Whether you are buying or selling a property, you are bound to deal with agents or solicitors in 90% of the cases. Finding a professional agent is extremely important, since this person will deal with your conveyancing process as well. Having your transactions transparent and transfer documented should be your number one priority. Even if you are a sort of person that doesn’t care too much about keeping the receipts, in this type of matter you will probably want everything to be in the perfect order.
This is why should get yourself more familiar with the conveyancing process, in order to know what you should check and inspect when your agent presents you the documents.
What Does a Conveyancer Actually Do?
In the very first phase of the process, when you are hiring a solicitor, your Conveyancer should be aware and provide you with the following services:
-
Your conveyancer should provide you with your initial terms of engagement before you decide to hire a solicitor. This piece of document should hold all information about the charge and the deposit needed to count on the help of your conveyancer. Ask about insurance, don’t be shy asking for a reference as well.
-
Once the deal is reached, your conveyancer should contact your sellers to confirm the sale and request a copy of the sales contract, the property’s title and all the standard forms. If there are any additional documents that you should be aware of, your solicitor has an obligation to inform you about these files.
After the seller’s party delivers the needed documentation, and your conveyancer acquire all the needed files and forms, he/she has the obligation to perform the following:
-
Your conveyancer should thoroughly examine every part and clause of your contract. He/she should point out all contradictions, if there are any, and inform you about it.
-
You should be present for the final examination of the document, and your conveyancer should guide you through every legal step of your transfer. If you have any concerns, the conveyancer should provide you with an answer or run your inquire by sellers on your behalf. This includes the question of the occupancy of your future property and legal contracts between other parties.
-
All legal searches should also be performed by this representative. If there are any additional legal issues tied to the property, your conveyancer should inform you about this as well. This includes local authority searches, checking the land registry, flood risk, water authority searches, environmental search and all additional options that you might be concerned about. Mind if you are requesting any extra services and definitely ask if that service is included in yours and your agent’s contract.
The Question of Mortgage
Probably the number one reason why people decide to hire a conveyancer is because everyone can use additional insurance when it comes to mortgages. Your solicitor will inspect the offer of your mortgage company, which includes their evaluation and loan agreements. This is a very important part of every purchase, if you’re property is in any way involved with your or someone else’s mortgage, your conveyancer should inspect all documentations. For further advice on this matter you can contact experts from Think Conveyancing.
At the very end, your conveyancer should be present at the signing of the contract. At the signing, your solicitor should confirm that all the questions are met and honored in accordance to the contract. This includes the final price. After both parties sign the contract, and all payments and transfers are done, your conveyancer’s work isn’t over. In fact, he/she should be present while you inspect the house before you move in and make sure that everything is in its place. After that, your conveyancer should exchange your contracts.
Remember that it is very important that both parties checked that your binding contracts are identical. Also, don’t worry about land tax stamp duty, because your representative should take care about that part for you as well.