If you are looking at buying your first house, you make keep hearing the term “Conveyancing” and wondering what on earth it is and what the term ‘Conveyancing’ means. Let’s take a look at “What is Conveyancing” and explain the full conveyancing process.
What Does Convey Mean?
The term ‘convey’ can be used in a number of ways, such as:
“I would like to convey my deepest sympathies to you and your family” on the passing of a loved one.
“I attempted to convey that I was very interested in your story, but I think I fell short.”
In these situations, the term convey is the passing on of feelings or emotions to another.
But what does it mean when it related to property?
What is Conveyancing?
When it comes to property, this is how the term ‘convey’ could be used following on from the above examples:
“I would like to convey the ownership of my house to you.”
So the term convey can mean to pass over ownership from one person to another.
In property terms, therefore, a conveyance is transfer of ownership of one property from one person (the seller) to another (the buyer).
How does this actually happen in real terms, though?
How Does This Conveyancing Process Take Place?
The conveyancing process starts with someone deciding to sell their property.
They ask an estate agent to market their property to potential buyers, which they do through their own website, signs on the property and listing on the online property portals like Rightmove.
Prospective buyers arrange to view the property, and if they like what they see, and are in a position to move (either being first time buyers or having sold their current property so that they can proceed) they make an offer to buy the property for a set price.
How much you should offer on a house can vary from the full asking price of the property to a few thousand pounds below the full asking price, but usually no more than 5% below the asking price and often only 1-3% below the asking price.
Usually there is some negotiation on the offer before the seller decides to accept the offer.
Solicitors In The Conveyancing Process
Now the seller and the buyer will instruct solicitors to handle the conveyance of the property from the seller to the buyer. These solicitors are usually referred to as conveyancing solicitors.
The Seller’s solicitor will draw up a contract to convey the property from the seller to the buyer, whilst the buyers solicitor will carry out searches on the property to ensure it is safe to buy (no issues of subsidence, no planning permission nearby, no rights of way or footpaths over the property etc).
They will also liaise with the mortgage company for the buyer to obtain a formal offer to lend the money to the buyer (vital before contracts can be exchanged).
A surveyor will also visit the property being purchased to ensure that it is in a good state of repair with no major faults (this is vital to secure the mortgage offer, as the mortgage company will not want to lend money on a faulty property.
If all has gone well so far, and no one has made a gazumping offer, the conveyance of the property will proceed to the next stage.
Exchange Of Contracts In The Conveyancing Process
Once the contract has been agreed, and everything else is in place, the buyer’s solicitor and seller’s solicitor exchange identical contracts, at which point the property moves from Sold Subject To Contract (STC) to Sold, subject to completion.
Whilst until this point the property is only Sold STC, meaning either party can pull out of the conveyance at any time without any costs penalties, exchange of contracts means that unless something extraordinary happens, the conveyance must be completed on the agreed date, or either of the parties pulling out will either be forced to complete or suffer serious financial consequences.
How long between exchange and completion will be agreed between the two solicitors, but it can range from one or two weeks to taking place on the same day.
The key thing to arrange is for the buyer’s solicitor to obtain all of the funds needed to send to the buyer, with the deposit usually coming from the buyer and the balance coming from a mortgage company.
Completion In The Conveyancing Process
Once the agreed time has passed, completion takes place, the seller’s estate agent releases the keys to the buyer, and the buyer can move into their new home.
What Is Conveyancing?
Hopefully, you now have the answer to the question that brought you here, “What is conveyancing?”
If you have any other questions about conveyancing, or any aspect of the law, Solicitors Near Me can connect you with specialist solicitors free of charge.
Simply either call us now on 0845 1391399 or complete a Free Online Enquiry ».