What To Expect During Conveyancing

The first thing you need to know about conveyancing is that it is the process of transferring ownership from a seller to a buyer. The second thing is that you can either use a conveyancer or a conveyancing solicitor. A conveyancer only handles the transfer of ownership from a seller to a buyer, while a conveyancing solicitor can handle both the transfer of ownership and legal issues that may arise. The latter can represent you in court, while a conveyancer cannot.

First Steps of the Conveyancing Process

You as the buyer might be looking for a house with the help of a real estate agent. You come across a house you like and are interested in purchasing it. Of course, your visual inspection is not enough to assure you of the lack of problems.

The first thing you should do is contact a reputable conveyancing company. Inform them that you have spotted a house and you need their help in completing the conveyancing process. Expect to have a question-and-answer session, receive forms to fill out and make an initial payment (a fee to the conveyancing company for its services).

After this stage, the conveyancing company requests a draft contract and other relevant documentation from the seller's conveyancer. You are asked to read it and ask all the questions you might have. If you cannot understand any clauses or statements, your conveyancer can interpret them for you.

Your conveyancer then carries out searches and investigates the title. Your conveyancer also sends any enquiries you had to the seller's conveyancer for clarification. Once these enquiries have been fully answered and the searches indicate the property is good to buy, a report will be drawn up and presented to you by your conveyancer.

How Are You Paying for the Property?

The next step is signing the transfer of ownership contract and setting a date of completion of payment. If you are getting a loan from a mortgage company, your conveyancer ensures that the funds will be available at the dates set. You might also be required to have a particular percentage of the sale amount during the contract signing. The amount is usually 10% in most cases.

After signing the contract, the conveyancing process is made legally binding. If it is a house you were purchasing, the keys are given to you by the real estate agent upon completion of payment.

If you are not taking out a mortgage because you have the full amount, you can send the full amount to the conveyancer during the signing and exchange of the transfer of ownership contract.