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In part 2 of our property conveyancing guide we look at what is involved in the closing stages of the home buying and selling process. You may wish to read Part 1 of the Property Conveyancing Guide here.

Signing the contract

Once your lawyer is satisfied that all of his enquiries have been dealt with; he has seen satisfactory search results and he is in possession of his copy of the formal offer of mortgage you will be invited to sign the contract and various other papers. This will either be in person or through the post. You should also receive a report, often called a “property report” at this stage which will set out any salient points arising from the searches and enquiries.

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What is “conveyancing”? – Simply, it is the legal process of transferring ownership of land and property.

Instructing a lawyer

Once you have decided on a property, made an offer and had that offer accepted it’s time to instruct a lawyer. This can be either a solicitor or a licensed conveyancer. You should try not to pay over the odds for property conveyancing work. When obtaining a quote you should be given a fixed fee but ask for a list of any additional fees charged for different aspects of the transaction.

Some firms might charge an extra fee for completing the SDLT1 form for example, even though this will not need to be done in every case. These additional fees can really push up the final bill. An average bill for professional fees only (i.e not including addtional search fees, land registry fees etc) would probably be around £300-£400 at the moment.

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A transfer of equity is a transaction where legal ownership of a property changes hands but at least one of the original owners remains on the title. For example where a couple transfer it into the sole name of one or other of them or a person is added to the title.

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There may be some instances whilst you are living in your home that you want to know the boundaries of your property. You may be looking into an extension on your home or you may have some extravagant landscape gardening in mind. It is important that you understand the rules behind property boundaries in the UK to avoid any property boundary disputes.

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You’ve recently discovered that your house is sitting on top of a mine; or you’ve known all along but you’ve never really been concerned about it, but now, your house is starting to sink – what do you do? Sadly, this isn’t just the stuff of nightmares, this is something many people have had to face and will have to face in the future. With so many mines in use and disused across the UK (171,000 coal entries are recorded, but it is thought that there could be more), houses are sinking all the time, but would you know if this was happening to you and what can you do?

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These days most properties are registered at Land Registry. In fact any property that has been sold or mortgaged since 1999 will have to be (unless a solicitor has made a mistake somewhere along the line). If you are selling a property that is registered at Land Registry then you don’t need to produce the title deeds, in fact these will not be sufficient. Instead you will need to produce Official Copies of various documents held by the Land Registry in respect of your property.

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When buying a property which is leasehold, it will be registered with one of two classes of title – absolute leasehold or good leasehold. Ideally you will want the property to have absolute title however in the event that it is good leasehold this needn’t be a deal breaker. You may be able to insure against the risks which it presents or you may be able to upgrade to absolute title.

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Generally when buying a property the sales particulars will tell you whether it is leasehold or freehold. If the property is a flat or maisonette however, you will sometimes see it described as “share of freehold”. This can be confusing to many buyers. Does it mean they will be getting a freehold flat with no lease? Does it mean you will be your own landlord? In fact it is just a term invented by estate agents to try and make a leasehold property seem more attractive.

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When the owner of a property dies all of his assets, including any land he owns pass either in accordance with his will or if he has not left a valid will, to his next of kin in accordance with the rules of intestacy.

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A contract for the sale of goods does not have to be in writing. It can be verbal or it can even be implied by the actions of the parties. For example when you go into a shop you might not speak to the assistant but by you handing over money and him/her handing over the goods the law assumes that a contract was intended and the terms of that contract are implied by certain statutory rules.

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If you are buying or selling a property then, unless you are planning to do your own conveyancing, you’ll need to instruct a conveyancer (i.e. a solicitor or licensed conveyancer) to represent you. So with thousands of law firms out there to choose from, how do you go about getting a conveyancing quote? First you need to decide what you’re looking for. Do you want a local firm, whose offices you can visit, or would you rather do everything by phone, post and email?

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