These notes are
provided as practical advice for you to read and to retain to assist
you during the course of your purchase. We know from experience that
they should answer many of the most common queries our clients have and
should help smooth your path. If you are in doubt at all on any point
please contact us for advice. Obviously advice appropriate to your
particular purchase transaction will be readily provided as the matter
progresses.
We shall try to keep you advised on progress and you may rest assured
that if any serious problem comes to our attention during the course of
the transaction you will be notified immediately. Please feel free to
contact us at any time about the current position but try not to expect
unreasonable time scales. There are hundreds of individual steps on
both sides to be attended to (multiplied by the number of chain
transactions) - most, you will be relieved to hear, you will never have
to concern yourself with, as they are dealt with for you by lawyers but
you may find the table at the end useful as a guide to the sequence of
events in an average transaction (not all the steps may be appropriate
to your transaction of course).
A final point to mention before going on. You will find that we keep
careful records of personal details on a computer database here. The
accuracy of these records is vital to us and to the progress of your
transaction. Please check them very carefully and let us know of errors
and omissions. Try to remember to keep them up to date. If you move we
will need to know where. For example it is really surprising how many
clients we discover (usually late in the transaction) who have not told
us all their correct names, drop names, use different spellings of
their names or nicknames apparently interchangeably or tell their
Lenders one version of their names and tell us something different. If
you are not sure of your own names check your passport and try to stick
to these at least until we have finished your transaction!
As your transaction progresses we shall provide you with advice notes
and reminders when important steps are reached. We can provide these
earlier on request.
Time has moved on enormously bringing many changes since the first
edition of these notes 25 years go and we now can email instantaneously
almost all letters legal forms and advice notes to those who use the
internet. We are moving towards totally electronic conveyancing but it
is likely to be a few years before it is achieved.
l 1. PRIVATE SURVEY
1. Need for a survey of building
2. Special reports
3. New properties
4. National House Building & similar Guarantees
You are strongly recommended to obtain a full independent Building
Survey of the property from a Chartered Surveyor if you are buying a
house that is not new. Even if you consider that the property is sound
yourself you must realise that the property may have hidden defects
which can only be discovered by an expert. We shall be happy to
recommend someone to you to carry out a survey for you. You will have
to pay his fee whether you proceed or not but this is modest compared
with the cost of remedying a severe defect in the property which might
otherwise be missed. If you are buying a house or a flat there is a
special type of "RICS/ISVA HomeBuyer Survey and Valuation" available
from Chartered Surveyors which you can take advantage of at a moderate
cost. Sometimes it is possible to combine a Lenders Valuation with such
a survey or report and as this should be more economic you are
recommended to ask your Lender about this as it may not always be
offered to you voluntarily.
Please do not send us full or lengthy Survey Reports or Valuation
Reports as it is not practical for us to read them (you will appreciate
they mainly cover matters unrelated to our conveyancing work). If
though, after you have received and carefully read your
Survey/Valuation, you wish us to take up any specifically legal points
on your Survey/Valuation with us please just send a written note
setting out your query or quoting the points you want us to advise upon
or provide a photocopy of the relevant page or two containing specific
conveyancing queries you or your Surveyor/Valuer has raised. Surveyors
and Valuers often include a general section titled something like
"Legal & Other Matters" which you may care to copy to us if it
contains any specific matters which we may need to consider.
You are also recommended to ask a competent engineer to inspect any
facilities (e.g. drains fitted electrical apparatus or central heating
system) you are acquiring with the property and you should ensure that
where appropriate these have been properly serviced in the past. It is
quite common for Buyers to discover faulty, even occasionally
dangerous, fixtures appliances and equipment in property they are
buying and the responsibility rests with you alone to have this
thoroughly checked. It is also wise to have the electrical system
checked and this should be considered essential if the property is
over, say, twenty years old.
