Residential Conveyancing

Step 1. The estate agent finds a buyer, agrees the price, then writes to the solicitors with the details.

Step 2. They write to their clients with their terms of business. To protect against property fraud, you’ll have to provide ID to prove it really is you. You may also have to show how you acquired the money so it is clear it is not the proceeds of crime.

Step 3. If you’re selling, you’ll get some property forms to fill in, giving information about the property, such as if you’ve had new windows, an extension, or flood problems. You’ll also fill in a form confirming what items you’ll leave at the property.

Step 4. The solicitor for the seller sends a draft contract, the property forms, and a copy of the deeds to the buyer’s solicitor.

The deeds are usually simply downloaded from the land registry these days.

Step 5. On receipt of the deeds, the buyer’s solicitor will play detective, looking through the deeds and property forms and ensuring there are no discrepancies. They’ll check for any rights of where you have over neighbouring land, for example, a shared drive or a shared back lane. They’ll look into rights that neighbours may have over your property, for example, a right to use a shared path.

They’ll check for private agreements in the deeds that restrict you doing things such as building an extension. They’ll also make sure the correct paperwork is in place for any new windows, electrical works and gas installations. Inquiries are then raised with the seller’s solicitor to iron out any discrepancies.

Step 6. Next, there are three usual searches carried out by the solicitor.

• A local search, which reveals things such as building works done to the property,
• an environmental search, which reveals whether the property may be built on contaminated land, and
• a drainage and water search, which shows where pipes run and confirms whether the property is connected to the mains.

Step 7. The seller replies to inquiries. Then the buyer’s solicitor sends a report to the buyers, explaining the deeds in the paperwork.

The buyers then sign the contract in readiness for exchange of contracts.

Step 8. The moving date is agreed, called the completion date, and the solicitors call each other and exchange contracts. At this point, no one can back out now without financial penalties.

Step 9. On the day the sale completes, the purchase monies are sent via the banking system.

Once it arrives with the seller’s solicitor, the estate agent is called to say that the buyer can have the keys. This is usually around midday but can sometimes take longer.

Step 10. The seller’s solicitor then repays any mortgage and also pays the estate agent. The buyer’s solicitor will register the change of ownership with the land registry.