Freehold Sale Conveyancing

Topics Covered on this page:

• Introduction                                                 
• Obtaining Instructions                                       
• Obtaining Official Copies                             
• Checking Official Copies                             
• Preparing a Contract Package                     
• Dealing with Pre-Contract Enquiries 
• Exchanging Contracts
• Preparing for Completion
• Mortgage Redemption Statements
• Completion Statements           
• Replies to Requisitions
• Transfer Deed
• Completion 
• Post Completion                                              

Introduction to the Freehold Sale Conveyancing Tutorial

What follows in this page is a comprehensive guide to carrying out the conveyancing in the sale of a freehold property. It is separated into sections, so that the reader may study the whole document, or else skip to those topics which are of particular interest. In theory, this page should provide sufficient guidance to allow a layman to conduct his own diy sale conveyancing, however this course of action is not without risk. Some of the more common pitfalls are discussed in a separate page - DIY Conveyancing Risks . It is recommended that anyone planning to try diy conveyancing reads this page first. Whilst it is hoped that I have covered the majority of issues here, it is impossible to cover everything, therefore if you do not find the answer you seek, please use the link on the right to contact me by e-mail.

For Conveyancers - Obtaining Instructions

As with any matter which a conveyancer would deal with on behalf of a client, the first stage is of course to obtain written instructions. As well as obtaining the seller's signature to your terms of business, you should ask him to complete the Sellers Property Information Form, the Fixtures, Fittings and Contents Form (together known as the protocol forms) and a Disclosable Overriding Interests Form. In addition you should obtain confirmation of the full property address, sale price, the selling agent's details and details of any financial charges secured on the property with account numbers.

Whether or not you operate on a no exchange, no fee basis it is wise to collect a sum of money to cover the costs of disbursements (expenses) you will incur prior to exchange. As a minimum, you should collect £6.00, which will cover the cost of the Official Copies which will be needed for all transactions, however there may be other documents that will need to be obtained. Having funds on account can save time further down the line.

Obtaining Official Copies

The first stage in carrying out a sale conveyancing transaction is to obtain copies of the registers of title to the property ("Official Copies") from H M Land Registry. If you do not have an account set up with them then you will need to go to the land registry forms and publications area and complete and print the form OC1. To find out which land registry office to send the form to, visit the land registry office finder page. When completing form OC1 you do not need to fill in boxes 1 and 2, nor do you need to put the OS map reference in box 3. At the time of writing the fee to be placed in box 4 is £6.00. Up to date information can be found in the land registry fees ready reference guide. You must complete your address details in box 5 (key number can be left blank). In 7 tick the box for the freehold estate, in 8 tick the first box indicating that you require a back dated Official Copy and in 9 tick the first 2 boxes to request a copy of the register and plan.

Checking the Official Copies

The "Official Copies" link on the left is a full tutorial on checking official copies, including a sample Official Copy and is recommended reading. When carrying out sale conveyancing, you need only perform a basic check, since it is up to the purchaser's conveyancer to pick up on any defects etc. You should check that the property address matches that of the property being sold, that the names of the proprietors match those of your clients, whether there are any restrictions on sale and that the financial charges actually registered match those which your client will have advised you of. Beware particularly of second charges to protect secured loans as many clients will not realise such a charge has been registered. It is a good idea also to check for any documents which the purchaser's conveyancer might request copies of. If you have the title deeds and the documents are with them you should send copies with the contract papers. Otherwise you should obtain copies from land registry.

Preparing the Sale Contract Package

The sale contract package should include the draft contract itself, the Official Copies, copies of any other title documents, the originals of the Sellers Property Information Form and Fixtures, Fittings and Contents Form completed by the seller (copies should of course be retained) and copies of any guarantees, planning permissions etc which the clients may have supplied. It should be noted that you will be asked to forward the originals of such documents to the buyer's conveyancers on completion of the sale and so if only copies have been supplied the originals should be requested from the seller.

At this point of a sale conveyancing transaction you should write to the holders of any charges over the property to request preliminary Redemption Statements for budgeting purposes. A new figure will usually need to be obtained once the completion date is known, which will not be for several weeks, however obtaining a figure at this stage will avoid any surprises following exchange of contracts. The title deeds should also now be requested.

Dealing with Pre-Contract Enquiries

Once the buyer's conveyancer has received the sale contract package he will usually wish to raise some pre-contract enquiries. According to the National Conveyancing Protocol these should be limited to enquiries on the title, and matters that could not  reasonably be dealt with by the buyer's own inspections and surveys. This means that the solicitor should only be raising either legal points, such as suggesting amendments to the contract for sale, asking for copies of documents referred to in the property  title, queries about rights and covenants etc, or else points arising from comments the seller has made in the Seller's Property Information form, for example if the seller has said the property has an extension the buyer's conveyancer might ask to see the planning permission and building regulations consent, or if the seller has said there has been a dispute with a neighbour the buyer's conveyancer might ask for details of how it was resolved. He may also raise pre-contract enquiries based on information received from any other source such as the results of the conveyancing searches or the estate agent's particulars.