Freehold properties less than ten years old and new properties should
have a National House Builders Council Buildmark Guarantee. Broadly,
following completion, the 10 year N.H.B.C. Buildmark Cover provides
that the N.H.B.C. will guarantee the property against building defects
(falling below NHBC standards) during the first two years of cover and
thereafter provides a guarantee only against structural defects (i.e.
those affecting the load bearing structure of the property). If the
property was inspected for Local Authority Building Control purposes
during construction there are certain other safeguards. There are other
benefits from the NHBC Buildmark Guarantee. If applicable full
information will be provided before you are committed at exchange of
contracts. A Certificate is provided following completion. A similar
sort of Guarantee on new houses is also offered elsewhere notably by
Zurich Insurance.
l 2. LOCAL AUTHORITY & OTHER SEARCHES
1. Nuisances
2. Use of nearby property
3. Services
It is wise to check use of adjacent and nearby property in case there
is any activity which might interfere with your enjoyment of the
property after you have acquired it. Consider carefully whether you
will be happy putting up with a possible nuisance, e.g. a busy road,
school or public house. Note that the searches and enquiries that we
make on your behalf relate exclusively to the property you are buying
and do not deal with the use of nearby properties. If you suspect that
there might be a change of use of adjacent or nearby land in the
future, or if there is vacant land and you are concerned about this,
then we must be told so that we can make specific enquiries. A sketch
plan showing the land with which you are concerned will help us to
locate the same. We shall need to have this information as early as
possible to allow us to make enquiries and an additional fee may be
incurred to the Local Authority. Alternatively you could, perhaps more
quickly and simply, pay a visit to the local authority planning
department (usually the District Authority) and ask to look through
their file of planning applications for the neighbourhood which should
give you a wider check than the standard conveyancing process permits.
There are special searches we can make during the course of a
transaction these days which you will be advised about at the
appropriate times.
Try to visit the property which you wish to buy at least twice on
different days and at different times of day. On the second or
subsequent occasions you will be better able to judge a property
critically.
If you finally decide to change your mind and look for somewhere else
to buy do not hesitate do let us and everyone else e.g. estate agent
involved know of your decision.
Gas electricity and telephone connections are normally obvious and no
separate enquiry is normally made of each separate authority which
would be time consuming, expensive and unnecessary in the vast majority
of cases unless you especially request us to do so. Do however check
this and let us know if you are in any doubt - we would be concerned,
for example, if any such service appeared to cross neighbouring
property.
A recent additional type of optional Search that can be provided for
you if you wish is to make checks on the past history of the land and
for environmental hazards.
INTERNET USERS TIPS
http://www.homecheck.co.uk/
http://www.upmystreet.com
http://www.streetmap.co.uk/
l 3. BOUNDARIES
1. Position of boundaries
2. Checking plans
It is usually possible for us to supply you or your surveyor with a
plan of the property you are buying early on if you wish. We cannot
normally measure and check boundaries on the ground personally and it
must ultimately be your responsibility to check for discrepancies and
bring these to our attention before you are committed to buy but it is
unusual for this to cause difficulties as the approximate boundaries of
most properties are normally obvious. You will be provided during the
course of a transaction with a plan to approve.
INTERNET USERS TIP
We can email virtually anything to you in various formats and we
recommend you have Adobe Reader installed on your computer to view and
print out - it is free for download at
http://www.adobe.com/acrobat
l 4. UNUSUAL MATTERS
1. Tell us about the out of the ordinary!
2. Occupiers
If the property has any unusual features e.g. access is shared,
services cross other property before reaching the public main, the
property is crossed by a footpath, property walls which abut or are
very close to boundaries and which cannot be repaired or maintained
without access from neighbouring property, unusual parking arrangements
etc. then you should advise us as soon as possible so that we may give
these matters special consideration.
Have any structural alterations been made to the property? Please let us have details with dates.
The Seller must give vacant possession upon completion and private
arrangements to allow them to stay or continue to store items after
completion are dangerous!
