The three stages of residential conveyancing
If you have decided to move to a new home, have had an offer accepted on somewhere suitable and have a buyer for your current home, you may be wondering what happens next. Conveyancers can help you with the next steps, but what is conveyancing and what are the three stages of the sale process?
Conveyancing is the method of transferring a property from one legal owner to another. The three stages of the process are as follows:
Agreeing the sale
Once the sale has been agreed, it is time to get some help from a conveyancing company such as Sam Conveyancing. Whether you choose a local conveyancer or online conveyancing, the conveyancer will put together a legal information pack that will go to your buyer’s solicitor. This will include forms you will be asked to complete with information on the property and any planning and building consents that have been granted.
You will also be asked to complete a questionnaire regarding the fixtures and fittings in your home and whether you will be taking them with you or leaving them in the house.
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The pack also includes a copy of the title and a contract of sale. Your conveyancer will work with the buyer’s solicitor to make sure any questions are answered and to move forward with agreeing a completion date, which can change throughout the process.
Exchange of contracts
Once all the sale details have been checked and agreed, the next step is the exchange of contracts.
Your conveyancing company will receive your buyer’s deposit at this point. If you have a mortgage on the property you are selling, your conveyancer will contact your mortgage lender for a settlement figure.
The next step for the conveyancing company is to exchange the signed contracts from the seller and the buyer. The completion date is set; at this point, it is very difficult for either party to back out as the sale has become legally binding.
The conveyancing company will have asked the seller to sign a transfer deed, which will be handed over on completion to enable the buyer’s name to be put on the deeds.
Completion
The completion date that has been agreed is the date that the buyer’s solicitor will send across the balance of the purchase price to your conveyancing company. Your conveyancer will use this to pay any fees, such as your mortgage redemption, estate agents’ fees and their own fees.
The buyer’s solicitor then receives the deeds, which they will use to change the names and information on.
