The Conveyancing Process
There are multiple steps involved in the conveyancing process and these are slightly different depending on if you're buying or selling. For this reason, the process can appear daunting. It's important to remember that no two property transaction are the same, but these guides outline the key steps involved and what's required from all parties at each stage. We've summarised the typical steps involved when buying or selling a property below.
Choosing the right mortgage
Finding a mortgage provider and then getting a mortgage in principle are usually the first steps in buying a house. You can get recommendations on which mortgage is best for you from an Independent Financial Advisor, broker or lender or you can research this yourself.
Making an offer on a property
This step usually takes the longest, but for good reason. Finding a property you want to buy can be time consuming but we always recommend taking as much time as you need for this step. Once you've found a property that suits your needs, let us know and we'd be happy to put in an offer on your behalf or you can do this step yourself.
Property surveys and submitting searches
After your offer has been accepted, we can then arrange for a surveyor to inspect the property. This survey will give you additional information about the property that you might not have initially been aware of. We recommend getting a Home Buyers Report or full structural survey for complete transparency about the property. We can then submit searches relating to the property to see if there are any local or planning issues that could impact the property's value.
Finalising the offer and the mortgage
With all of the information you've received up to this point, it's time to finalise your offer and mortgage. If any of the reports suggest there are issues with the property that might affect the price, then any renegotiations must be done at this stage.
Agree on a completion date
A completion date for the sale of the property must be agreed upon with the seller. When deciding on a completion date, it's important you take into account the length of the chain and leave time for any issues to be resolved that have been identified in a survey, for example.
Reviewing and signing documents
You'll have several documents to look through with a conveyancer before finally signing them. With every house purchase, it's likely you'll have to sign and review a contract, Transfer and Mortgage Deed alongside any other additional documents.
Ensure that you review the plans of the house as part of this step as they'll show the property and its grounds in detail. Once you've signed the contracts, it's a case of exchanging them with the seller.
Exchanging contracts
When the contracts are signed and exchanged between the two parties, it's also time for the deposit to be paid. This exchange of signed contracts legally commits the buyer and seller to the transaction. If you're using the sale of an existing property to fund your latest purchase, you'll need to ensure that contracts for both properties are exchanged simultaneously.
Completion of sale and final steps
In order to complete the transaction, you must do the following:
- Ensure your mortgage money is transferred to the conveyancer and the purchase funds are sent over to the seller's conveyancer.
- Transfer property deeds between conveyancers to finalise change in property ownership.
- Check that the Stamp Duty Tax (SDLT) is with the HMRC and that the purchase and mortgage have been registered with the Land Registry.
Inform your mortgage provider
Letting your mortgage provider know that you want to sell your house is the first step in any property sale. Find out how much left there is to pay on your mortgage and if there are any early redemption charges that could impact the sale.
Have your property valuated
Getting your property valuated should be a priority when selling your house. It will give you an accurate idea of what your property is worth - you could even get it valuated several times by different estate agents for a more comprehensive idea of the price.
Decide on an asking price and put the property on the market
Set your asking price using your valuations and then decide how you'd like to advertise your property. Using an estate agent is often the most popular way of displaying your property but you'll have to sign a contract with the agent that establishes their terms.
Gather documents
Get together all the documentation you have for the property as a priority. This will ensure that you have everything all in one place when your property is sold. You should gather documents like planning consents, building regulation certificates and other guarantees and servicing information, for example. You will also have to complete any and all relevant forms and questionnaires provided to you regarding your property.
Accept an offer and take the property off the market
Once you've accepted an offer you'll have to remove the property from the market. At this point, conveyancers for both parties will draw up the legal contracts needed to transfer ownership of the property.
Answer the buyers questions about the property
It's the sellers responsibility to answer the buyers questions about the property. Your appointed conveyancer will be handle any of the questions they can, but there's likely to be some that only you as the seller can give an accurate answer to.
Negotiate a completion date
Agree on a completion date for the sale by discussing with yours and the buyers conveyancer. Always factor in the length of the chance and any issues flagged by the surveys when navigating this step.
Review and exchange of contracts
Ensure you review all contracts with legal support present to check all the details are correct. You won't be committed to the sale until the contracts are formally exchanged.
If you're moving to another property once yours is sold, make sure that the contracts for both properties are ready to be exchanged at the same time.
Completion and final steps
The final steps for the seller are to:
- Change ownership of the property
- Accept payment
- Transfer deeds of the property between conveyancers
- Hand keys over to the estate agents