This helpful and informative video gives you an idea about time scales and the different stages involved in a residential property transaction.
For more information about how the residential conveyancing experts at Stephensons can assist you with your property transaction click below:
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Moving home is an exciting time, but it can feel like your life is on hold whilst all the legal paperwork is sorted out. The transaction can only move as fast as the slowest person in the chain. On average, transactions take between 10 to 12 weeks. Chains can get quite long and it can take several weeks until the person at the top of the chain finds their dream home.
Other issues can affect the timescales, too. Leasehold properties require much more information so can add a few extra weeks to the process. The good news is that everyone is working towards the same goal to get you moved.
When you buy a house, you have several advisors to help you. Your mortgage broker will help to find the best mortgage, your surveyor will advise you on structure of the property and your conveyancer will check that the title to the property is suitable for you and your lender.
Firstly, conveyancers need to verify your identity. This is required by law, so bear with them and try to provide everything they ask for as quickly as possible. They'll also need to collect payment for the items they need to buy on your behalf. Any unspent monies on the account will be returned to you if the transaction falls through. The seller's conveyancer uses the monies on account to obtain a copy of the property title and prepares a contract pack. Conveyancers aim to do this within a few days of receiving notification of the sale in the contract pack or with the contracts title and official plan of the property and information provided by the seller about the property and what's included in the sale.
The buyer's conveyancer will order searches. Your conveyancer will decide which searches as you need based on the location of the property. As the searches come back, your conveyancer will check the results and ask the seller to help with any issues that come up. For example, providing copies of planning agreements revealed in the local's search. Your conveyancer will report to you on the searches and whether there's anything to worry about.
The buyer's conveyancer needs to check the title and send questions to the seller if anything needs to be clarified. These questions are known as inquirers and are an important part of the process. Inquiries can be raised at any stage. For example, when the search results or survey arrive. Conveyancers raise inquiries by email wherever possible to save any delay in getting the answers for you. Your conveyancer will let you know if there's anything in the answers which you need to know about.
Mortgage offers usually arrive with the borrower around 10 days after the valuation has been completed. Mortgage instructions will arrive with their conveyancer a day or two later. The conveyancer will check through the mortgage offer to make sure the details are correct and that they can comply with the lender's conditions.
Conveyancers will send a contract to their clients to sign and return, so exchange of contracts can go ahead as soon as everyone in the chain is ready. The buyer will also be asked to provide their deposit.
The seller's solicitors will send their part of the contract to the seller to sign and return, so the exchange of contracts can happen as soon as everyone is ready.
Dealing with the inquiries, searches and mortgage offer can each take several weeks. This can all happen at the same time or can happen one after the other, so you can see how some transactions can move quickly, whilst others take a little longer. As soon as all the contracts in the chain have been signed, the deposit collected and all the information is approved, the chain is ready to exchange contracts, but first they will have to agree when to move: the completion date.
It's a good idea to have at least two weeks between exchange and completion so that everything can be organised, removals booked, and mortgage funds ordered. Once the date is agreed, all the conveyancers will ask their clients for authorisation and will then go ahead and exchange. Everyone is now legally bound and can get ready for their move.
The conveyancers still have a lot to do, though. The buyer's conveyancer will order money from the mortgage lender, complete final searches, and collect any money required from the buyer. On the day of completion, the money is sent from the buyer's conveyancer at the bottom of the chain to the seller's conveyancer and when it arrives safely, the seller's conveyancer rings the estate agent to release the keys. The buyer can now collect the keys and move into their new home.
