Conveyancing meaning – what is it?
Conveyancing Meaning – If you’re buying your first home, you’re probably wondering where on earth to even start – and the fact everything is tucked neatly under legal jargon doesn’t help.
Well, quite simply, conveyancing is the name given to the area of law that is dedicated to the transfer of land and buildings.
Sometimes you’ll see it referred to as property law, and other times you’ll see it referred to as simply conveyancing.
So, what does it all mean?
Before exploring the meaning of conveyancing, if you are looking to move home, Conveyancing Solicitors Near Me will connect you free of charge with specialist conveyancing solicitors.
Please either call us now on 0845 1391399 or complete a Free Online Enquiry.
What Is Conveyancing?
Put simply, conveyancing can be difficult.
Buying a house is a stressful process, and without knowing how everything works, it can seem painfully laborious.
Most of us rarely deal with solicitors. The most common time for doing so is when you’re buying, selling, or transferring land or property.
You can be a licensed conveyancer without being a qualified solicitor, and this is common in many law firms today.
The process of purchasing a house could take as little as 6 weeks, which includes:
- A mortgage valuation
- Preparing a contract for sale
- Compilation of the transfer document and completion statement
But it’ll likely take longer than this to complete. Delays in the purchase or sale of land and property occur for a variety of reasons. Including how many people are in the chain of purchasing.
It’s wise to seek legal advice at the earliest opportunity if you’re planning on buying, selling or letting property or land.
If you’re planning to buy with a mortgage, then it will be a requirement of the lender for you to appoint a conveyancer. In this case, the conveyancer will be acting for the mortgage AND you. But you’ll be the one required to pay the conveyancer’s fees.
Those fees will depend on the value of the transaction, and they’ll vary from firm to firm – there’s no set rate.
It’s worth noting that it’s not just conveyancing fees that you’ll need to be aware of, there’s also land registry charges, mortgage arrangement fees, valuation fees, search fees, and other costs.
The Process Of Conveyancing
The process of conveyancing is as follows:
- First, instruct a solicitor/conveyancer when you’ve decided to buy or sell a house
- Your solicitor/conveyancer will then receive a contract and copies of the legal title before raising enquiries and carrying out searches
- Once all searches have been completed, you’ll apply for a mortgage. Your lender will carry out a valuation of the property to ensure it’s worth the amount you’ve agreed to pay
- After you’ve met all of the lender’s conditions, your conveyancer will send you a copy of your important documents, including The Sellers Property Information Form, a Fixtures, Fittings and Contents Form, the Mortgage Deed and transfer for signing
- Your lender will conduct anti-money laundering checks. Then once all conveyancers in the chain have everything finalised, a date for completion can be agreed and contracts exchanged
- You’ll then complete your purchase or sale, with your conveyancer arranging for the funds to be transferred on the day of competition
After your sale or purchase is completed, your conveyancer will sort out the payment of Stamp Duty and the registration of your ownership, or registration of the new owners.
For remortgaging, the process is a lot more straightforward.
What Does A Conveyancer Do?
A conveyancer does a lot of things. This includes handling all of the legal aspects of the sale, purchase, and letting of property and land.
They’ll also deal with the mandatory searches that are required, including:
- Local Authority search. This provides information on planning issues, railway proximity, and road works that may affect your property
- Water and Drainage search. This will reveal whether the property is connected to public sewers and mains drainage
- Environmental search. This will include vital information on whether the land is prone to flooding or if it’s contaminated. Whether there are any environmental issues to be aware of.
They might also recommend Coal Mining and Chancel Repair Liability searches. This depends on the location and type of property or land.
Conveyancing fees will differ depending on the value of property/land, the location, the individual law firm/conveyancer, and the searches you’re conducting.
The majority of conveyancers will ask for funds to cover the costs of searches (around £300-£400), and a deposit for your fees might be paid before the balance is paid around the time of completion.
Find Conveyancing Solicitors Near Me Now
If you’re looking for a conveyancing solicitor near you, then we’ve got you covered…
To be connected to a specialist conveyancing solicitor near to where you live, please either call us now on 0845 1391399 or complete a Free Online Enquiry.
