Conveyancing

Q. What is Conveyancing? 

A. This is the legal transfer of the Title Deeds of a property to another person.  A legal document is drawn up by the Solicitor and signed by the Vendor or Donor of the property to transfer their legal ownership in the property to the third party.  This Deed is then subsequently registered in the Registry of Deeds and/or the Land Registry subject to the payment of the registration fee to the Registry.  

 

Q. Why do I need a Solicitor? 

 

A. It is only possible for a Solicitor to register a Deed in the Registry of Deeds or Land Registry and therefore you do need a Solicitor to act for you in respect of the transaction.  

 

Q. How long does it usually take to sell or purchase a property? 

 

A. This can depend on how quickly a purchaser obtains their Survey Report and Mortgage Offer from a Lending Institution on the property.  If everything goes promptly in respect of the Survey and the Mortgage Application then the whole process should only take around six weeks.  However a further complication may be to try and agree completion dates if there are a chain of transactions.  

 

Q. What are the current Stamp Duty Rates?  

 

A. The current stamp duty rate for the tax year 6 April 2019 to 5 April 2020 are as follows:-

 

Residential property:-
£0 - £125,000.00 – Nil.
£125,000.00 – £250,000.00 – 2%.
£250,000.00 - £925,000.00 – 5%.
£925,000.00 - £1,500,000.00 – 10%.
Over £1,500,000.00 – 12%.

Please note there is an exemption for first time buyers paying nothing on the first £300,000.00 for properties up to a value of £500,000.00.

Q. When am I in a legally binding Contract?  

 

A. When a Purchaser signs the Contract this is their legal written offer to purchase the property.  A completion date is entered on the Contract – only when the Vendor has signed and accepted the Contract and furnished a copy to the Purchasers Solicitors are you in a legally binding Contract.  

 

Q. What is the completion date?  

 

A. The completion date is the date inserted on the Contract and agreed by both parties as to be the date when physical possession of the property is handed over to the Purchaser.  

 

Q. When do I have to pay the fees and Stamp Duty?  

 

A. We furnish you with our Final Statement of Account on completion and ask you to settle up within a 30 day period.  The Stamp Duty is payable through our offices to HMRC and they require payment to be with them within the 30 day period otherwise they will immediately charge you £100.00 penalty.  

 

Q. What happens to my Title Deeds after the transaction has completed? 

 

A. If you have a Mortgage on your property following Registration of the Title Deeds and the Mortgage we will forward the Title Deeds to your Mortgage Lender for security and safe keeping.  

 

If you do not have a Mortgage we can hold the Title Deeds in safe keeping on your behalf if you require or release the Deeds to you if you wish.  

 

Q. What happens on Completion day? 

 

A. As Solicitors we pay the other Firm of Solicitors for the house and request them to authorise release of keys to you.  You do not need to attend our office.  You simply need to be available to collect the keys.  

 

Q. What do I need to do on Completion day?  

 

A. You need to make sure you do the following:- 

 

a. Collect the keys. 

b. Read the electric meter and ring in the reading to the appropriate Electric Company.  

c. Read the gas metre if applicable and ring the metre into the Gas Company.  

d. Make sure your Buildings Insurance is on risk in time for the Completion date.  

e. After Completion you need to write to Land and Property Services to advise them you have bought the property and they will start to charge you Rates.