Your property purchase can be split into 3 parts:-

1. Preliminary Arrangements - You find a house that you like in a suitable price range and organise suitable funding for the purchase and carry out whatever checks you feel are necessary to ensure that there are no problems with the house. At this stage either side can change their minds and withdraw from the transaction. We will not advise about the financial aspects of your mortgage transaction unless you specifically ask us to do so as this would normally be an issue for your mortgage adviser.

2. Exchange of Contracts - This involves swapping signed contracts between ourselves and the Sellers Solicitors at a time when you are fully satisfied with all the arrangements and we have told you that the matter can proceed. On exchange it is usual to pay 10% of the purchase price as a deposit but this is something that we will discuss with you nearer the time. At this stage the deal is sealed and there is no going back without facing severe financial penalties.

3. Completion - this is the date when we pay the balance of any purchase money on your behalf and you can obtain the keys.  We get the title deeds to the property to prove the change of ownership and we register the dealing at the Land Registry.

STAGE 1 - BEFORE EXCHANGE OF CONTRACTS

Before you bind yourself to the expense of buying a property you obviously have to make sure that there are no pitfalls in the transaction and we therefore take the following steps on your behalf:-

1. Obtain the contract and supporting evidence of Title from the Sellers solicitors. We check that the Title is correct.  We give you a copy of this document and explain what the entries mean.

2. We will, if your lender requires it. obtain a local authority search to find out whether there are any adverse entries made by the Local Authorities in relation to the property.  There can sometimes be a delay in obtaining this so it is important that we make this search straight away.  These searches can be  expensive and we have to ask you for a payment to cover the cost of a search.  Once we send off for the search we cannot obtain a refund if you subsequently change your mind.  You therefore have to balance the need to get a quick search result against the possibility that you may change your mind. The search tells you things about the individual property but not about other proposals in the area.

   When we are permitted by your Lender we will make use of a Personal Search service.  A Personal Search will reveal the same entries as a Local Authority Search (see above) but instead of being carried out by the local authority it is carried out by a private Personal Search company.

   The benefit of obtaining a Personal Search is that usually a quicker result is received.

   We only instruct Personal Search companies who have appropriate experience of providing these services and hold appropriate indemnity insurance.

3. Drainage and Water Search is a search with the Utility Company for the area in which the property is situated.  It will confirm whether the property is connected to mains water drainage and supply or otherwise.  It gives details of the routes of such services in the locality as well as water quality testing results and any anticipated works or improvements to any supply of such services.

4. We will not have viewed the property or the area.  If you think that there may be any chance of development that may affect the property or if there may have been contamination of any nearby land or if there is anything that you think may have happened in the past or may happen in the future in the neighbouring area, you must notify us. You should make direct enquiries from the Local Authority or ask us to.

5. We are not qualified to advise on environmental issues.  However we are obliged to make you aware that the owner of the property may have to pay for decontamination of land even if they were not responsible for the contamination.  Local Authorities now have powers to require remediation of pollution on land.  The consequences of contamination can be expensive. In order to assess whether the property you are purchasing is at risk of being located on contaminated land we strongly advise an environmental search to be taken. This will be required if you are taking a mortgage.

6. We need to make sure that you have the money to buy the property and that your mortgage is providing the money you need.  It is important that you are fully aware of the conditions attached to the mortgage offer.   We need to establish whether the Seller knows off anything detrimental in relation to the property and we therefore make some preliminary enquiries and obtain a list of fixtures and fittings to include with the property.  We will provide these replies to you.  If you have any specific queries you should let us know so we can ask them in an official way.

7. You need to make sure that there are no structural problems relating to the property. If you wish we will advise you regarding further specialist reports, e.g damp course etc.   It is important to note that the ordinary building society/bank valuation report is primarily for the purposes of the lender so that they can see whether to make a mortgage advance to you.  This valuation gives you no real protection should any defects show in the future, and of course you have no remedy against the seller as it is your responsibility to check the state of the house and its surroundings fully. If you are concerned about obtaining protection yourself through a survey then you should arrange a more detailed report yourself through a surveyor.  We can obtain an estimate of the costs of such a report if you wish and we can suggest suitably qualified surveyors who will provide such a report.

8. We will ensure that you are fully aware of the full cost of purchasing the property including our costs and disbursements and exactly what monies you will be required to provide and at what stage.

9. Before exchanging contracts you need to know the timetable but we will discuss this with you and ensure that the completion date is a date that is convenient for you if that is possible.  It is usually 2 weeks after the date of exchange but it can be much sooner if all parties agree.

10. You will need to make sure that the property is insured on the date of exchange as it becomes your risk.  This may be fairly simple and if you are arranging a loan with a building society they will often arrange the insurance.  We will require a copy of your building insurance schedule.

11. Any Life Policies to be used in connection with the purchase need to start on the date of exchange of Contracts because should you die between exchange of Contracts and completion your estate is obliged to continue with the purchase.

12. In addition to the above matters we sometimes need to do a coal mining search or other special searches we will advise you about this as necessary. Again any knowledge you have may be important in what we would advise you.

13. If you are purchasing the property jointly we need you to consider how you wish to hold the property.  If you hold the property as Tenants in Common then each of you will own a specified share of the property which would pass according to your Will (or the Intestacy Rules) on your death.  If you hold the property as Joint Tenants then you each own the whole of the property and on the death of one of you the property automatically passes to the survivor.

STAGE 2 - BETWEEN EXCHANGE OF CONTRACTS AND COMPLETION

1. Once we have exchanged contracts you are legally bound to purchase the property. If you are obtaining a mortgage than please note that the mortgage lender can withdraw your mortgage offer without giving you any reason before or after exchange of contracts. Even if your mortgage offer is withdrawn you are still legally bound to purchase the property.

2. If everything is in order we will arrange exchange of contracts and set a completion date to suit all parties.  That is not the end of the matter as far as we are concerned we have to carry out final searches, prepare a completion statement and a bill of our charges which we will require to be paid before completion.  Before the completion date we will have made sure that your signature is obtained on the documents of title and mortgage deeds (if applicable).

3. On the day of completion we will transfer the monies to the Sellers Solicitors, obtain the release of the keys to you by the Sellers or through the Sellers agents you will then be able to move into the property.

STAGE 3 - FOLLOWING COMPLETION

1. After completion we will arrange for the registration of your title at the Land Registry.  It is our responsibility to protect your interests and the interests of your lender if you are taking a mortgage.

As you can see from the above the transaction is quite complicated and precise.  There are many potential pitfalls.  You should be wary of solicitors offering very low prices for conveyancing.  We believe the prices that we are charging are the very minimum that can be safely charged if a full and complete services is to be provided. 

It is our aim to provide an open and accessible service which gives you the confidence to proceed with your purchase with peace of mind.

We look forward to dealing with the transaction on your behalf and would strongly advise that on completion you review your whole financial position and ask us about making a will and Lasting Power of Attorney.