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.
We are in the process of buying a shared ownership new build, the solicitor has all our signed documents and is ready to exchange but is advising us not to as the housing association don't yet own the property. She is advising that we wait until ownership has been passed to them from the developer. Problem is that the housing association have given us a deadline to exchange, and have said they would re market the property if we don't exchange by the deadline. I've managed to extend the deadline by a week but the new deadline is next Tuesday and our solicitor is still saying to wait. Not sure what to do as we don't want to loose the house
It is difficult to offer a definitive opinion on this without sight of the file so I would say trust your lawyer. It sounds like the housing association is the seller but is not registered as the owner of the property it intends to sell. If it is still not registered as owner on completion then you have a problem because you may be obliged to pay over the purchase price but you can't be registered as the owner until after the housing associations' application is completed. If there is a problem with that application there is a risk you may never be able to register your ownership, so the asset you have paid so much money for is worthless. More likely, there may be a significant delay before you can register which could cause you problems and also (assuming you are buying with a mortgage) cause your lender problems. Your lawyer may well take the view (rightly in my opinion) that he cannot use the mortgage advance to complete the purchase unless and until the seller is the registered owner so that by exchanging contracts you take the risk that you will not have the money to be able to complete and you could lose your deposit. It is possible to build safeguards into the contract (as I say, one would need all the facts to make a clear judgement) but without these safeguards you are at risk. No doubt you will be told by those not employed to protect your interests that "other buyers have already exchanged and their lawyers didn't have problem" but a) where is the proof? and b) will it be a consolation to you if you lose your deposit to know that you are not the only one?