If the Estate Agents Particulars are incorrect please let us have details of the discrepancy.
l 5. MORTGAGE
1. Tell us the name and address of proposed lender(s) as soon as possible.
2. Advise your lender we are your Solicitors and give them our name and full address contact details etc.
If you are applying or have made application for a mortgage please
advise the lending institution of our name and address. We can often
supply a panel number to help you if you ask.
Note that you are responsible for our fees for acting for the Bank or
the Building Society and these will be shown (as inclusive or
otherwise) on any estimate you request. We are panel solicitors
for the vast majority of lending institutions but on the odd occasion
when we are not panel solicitors we shall need to make special
arrangements and provide a separate estimate - we can sometimes arrange
this on specially reduced terms.
We reserve the right, for security reasons, to bring to the attention
of your Lender any information or matter that comes to our attention (
and whether this comes from you the borrower or from any source) which
we consider might potentially adversely affect the security being
offered to your Lender.
If you are offered any incentive(s) by your Seller (often Builders or
brokers) e.g. price reductions or free fixtures and fittings or
something else (sometimes quite complicated arrangements are proposed
which basically mean you are paying less than the basic purchase price
in the documentation known to your Lender) then these will need to be
reported to your Lenders and approved by them in advance of completion
of your mortgage advance.
Another point to watch out for is that mortgage offers from lending
institutions often have a time limit. Three or six months is quite
commonplace. If your purchase is extended over a long time period for
some reason it is up to you to keep an eye on this as as you may have
to renew your application to your Lender if it may expires before
completion.
Please note our remarks on insuring your property later in these notes if you are obtaining a mortgage.
INTERNET USERS TIP
Most Lenders these days adopt the rules laid down in The Council For
Mortgage Lenders Handbook. Part 1 rules are general. Part 2 rules are
your specific Lenders variations. You can see these for yourself
at:-
http://www.cml.org.uk/ and follow CML Handbook links or
http://www.cml.org.uk/servlet/dycon/zt-cml/cml/live/en/cml/ms_handbook
You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader - free for download at
http://www.adobe.com/acrobat
l 6. INFORMAL ARRANGEMENTS
1. Avoid committing to writing.
2. Tell us!
3. "Subject to Contract" correspondence
It is recommended that we are advised of all arrangements made directly
between you and the Seller so that we can have them confirmed by the
Seller's solicitor in writing. Correspondence with your Seller should
always be marked "Subject to Contract".
Tell us of any special arrangements with the Seller as they will not be
binding unless they are agreed in writing with the Seller's Solicitors
or, better still, are in the contract.
l 7. FIXTURES AND FITTINGS
1. What is included and what is not.
2. Checking what the Seller is leaving behind
3. Checks on completion day
Before exchange of contracts the Seller will put in writing what is to
be included in the sale under the terms of the purchase contract.
Sometimes Sellers change their minds so you cannot rely just on the
Agents Particulars. Usually the Seller will have completed a Fixtures
Fittings and Contents Questionnaire referred to in the contract.
There can be grey area but a good starting point is the Fixtures Fittings and Contents Questionnaire normally indicates to you:-
(i) What is included in the property sale price. These are generally
referred to as fixtures and fittings. but they can be better
described perhaps as permanent and semi-permanent things or more
bluntly things that you cannot simply pick up and walk off with.
Television aerials, doors, oak trees, fitted carpets and the cat flap
(not the cat though) fall in this category.
(ii) What the Seller is treating separately and offering to sell you.
The seller might want to sell you some things which are not fixtures
and fittings like a standalone cooker or sit-on lawn mower or the cat.
If a separate price is negotiated and agreed it will usually be shown
in the the contract as 'chattels' in a separate price box so watch out
it is not overlooked when you come to sign. No Stamp Duty Land Tax will
be payable by you on this payment if the item is genuinely not a
fixture and fitting falling within (i). The price must be reasonable of
course and not a sham designed to evade paying Stamp Duty Land Tax.
