Conveyancers
The legal process of buying and selling a property is called conveyancing. Conveyancer is the generic term given to either a conveyancing solicitor or licenced conveyancer.
All solicitors practising law in England and Wales must also be registered with the Law Society.
There are separate societies for Northern Ireland and Scotland.
As soon as you place an offer on a property, your estate agent will ask for your conveyancer's details to pass onto the seller's conveyancer.
It's therefore wise to establish contact with a professional before you start looking for a property to avoid having to make this important decision in a rush.
A conveyancer's job is to take care of all legal aspects of moving house, which include:
Local search
Land charges search
Land registry
Stamp duty
One of the best means of finding a suitable conveyancer is through a personal recommendation, so ask friends and family who have bought a property in the area or the estate agent or mortgage broker.
Apart from the conveyancing work there is also the lender's legal work to be done.
Your conveyancer could act for the lender, which should save you money. The principal task is to draw up a mortgage deed, which sets out the conditions of your loan. The lender will hold this and the title deeds of your property until the loan is paid in full.
Cost
Fees for conveyancing work vary, so it's a good idea to obtain at least three quotes from different companies.
Make sure that you know what costs the quote includes. You will usually be charged for the conveyancer's time, phone calls, letters and faxes and their indemnity fee.
They may state that if any unforeseen problems arise these will be dealt with through an extra charge.
For a property costing £100,000, you should expect to pay about £550 in fees.
However, the cost will also depend on whether your property is leasehold or freehold. Leasehold properties will cost more as they involve additional work checking the lease.
Most conveyancers will ask for payment of land registry and local authority search fees in advance. The balance will be due when you've completed on your home.
Don't be tempted to opt for professionals that are offering a 'cheap deal'. This could mean that they are dealing with many clients, which will more often than not result in a slow service.
Once you've chosen a conveyancer they will ask to see some form of identification, such as a passport or driving licence, and your mortgage lender's details. Most importantly, you will also need your chequebook.
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