Whether you're a layman looking to understand your own transaction or a lawyer needing assistance with a client's conveyancing our step by step sale and purchase guides will lead you through the process while our mini guides will break the whole thing into manageable chunks and give a deep insight into the key issues and stages. Leasehold, freehold, unregistered, registered – we've got it all covered.
Need help with a remortgage or transfer of equity / deed of gift? Our guides will walk you through the process and highlight some of the common pitfalls. Mortgages and transfers can be very simple procedures but complex issues can sometimes arise and mistakes are easily made. These guides will help you deal with them.
So you want to have a go at your own conveyancing? First you should read about the risks, then if you're still happy to proceed, our guides will take you through each stage of the process telling you what to look out for and helping you avoid falling into expensive traps. Our subscription service will give you access to all of the documents you should need for your conveyancing and we can even supply you with the Land Registry Official Copies you'll need. Our general guides will cover all the obstacles you are likely to face and offer a practical solution. Have a look at our sale and purchase guides too.
A big part of the conveyancing process is the conveyancing searches. This section tells you all about them. What they are, how and when to order them and how to interpret the results. Each search has its own guide and you'll see they are separated into Standard (should be done in every case), Regional (area specific) and Optional (not essential but often useful tools for the would be purchaser). All buyers should beware that when you buy a property, the law assumes that you have seen the information that would have been revealed by searches whether or not you have actually carried them out, so you buy the property subject to the results.
Using a conveyancer to handle your conveyancing will greatly reduce the risk to you and sometimes, particularly if you are taking out a new mortgage, you will have no choice but to instruct a conveyancer. The good news is it doesn't have to break the bank. Get a free, instant quote here. We can also help with quick easy quotes for other moving related services.
Are you looking for the documents you'll need for your conveyancing transaction? Or official copies of the title or other documents from Land Registry. We can help you. Follow the links below.
Dear sir or madam,
Please advise me as I have been representing myself in my house sale and purchase and carrying out all the pre-contract conveyancing successfully, dealing with the contract documents, enquiries, searches, etc.
However as we are now ready to exchange contracts, my buyers' solicitors have told me that I must instruct a conveyancing solicitor to handle the money transactions and various payments, and most importantly the undertaking to discharge my mortgage. That is because the buyers' lender has requested that.
I know that according to the Law Society I am within my legal rights to represent myself and do all the conveyancing work for my sale and purchase.
Can you please advise me what can I do now if I do not want to pay huge solicitors fees just to handle money transaction, which I could easily do myself. Also I have reassured them that I will be undertaking to fully discharge the mortgage using the Law Society form TA13.
I look forward to your kind reply, with many thanks.
Regards
Mr F Kozmi
The reason they want an undertaking from a solicitor to redeem the mortgage is that such an undertaking is enforceable in the courts and is backed by the solicitor's professional indemnity insurance, or the solicitor compensation fund. So if a solicitor defaults on an undertaking to redeem a mortgage the buyer's solicitor knows that either the insurers or the compensation fund will pay. If you as an individual disappear into the sunset with the buyer's money and leave the mortgage unpaid there is no protection, so your undertaking has little practical value and if the buyer's solicitor accepts it and you don't pay, he will be guilty of negligence and liable to his buyer and lender client for the debt.
You could ask if the buyer's solicitor is prepared to act as your agent and repay the mortgage before sending the balance of the sale proceeds to you but he might not be prepared to do that. Otherwise you'll need to instruct a lawyer.