search results, mortgage offer and Title Deeds to you. If you are not attending the office these will be sent to you and we will discuss these with you by email and/or telephone. We will also ask you to suggest a moving date. |
| Sale – Exchange of Contracts | Purchase- Exchange of Contracts |
|---|---|
| Your buyers indicate that they are ready to proceed and a moving date is agreed. We telephone the buyers’ solicitors to exchange contracts, which makes the moving date legally binding. | We inform your sellers’ solicitors that you are ready to proceed and let them know your suggested date. Once all parties in the chain have agreed a completion date, we telephone the sellers’ solicitors to exchange contracts, which makes the transaction legally binding. it is at this stage that you are safe to hand in your notice on your rented accommodation and make final arrangements to move. |
| Sale – Before Completion |
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| We prepare for completion by gathering together a final redemption statement and your Estate Agents Bill (if applicable). |
| Sale – Completion Day | Purchase- Completion Day |
|---|---|
| You move out and hand the keys to your Estate Agent unless you have made private arrangements with your buyer. You should ensure that you have completely vacated the property by lunchtime. Once we have received the monies from the buyers’ solicitors we telephone the Estate Agents to release the keys. | We send the money to your seller’s solicitors; in return they send us the Title Deeds to the property. You collect the keys to your new house from the Estate Agents unless you have made private arrangements with the seller. Please note that the keys will not be handed over until the money has reached the seller’s solicitors account, which is usually around lunchtime. We then deal with the issue of stamp duty and make any payment required. |
| Sale – After Completion | Purchase- After Completion |
|---|---|
| We send the buyers’ solicitors the Title Deeds (if there are any) and other original documentation. | You are then registered as owner of the property. We report to the lenders and you are asked to collect (if you are able to) any surplus Deeds. |