Otherwise of course you could divide up the house price into
£12,000 for the bathroom, £30,000 for the kitchen etc to
evade the Tax!
Don't forget you will have to sign a complex Stamp Duty Land
Transaction Return for the Inland Revenue which declares the truth
about the price around completion time.
We cannot approve the reasonableness of the price attributed to items ourselves.
(iii) What is not included in the sale (in other words what will not be there when you move in).
If at all possible on the morning of completion day you or someone
responsible on your behalf should check that no items are being removed
from the property you are buying which should be left and that the
condition of the property is generally satisfactory. Please advise us
immediately of any difficulty as we cannot check the property
personally and we shall proceed to complete the transaction upon the
assumption that everything is in order unless we hear from you to the
contrary.
l 8. FUTURE USE OF PROPERTY
Tell us your plans for the property. We shall assume that if you are
buying residential property you will be using it for residential
purposes. If you want it for a guest house or kindergarten planning
permission and perhaps building regulation approval will be required.
If you want to install replacement windows be aware of conservation
area restrictions. Some planning consents for residential property
expressly exclude the provisions of the general development order and
you might still have to obtain planning permission. There may be some
restriction in the deeds, a covenant, which forbids changes or imposes
conditions to be considered.
If you have any plans to use the property otherwise than as a single
private dwellinghouse or for development or you are making any
substantial alterations or additions to the property in the future
please let us know so that we may give this special consideration and
advise you. It is surprising how important this information can be to
us so give the matter careful thought.
To give an example it is amazing how many Sellers claim not to have the
faintest idea where the pipes and wires lie under their property or,
indeed, how they get to their property in the first place. If you want
to build an extension it may be expensive to move services if it turns
out they are in the wrong place.
Another example would be expansion of a garden into a paddock or
farmland for which planning permission would have (or will) be
required. This would need special attention.
Unless you tell us otherwise we shall assume you are intending to live
in the property, use it as a single private dwellinghouse with garden
and that you have no plans to build additions at the property.
l 9. REPORTING BEFORE CONTRACT & PROGRESS
1. Client report on legal matters
2. Signing the Contract
3. Handling Estate Agents & Brokers
When we consider that we have sufficient information to report about
your proposed purchase we will normally send you a formal property
report with copies of any relevant documentation and legal papers to
sign. If required these matters may, of course, be discussed with you
personally.
Buying a property is usually a two stage process and at about this time
you will be asked to sign the Contract (sometimes referred to as an
Agreement) for your Purchase preparatory to exchanging contracts which
fixes a completion date. The final is transfer to you is later upon
'completion' - the completion date agreed in this Contract.
We are often asked about timescales and as a rough guide (every
transaction is different) we are normally able to give you a report on
most of the documentation within about a fortnight of receiving all
necessary documentation (contract copy deeds plans etc) from the
Seller's Solicitors. If you want to move faster or slower however
please let us know and we will try to help..
Sometimes Sellers and third party agents seek to impose, before or
during the course of a transaction, unilateral and arbitrary conditions
(or perhaps threats) that require exchange of contracts by or before a
certain date sometimes combined with various inducements in the form of
threats to withdraw from a sale, remarket, sell to another interested
party, a price reduction or threat of a price hike. Builders and
sellers Estate Agents are particularly prone to this form of unfair
leverage. We cannot in any circumstances accept responsibility for
meeting these deadlines or for the consequences of any failure to do
so. It is, in the end, your decision if you wish to proceed to exchange
and the degree of risk you are prepared to accept by going ahead early.
Obviously though if you are dependent on a mortgage you cannot waive
compliance with your lenders conditions for using their money.
Please note that where property is being bought by spouses, partners
and joint buyers it is on the basis that we may take and act on
instructions on all aspects of the transaction from one buyer rather
than all. If this is not acceptable and joint consultation is always
required please let us know so we may note up our file. The contract
will, of course, be in the name of the buyers to be named eventually on
the Land Registry title and they will all have to sign it.