Some of the enquiries raised will be for the conveyancer to deal with, while others should be passed to the seller.

The seller's conveyancer should not answer, nor ask his client to answer, any standard pre-contract enquiry sheets. Some conveyancers have a list of standard pre-contract enquiries, a copy of which they will pass to the seller's conveyancer on every transaction. Aside from the fact that they may well not even be relevant, making the exercise a waste of time, they are often designed to trap the seller into making representations which he is not in a position to make. A common example might be a question that reads "Is the central heating in good working order?". The seller will often happily answer "Yes" believing it to be true. By answering yes however the seller is implying that he knows it to be in good working order, because he has had it inspected by a qualified engineer, and not merely that he has no reason to believe it is not. If a fault then comes to light following completion, the seller would be liable.

If a buyer's conveyancer refuses to proceed without a standard pre-contract enquiry form being completed by the seller then the seller should be as non-committal as possible, for example in response to the central heating query he might answer "To the best of my knowledge but I have not had the system inspected therefore I can offer no warranty". The seller's conveyancer should check the seller's replies for instances where he may be accepting a liability for something he should not.

Following the introduction of the Land Registration (Amendment) Rules 2008, which came into effect on 10th November 2008, it is necessary for any party to the transaction (including any lenders whose mortgages are being discharged by DS1/3 as opposed to END) to be identified - that means that if they are not represented by a conveyancer they must provide a completed form ID1 (for individuals) or ID2 (for corporate bodies). That form must be submitted to the land registry along with the application for registration the purchaser's solicitor will require it prior to exchange of contracts.

Exchanging of Conveyancing Contracts

Once the pre-contract enquiries have been dealt with, the seller has signed the contract, and provisional redemption figures have been obtained for all mortgages secured on the property, the seller's conveyancer is ready to exchange contracts. Exchange is the point at which the contract becomes binding on all parties. It is likely that the seller's conveyancer will be ready before the buyer's conveyancer since the buyer's conveyancer has the bulk of the work to do. Even though the seller has signed the contract, and you may have discussed exchange with him previously, it is good practice to speak to him on the day of exchange to ensure his position has not changed. For more on exchanging, see the topic "Exchanging Contracts ".

Preparing for Completion of a Conveyancing Sale

Mortgage Redemption Statements

Immediately following exchange an up to date redemption statement should be applied for. Completion should not take place unless an up to date statement is received. At the least the entire sale proceeds should be retained by the seller's solicitors until the redemption statement is received.

Sale Conveyancing Completion Statement

The seller's conveyancer should prepare for his client a completion statement, which should show all the incomings and outgoings for the transaction, and the bottom line should be the balance due to the client. This will allow the client to see a breakdown of how the balance to him has been calculated and allow him chance to query any figures, for example if he believes the mortgage redemption figure to be wrong, or the estate agent's fee (which it is usual for the seller's conveyancer to pay on the seller's behalf, though there is no obligation to do so). The completion statement will also be a useful checklist for the conveyancer since it will list all the items that have to be paid from the sale proceeds and will tell him exactly how much to transfer to his client. Click here for an example completion statement.

Conveyancing Property Transfer Deed

Once contracts are exchanged, the seller's conveyancer must prepare the file for completion. Firstly he must arrange for the seller to sign the Transfer Deed . This is prepared by the buyer's conveyancer as a draft, traditionally following exchange but these days usually beforehand, and it must be approved by the seller's conveyancer. If after exchange the buyer's solicitors have still not supplied a draft deed then the seller's conveyancer must ensure that this is done or else draft their own. Completion should not take place without a signed transfer deed.

Replies to Requisitions on Title

If not already done, then following exchange of contracts the buyer's conveyancer will raise with the seller's conveyancer "Requisitions on Title ". This is a standard set of questions, the most important of which are asking for confirmation of what deeds will be provided on completion, a request for undertakings to repay all charges secured on the property, and a request for the bank details for the payment of the purchase monies.

Completion of the Sale

On the day of completion, the buyer's conveyancer will transfer the purchase monies by CHAPS/telegraphic transfer to the seller's conveyancer's account. The latest time for completion of the sale will be fixed in the contract, but effectively completion takes place when the funds are received by the seller's conveyancer and when the seller has vacated and delivered the keys to the estate agent (or to anywhere else that is agreed between buyer and seller. On receipt of funds, the seller's conveyancer should telephone the estate agents to authorise them to release the keys to the buyer, the buyer's conveyancer so that he can inform his client, and of course the seller. He should then ensure that the mortgage is repaid on the day of completion and that he submits a form DS1 to the lender for sealing, unless the lender uses END (in which case they will lodge evidence of discharge of their charge electronically. For a fuller discussion on completion, including dealing with any problems that might occur, visit the "Completion" page.

Post Completion

Barring any problems, all that the seller's conveyancer need do post completion is to ensure that the discharge document/s are obtained from the lenders in respect of any financial charges paid off on completion, and that these are forwarded to the buyer's conveyancer. Once this is done the seller's conveyancer will normally archive his file.

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