Conveyancing Knowledge Base

Buying a Freehold property means you are buying the outright ownership of the property and the land on which it stands, and the entitlement to permanent residency for as long you decide. This is the norm for most of the transactions in the UK. As the ‘Freeholder’, you are entitled to make moderations to the property within restrictions of the law and planning restrictions. You will need permission to make structural changes, particularly with listed buildings (older buildings).

If you are purchasing a house with a mortgage, searches are mandatory. The lender is looking to protect their investment in your property, so they need to know if there is anything that would affect their ability to recoup their losses if they were to repossess your property.

If you are a cash buyer, there is no obligation to purchase searches. However, we strongly advise buyers to get searches done – even if you don’t think you need them. This is because although searches cost a few hundred pounds in the short-term, unearthing potential problems before you purchase could help you avoid making a mistake that could cost you hundreds of thousands of pounds (or more) in the long-term.

Although many people use these terms interchangeably, the reality is that conveyancing searches and surveys tell you very different things about the property.

A survey will reveal any issues with the build quality and physical condition of the house. It will tell you if there are any structural defects with the house. For example, a survey would tell you if your property had a damp problem, or if the roof needed to be replaced. A basic survey (usually called a mortgage valuation) is used by mortgage lenders to assess if the property is worth the amount of money they are lending to you.

Searches are different, as they do not tend to look at the physical condition of the property. Searches tend to unearth legal issues with your property. For example, is part of your back garden a footpath, to which the public have right of access? Are there any public drains on your property, for which you will need permission to build over? Does the land on which the house is built suffer from subsidence, putting the house at risk in the future?

In short, a survey looks specifically at the physical condition of the house; searches will look at a broader range of planning, legal and environmental conditions surrounding the house. Both can give insight into how the property’s value could be affected in the future, and the results of either can affect your mortgage lender’s willingness to lend.

Traditionally most fees are paid for upon completion except for conveyancing searches which are usually paid for at the start of the process. If you pull out of a sale or purchase before legally committing yourself then your solicitors may charge of a percentage of the overall legal fees for their time spent working on your case.

Conveyancing costs can range dramatically which is why we always encourage clients to do their research before choosing the right law firm for them. Value for money is incredibly important and the things to look out for are personal recommendations, ease of contact, communication, technology, and specialism.

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An independent survey is always recommended when purchasing a property. There are usually 3 different types of surveys available ranging from a basic report to a homebuyer’s report to a full structural survey. The information in this report will help potential buyers establish the condition of the property and what work may need to be carried out in the near future.  Note that the basic report is usually not sufficient for a buyer and is carried out at the mortgage lender’s request for lending purposes only.

Quite simply, a property chain occurs when there are multiple buyers and sellers linked together in the same transaction. Each seller & buyer represents a link in the chain. From the first-time buyer at the beginning of the chain all the way through to the final seller, each relies on the other for their part of the transaction to succeed.

There is no definitive answer as to how long your conveyancing will take. A typical conveyancing process can be anywhere between 8 – 14 weeks, but there are several variables that can affect a conveyancing timeline. These can include:

1. How many properties are involved (a chain)
2. How long the buyer takes to secure mortgage finance
3. Delays relating to surveys & searches
4. Slow or unresponsive parties/solicitors
5. Whether the property is a house or a flat

When you are buying a property, it is extremely important to be sure of exactly what you are buying, and that you own it legally. Conveyancing is the legal process involved when ownership of a property is transferred from the seller to the buyer. This process begins once an offer has been accepted on a property and ends when the seller hands over the keys to the buyer.