There is no need for you to be present at exchange of contracts or completion.
Hassle: OED "Origin uncertain, perhaps a blend of haggle and tussle. ... Bother, pester, harass (a person)."
The 'proper' chain of communication during your purchase (to avoid
confusion, pointless work and misunderstandings) is between
Solicitors.
Your Buyer pays their own Solicitor to keep them informed on progress
and you do not have to speak to them about the legal aspects of the
transaction. They should never have to contact you and you should not
need to contact them directly.
Estate Agents Mortgage Brokers etc acting for parties up and down a
chain of transactions can be a troublesome nuisance and waste everyones
time. If you can - take no notice and refer them to us - or better
still their own clients' Solicitors - to reduce stress. Estate
Agents and Brokers should be asked only to fax or email any queries to
us so we can check their bona fides, establish that we have your
authority to disclose information including your personal information
and refer to our internal progress agendas before replying. This also
gives us a permanent paper record of what has been said. They should
use either our standard fax number or email address if they want a
speedy and definitive response.
l 10. REMOVAL ARRANGEMENTS
1. When to arrange
2. Time of completion
3. Keys
Removal arrangements should only be made firm after exchange of
contracts when the completion date has been fixed. Fix it sooner only
at your risk of cancellation loss.
It is not possible to be specific usually about time of completion on a
completion day. Although every endeavour will be made to try to achieve
this as early as possible but very occasionally completion may take
place in the afternoon especially if a conveyancing "chain" of
transactions is involved.
We should be able to tell you what the Seller's Solicitors say the
Seller will do with keys (if you are not making arrangements direct)
close to completion day. Often they are left with estate agents but
this means you will have to collect them during office hours.
There is no need for you to be present at completion.
l 11. FIRE INSURANCE
1. When to insure
2. Amount of insurance
3. Contents insurance
4. Insuring when a mortgage is involved.
5. New properties
6. Flats or leasehold properties
Note that after exchange of Contracts and before legal completion you
are firmly committed to buying the property it is probably then at your
risk. This may come as a surprise, so think about it carefully.
Insurance must be effected for the property and its fittings against
fire and similar perils from the time of exchange of contracts not
completion day. Fortunately insurance brokers/companies will be geared
up to thhis situation.
You are responsible for adequacy of insurance. If in doubt you should
take professional advice on rebuilding costs. Insurance should be in
the full replacement value of the property, index linked, and should
include architect's fees and other expenses which might be incurred in
the event of a property loss.
Contents insurance is not, of course, necessary until legal completion
has taken place except on fittings you are buying e.g. carpets.
If you are taking out a new mortgage but not intending to insure your
new property through the Lender's arrangements please advise us as soon
as possible of the arrangements and let us have the Policy itself as
soon as it is available. If your Lender is not insuring and you are not
able to supply them with an acceptable Policy Schedule as proof Lenders
will require us to obtain proof of cover - complying both with your
mortgage offer conditions and the requirements set out in the Council
for Mortgage Lenders handbook (see Internet Users Tip) - from your
insurance company or broker which can take time and lead to delays.
Unfortunately self-certification is not possible. Ask for the
appropriate form from us as early as possible. Alternatively your
lender ought to be able to pre-approve your independent insurance and
be able to confirm this to us. You have been warned!
Special arrangements apply to new properties as generally insurance is only required as from legal completion.
In the case of flats often the Landlord will have arranged insurance.
You will see a copy of the Policy to check. Fixtures and fittings only
would be required to be insured, we suggest, as from exchange of
contracts for safety.
INTERNET USERS TIP
This web site contains much useful information about leasehold property with many information leaflets:
http://www.lease-advice.org/newintro.htm
l 12. DEPOSIT
1. Amount
2. Reduced deposit
3. Purpose
It is usual and customary, upon exchange of Contracts, for a deposit of
10% of the purchase price to be paid to the Sellers Solicitor's.
