Conveyancing explained
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- 3rd Nov 2015
- News & Insights
Residential conveyancing sounds complicated – and in many ways it is – but the phrase basically just refers to all of the legal work involved in the processes of buying and selling a home. In the UK, all conveyancers are regulated by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers and solicitors are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, thus ensuring that the public has a choice of regulated providers and that all providers meet the same professional and legal standards.
A residential conveyancer or solicitor can act on behalf of either the buyer or the seller; usually, both parties will have solicitors or conveyancers who will work out the legal requirements of the sale between them, up to and including the exchange of contracts. The first task of your conveyancer or solicitor will be to review the draft contract and if necessary raise enquiries about it with their opposite number. You should let them know at this stage if you have any particular queries or concerns of your own.
If you are the buyer, your conveyancer or solicitor will then undertake legal searches to check if there are any issues of which you may be unaware, such as local authority plans or problems with services. They will also check the title deeds to verify the ownership of the property.
After you have received your mortgage offer and the result of your survey, your solicitor or conveyancer will then exchange contracts. The buyer's solicitor conveyancer will then lodge a search to protect your interest in the property whilst the sale is completed. They will then pay stamp duty and send the appropriate legal documents to the appropriate bodies, such as the land registry and your mortgage provider.
Whether you're buying or selling, engaging a solicitor who specialises in residential conveyancing will make sure that everything runs as smoothly as possible.
Please contact Jane Derbyshire who will be happy to assist with any conveyancing queries. Jane can be contacted at 01264 325813 or via email: jderbyshire@bsandi.co.uk.