Conveyancing – what exactly does it mean?
Conveyancing is the process of transferring ownership or certain rights in property from one person to another. In most cases this is the buying/selling of a house.
What is exchange of contracts?
This is the stage where both the seller and the buyer have signed their own contracts and these are exchanged between solicitors. Once contracts have been exchanged the agreement becomes legally binding and a date for completion is set. If we are acting for you in connection with a sale then exchange can take place once the buyer’s solicitor has carried out all their searches, enquiries and has a mortgage offer in place. If we are acting for you in connection with a purchase then exchange can take place once we have carried out all necessary searches, received your mortgage offer and are satisfied with replies to any enquiries we have raised.
What are local searches?
We will carry out a number of investigations with the local authority. The purpose is to find out if there are any matters which you ought to know about that might affect your decision to proceed. For example, any planning charges against the property or new road proposals. We will discuss the search results with you so that you are fully informed of all matters.
At what stage will a deposit have to be paid?
An agreed percentage of the purchase price – usually 10% – is payable when contracts are exchanged. If you are selling as well as buying, we will attempt to exchange on both transactions at the same time. This is so that the deposit taken from your buyer can be put towards the deposit on the property you are buying. Co-ordinating the two transactions is one of the many jobs that we will carry out for you.
When do I get the keys?
It is unlikely that you will get the keys until ownership of the property has passed to you. This will not normally take place until you have paid the purchase price. This is known as completion.
How long will it take?
It is impossible to be specific over this, as no two transactions are identical. On average, however, it is likely to take between six and eight weeks. We are sensitive to our clients' needs and will make every possible effort to try to meet any deadlines that are important to you, providing it does not compromise the quality of work and your long term interests.
Additional expenses
Aplins will charge you a fee for the legal work we carry out and we will send you an estimate of our costs when we initially write to you. In addition to our fee there are payments (disbursements) we will need to make on your behalf to third parties during the conveyancing process. These include, amongst other things, stamp duty land tax, registration fees and the fees for the searches mentioned earlier. Again these will be detailed in our initial costs estimate.