Occasionally a lesser deposit may be accepted by the Seller -
especially from first time buyers or those obtaining a mortgage for a
high percentage of the purchase price. Please let us know as early as
possible if you wish to ask the Seller to agree to a reduced deposit as
we must ask if this is acceptable to the Seller. Note it cannot
automatically be assumed that the deposit we receive on any dependent
sale will be available to pay your purchase deposit (but it may well
be) nor that a deposit of less than 10% of the price will be acceptable
to the Seller.
Should you default on the contract and fail to complete, amongst other
things, you risk forfeiture of this deposit - this is the point of
paying a deposit in the first place! This situation is extremely rare
however. Even if you pay a deposit of less than 10% for some reason
upon exchange of contracts the contract very often will state that if
you default you will be liable to make up the deposit to a full 10%.
l 13. DEPENDENT SALE
If you are also selling a property we shall ensure (unless instructed
otherwise) that exchange of contracts for any dependent sale and your
purchase are simultaneous and that the same date is fixed for
completion of both transactions.
Information about selling properties is contained in a separate companion set of information notes.
l 14. FROM CONTRACT TO COMPLETION
1. Completion date
2. Conveyancing work
3. Drawing down mortgage advances
The point at which the contract you signed earlier (but left undated)
is actually dated and finally made binding upon you is known as
exchange of contracts. We will do this as your agent when everything is
agreed over the telephone with your Sellers Solicitors. At that
point in time you are committed.
We shall act as your agent in exchanging Contracts on your behalf when
we have your instructions to proceed to do so. We shall naturally
obtain your instructions on the proposed completion day.
There is no fixed rule as to how long after exchange of Contracts
completion date shall be, but a date between 10 and 28 days is normally
feasible. It is a detail for the parties to come to an agreement over.
That date is incorporated into the contract as a binding term. If
you are obtaining a mortgage advance note very often Lenders require 7
clear working days notice which can only be given after exchange of
contracts (when we report to your lenders and certify the title to the
property) before they can release mortgage funds to us for completion
day. In order for us to have funds early on completion day it is common
for your mortgage advance to be sent to us by your Lender by Bank
Transfer. As this might arrive late in the day and delay your
completion this may at our option be requisitioned the working day
before the scheduled completion day.
It is up to you to notify the Electricity and British Telecom (and
other Service Authorities) to have supplies connected or continued in
your name as necessary.
Communication between us will be important to make your move to your
new house as smooth as possible. Please let us know if your telephone
fax or mobile phone will not be checked or connected for any length of
time. An advantage of modern email is that it can be picked up from
your mail box from a computer or mobile phone even anywhere in the
world. We can only keep a single email address for you at any one time
and an alternative address in case of emergency e.g. your mail box is
full and an email is returned.
Your contract will specify not just (as we have seen) a completion date
but also a completion time. 2pm is usual but sellers Solicitors will
often try to persuade you (if they can) to accept an earlier time. This
is the time on completion day by which your sellers should, by
contract, vacate the property you are buying so, when you are signing,
make sure you are clear about this. By the same token this time is when
your sellers solicitor will expect to have received your money. In a
conveyancers' utopia, at that instant, your sellers (with family and
pets) would exit the front gate with their furniture and your sellers
solicitor money would magically receive your money at the bank.
Unfortunately the process is not a predictable science. Human beings
and banks are involved for a start. Be prepared for waiting around as
the occasional late completion happens.
If there is a chain involved then the further up the chain you are the
more likely to find yourself with a long delay. Failure by buyers to
complete at all is very rare (we will not dwell on it) but must say
that the risk is at its greatest in long chains where you are at or
towards the top of it. After all several completions (with bank
transfers) involving dozens of individual steps need to take place
before yours in the space of a few hours. Any weak or slow link can
make the difference. If you are concerned about this situation
let us know.
