Conveyancing Solicitors

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If you are purchasing a property for the first time you may be unfamiliar with what conveyancing actually is and what it entails. Conveyancing is the process involved when you are buying or selling a property. Below are the three main legal stages.

The pre-contract stage

The pre-contract stage is the premature part of the three stages. It’s the legwork involved before exchanging contracts. You will receive several documents from the seller that involve: a drafted version of your contract, results of pre-contract property searches and legal ownership evidence. Our conveyancing solicitors then assess these documents carefully and look into property searches conducted and broach queries if needed.

The final step of this stage is for you to finalise a mortgage offer and for us to agree with the property search (demonstrated below). The seller will then be sent this drafted contract and we are then able to proceed with the contract exchange.

The post-contract stage

A drafted version of the purchase deed is sent to the solicitor of the seller and once authorised, the buyer and seller will sign the purchase deed. Whilst the solicitors for the seller come to an agreement for the amount needed to release their mortgage, our trustworthy conveyancing solicitors will then contact the mortgage lenders for your mortgage loan. The final process of this stage is when the deeds are delivered to us and your money is sent to the seller’s solicitor.

The post-completion stage

The post-completion is the final stage; our conveyancing solicitors await the receipt from the seller’s solicitor regarding the mortgage release. Once received, we will then pay the land tax of the property and stamp duty after receiving the money from you. We will then assist you through the Land Registry process so the property can be legally registered to you.

Property searches are an important part of conveyancing and allow us to discover crucial information regarding the property. We have broken down the searches for you below:

Local search

This search uses standard enquiries to elicit certain information kept by the local authority in their registers and other records about the individual property and the exercise of rights by certain public bodies in the local area.  It will confirm whether any planning permissions or building regulation approvals have been granted for works completed at the property and will examine if the property is affected by compulsory acquisition orders, planning compliance issues, transportation infrastructure projects, highway maintenance responsibilities, and contaminated land concerns. These matters may impact both your plans for the property and influence your mortgage provider's assessment of its value. This search will not, however,  disclose planning applications and permissions for the development of neighbouring land or buildings, so if you have specific questions about neighbouring properties, you should let your conveyancer know.

Environmental search

The Environmental search is designed to provide general information about the locality of the property, to help you decide whether you need to seek further specialist environmental advice and arrange a survey or the property or more invasive tests.  This online search will consider contamination risks and historical property usage that could necessitate costly clean-up works.  It will also consider the flood risk associated with the area where the property is located as it may not always be obvious that a property is at risk of flooding. Properties do not need to be close to a river or by the sea to be exposed to flood risk.   The detailed assessment will also determine if the property faces risks from, natural land movement, planning restrictions, radon exposure, and infrastructure developments.

Water search

This search establishes whether the property is connected to the public sewer system and mains water supply and if any public sewers or water mains pass through the property. Public sewers and water mains within the boundaries of a property will mean the water company has rights to access the property for maintenance and repair. It also means that future development on the property may be restricted.