Conveyancing FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

Conveyancing can feel quite overwhelming.  In order to help please see below for a list of the common questions we get asked when discussing Conveyancing and Buying or Selling a home.

What is ‘conveyancing’?
Conveyancing is the legal name for the process of buying and selling property.

How long will it take?

Every property transaction is different. A straightforward matter will typically take around 8-12 weeks to get to exchange of contracts, but this depends on the number of people in your chain, the solicitors involved, mortgage offers and searches. You shouldn’t make any financial commitments or arrangements until contracts have been exchanged and a completion date agreed

Should I have a survey done?

Ideally yes. This is particularly important for older properties – once you exchange contracts you accept the property in the state and condition it is in on that date. If you find out after exchange that there are problems with the structure or something needs fixing, you have no recourse to the seller; you will be responsible for this.

A surveyor will inspect the property to value it if you’re getting a mortgage. Please be aware that this is a valuation and not a structural survey. It doesn’t cover the condition of the property in detail and offers limited protection.

Is a deposit necessary and when do I paid it?

When contracts are exchanged, a deposit is paid by the buyers’ lawyer to the sellers’ lawyer. This is usually 10% of the purchase price, however it can be negotiated between the parties. A lower deposit is usually used when you are selling and buying at the same time – the deposit paid by your buyers can be used to pay your sellers.

If a buyer fails to complete the purchase on time, the seller can keep the deposit as partial compensation and, if a lower deposit was paid, pursue the balance of up to 10% (although this is more complex with chains).

What does ‘exchange’ and ‘completion’ mean?

Two identical contracts are drawn up, one to be signed by the seller, the other to be signed by the buyer. When both sides are ready to commit to sell and buy, there is a telephone conversation between the two lawyers who confirm their signed contracts match. The deposit is confirmed, the completion date is agreed and the contracts are then dated – this is the ‘exchange’. At this point the contract becomes legally binding. If you change your mind after exchange of contracts, you are at risk of losing your deposit (if you are buying) or being sued (if you are selling).

‘Completion’ is the moving date. It is when the sellers must move out and the buyers must pay the rest of the purchase money in exchange for the keys and deeds.

Will I need to arrange to repay my mortgage when I sell my house?

We will arrange for your mortgage to be repaid from the proceeds of sale on completion and will obtain a redemption statement (the amount required to pay off your mortgage) from your mortgage lender. Unless you instruct us otherwise, we will also pay your estate agents fees from the proceeds of sale and then send you any balance due to you, after paying our fees of course

Why does completion have to take place on a working day?

Completion is the day on which money is transferred between lawyers electronically. Banks only transfer money electronically on a working day and most solicitor firms are not open at the weekend to arrange for these payments. Therefore, completion cannot take place at the weekend or on a Bank Holiday.

How do I sort out the keys?

Unless you have made arrangements with the other party directly, the keys are handed over on the completion day in exchange for the purchase monies. This is usually done through the estate agents who marketed the property for sale. It is important that you find out and agree the arrangements for the keys before your completion date.

What are common causes of delays?

Whilst we will always do our best to progress your matter and chase lawyers and third parties, we cannot provide any guarantee at the outset that everything will be in place to complete by any particular date. No one can give this confirmation.

Some common causes of delay:

• Length of the chain involved – a delay at one point in the chain will delay everyone else
• Mortgage application taking longer than normal to process, perhaps because a reference is required by the lender from a third party, or because the mortgage lender is unusually busy
• Mortgage offer issued with unforeseen conditions
• Searches or enquiries revealing something unexpected
• Other lawyers in the chain – we can’t control how quickly or proactively someone else works. Likewise, we can’t control how busy someone else is.

For further information or a no-obligation quote, please contact Leigh Wills or Zakia Hussain on 01905 900919 welcome@bradleyhayneslaw.co.uk