Fridays, by the way, are particularly slow days for transmitting money between banks and are best avoided if you possibly can.
l 15. JOINT PURCHASES
1. Ownership shares
2. Other methods of owning property
In the case of a joint purchase - most commonly a purchase by husband
and wife - we arrange for the transfer of the property into joint names
as "Joint Tenants". This legal term means that on the death of either
joint owner the property automatically vests in the survivor
notwithstanding the terms of the deceased's will. Please advise us as
soon as possible if this is not your wish.
Partners should consider whether they wish to hold property as tenants
in common, giving them distinct shares in the property and let us know
if this requirement is their preference. Other methods of sharing
occupation and interests in property can be arranged e.g. under simple
trusts or cohabitation agreements if appropriate. Please ask for
advice. See also later about Wills.
l 16. MONEY MATTERS
1. Providing us with funds
2. Cheque clearance times
There may well be several occasions during the course of a transaction when we shall require funds from you.
You can pay by cheque drawn on a UK Clearing Bank. Cheques should
normally be payable to Shoarns Solicitors. It is important to bear in
mind that, it takes at least seven clear working days for a cheque and
even Building Society cheques or Bankers Drafts to clear so that
cleared funds are actually received into our Solicitors Client Account
and available to be drawn against to fund your transaction.
Unfortunately even special clearance of cheques does not solve the
problem (in fact it may delay final cheque clearance).
We do not currently recommend using an alternative system known as
B.A.C.S. (normally used apparently for bulk bank transfers) which you
may be offered because when we receive the funds by this method we are
not advised of receipt and there is a 24 hour clearance time according
to our Bankers Natwest.
Unfortunately, because of complications introduced by money laundering
and anti-fraud laws introduced in recent years by the UK Government and
EEC we no longer accept cash payments or credits for sums over
£250. This includes cash deposits direct into our Client Account
unless a UK Clearing Bank can confirm in writing the source of your
funds. We are sorry if this causes inconvenience however the reason for
this is to avoid having to investigate the source and possibly disclose
a substantial cash transaction to the National Criminal Intelligence
Service!
Normally you will be provided with a completion statement from us
before completion if we need funds from you for a purchase and
instructions for making payments are on statement including information
like our Bankers details if appropriate.
l 17. TITLE DEEDS
Note that following completion of a property purchase the change of
ownership will need to be registered at H.M. Land Registry. This can
take from a few weeks to several months to complete.
Most properties will be registered at Land Registry. No Certificate is
issued nowadays (old Certificates are now worthless) and the concept of
title deeds is obsolete for registered properties. The abolition of
title deeds is part of an ongoing process towards electronic
conveyancing. If you wish to prove ownership an official copy (Title
Information Document) can be obtained from Land Registry. This copy is
dated and is on watermarked paper.
During your purchase you will have been supplied with documentation or
copies of documentation and these should always be retained
carefully for when your property is eventually sold.
The vast number of old title deeds are obsolete and (with a few
exceptions) are not normally retained unless you are particularly
interested in keeping them out of historical interest.
l 18. WILLS
You are reminded that upon completion of your new purchase it is
advisable for you to make a Will or to consider any necessary revisions
to an existing Will that you may have already made. We shall be pleased
to advise and prepare a new Will for you as you wish.
A short Client Questionnaire needs to be completed so we can prepare a
Will or Wills for you. The legal costs involved are extremely modest.
We hope these notes assist you in your transaction. If it all sounds like a complicated nightmare it need not be.
We have tried to make them straightforward and practical and we hope we
have avoided giving the impression you have been given a crash course
in Conveyancing law!
Try to remain relaxed, pay a little care and attention to the
timescales and details and your transaction should be fine. Remember
that our client's (indeed many people like you throughout England
and Wales) move house day in and day out and most transactions run
smoothly. This does not happen by chance. Solicitors work hard
throughout to make it happen.
The most important matter to remember however is that if in any doubt you should ask as every sale is different.
