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A typical house purchase will take approximately 6–10 weeks. Your Conveyancer’s job is to give you all the information you need to assist with the legal process. We will communicate with the other parties’ Conveyancer. As well as your lender, mortgage broker and estate agent on your behalf. We’ll keep everyone involved, updated.
You may be surprised to hear however that, as your Conveyancer, we are not just responsible for the legal work or preparing the documents. There are many things that go on behind the scenes.
Part of our role is to investigate. We check that work carried out on a property has documentation to show that it meets required standards, and has planning permission and building regulation compliance. These can include any previous extensions, replacement windows, electrical wiring, replacement gas appliances, replacement roof, and installation of heating appliances.
We also investigate if there are any financial obligations on the property for future maintenance of roads, drainage systems or amenity areas in the vicinity.
Your Conveyancer will look into environmental and other matters. Such as whether the property is subject to flood risks, subsidence or contaminated land. We check if there are any protected trees on the property or sewers running through the property. We also look into whether there is any potential developments within the immediate vicinity and whether there are any public footpaths, private footpaths or other rights of way which could affect your property and privacy.
Conveyancers investigate whether there are any onerous restrictions in the title, imposed by the developer or the local authority. These could limit what you wish to do. For example the property could have restrictions against use or future building. It could be in a conservation area or could have protected trees within the boundaries.
Regulated Conveyancers will put measures into place to protect you against fraud. We check to ensure that the seller is entitled to sell the property and that the money is going to the legal owner.
Whilst you are preparing to physically move house on the completion day, your Conveyancer is busy ensuring that monies are received and paid out promptly. This will help to avoid delays in you receiving the keys to your new property. If you are involved in a chain of sales and purchases, it is quite likely that you will not receive the keys until the afternoon.
A Conveyancer’s job is not finished when you get the keys. We now pay the Stamp Duty Land Tax and register the documentation at the Land Registry. You should expect these documents back from the Land Registry within about three weeks. We will also send a copy of the title deeds to your mortgage lender.
If you are considering buying or selling a house please contact our Conveyancing team for a competitive quote.
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