A Step-By-Step Guide To Conveyancing Services
Selling your house via a traditional high-street estate agent can be a lengthy, complex process. The sale of a property usually involves several different third parties; as well as finding a reliable surveyor and choosing the right mortgage lender and mortgage type; in addition to a licensed conveyancer, or a conveyancing solicitor.
What is conveyancing?
Simply put, conveyancing is the process of legally transferring the ownership of a home from one person to another. Your conveyancer, or conveyancing solicitor, will be responsible for ensuring that the title deeds are given over to the buyer, so they officially become the owner of the property.
Licensed conveyancer vs. conveyancing solicitor
You can hire either a licenced conveyancer or a conveyancing solicitor to carry out this process during your sale. The only real difference between them is that a licensed conveyancer specialises in this area, whereas a conveyancing solicitor is trained in a broader spectrum of legal fields.
Both kinds of conveyancers are regulated by independent bodies, which monitor their practise and ensure that it meets industry codes of conduct. Conveyancing solicitors are regulated by both the Law Society and the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), while licensed conveyancers are regulated by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC).
What does a conveyancer do?
Although your conveyancer’s main job is to legally transfer ownership of the home from the seller to the buyer, they have several other key duties. These include:
- Advising the buyer or seller throughout the sale
- Liaising with the other conveyancer/solicitor throughout the sale
- Carrying out local authority searches on the property
- Carrying out utility searches on the property
- Carrying out land registry searches
- Communicating with mortgage lenders
- Looking over drafted contracts
- Finalising contracts
- Paying all related fees (e.g. stamp duty)
- Paying for the property itself
This being said, the role of your conveyancer or conveyancing solicitor will vary slightly, according to whether you’re buying or selling a property. We’ve broken down the differences below.
If you’re a buyer, your conveyancer will…
- Provide you with a contract pack, containing the contract itself, the Fixtures, Fittings and Contents form and the Property Information Form.
- Review the contract from the seller with you, to ensure everything is in order.
- Carry out all the relevant searches, including local authority checks, utility checks and land registry searches.
- Agree on a completion date which suits every party involved.
- Exchange contracts with the seller’s solicitor or conveyancer, first over the phone and then by post.
- Complete the sale! Your conveyancer will pay all the associated costs, and register you with the Land Registry as the new homeowner.
If you’re a seller, your conveyancer will…
- Prompt you to fill out all the necessary paperwork
- Reach out to your mortgage lender to get the title deeds, so that these can be transferred to the buyer.
- Establish from your mortgage lender what the remaining balance is to pay, so the buyer’s funds can cover this.
- Draw up a draft of the contract for the property, and liaise with the buyer’s conveyancer to go through it.
- Agree on a completion date which suits every party involved.
- Exchange contracts with the buyer’s solicitor, first over the phone and then by post.
The cost of conveyancing
Whether you choose to go through a licensed conveyancer or a conveyancing solicitor, average conveyancing fees usually sit between £500 and £1,500 plus VAT, depending on the nature of the sale and the location of the property too.
What can delay the conveyancing process?
There can be several reasons why the conveyancing process may get delayed, such as:
- Buyers not reporting the fact their mortgage deposit has been gifted, as the solicitor has an obligation to tell the lender this.
- Management companies being slow to return information.
- Delays from third party companies in providing answers to queries, or sending over required documents.
- Local authorities taking a long time to return searches.
- Under-resourced solicitor firms used by buyers and sellers in the property chain.
The easiest way to sell your home quickly is by using a cash house buyer like Good Move. We’ll recommend a conveyancer you can trust, and cover your legal costs, or if you’d rather go with a solicitor of your choice, we’ll contribute £500 to their fee instead. To start your sales process today, just fill out our enquiry form with some basic details about your property, and we’ll get in touch with a free cash offer in just 24 hours.
