What is Conveyancing?

Conveyancing is the legal process of transferring property from one owner to another. It is a legal process without which the sale of property is impossible. It begins with the instructing of a solicitor or conveyancer. You can not use the same conveyancer as the other party although with some larger companies they will have separate divisions that can carry out the two cases in different departments. When choosing who to instruct there is very little difference between a conveyancer and a solicitor, the only proviso is that your lender must approve of your choice.

• The process begins with the seller's conveyancer who draws up a draft contract based on the title deeds of the property setting out exactly what land and buildings the property includes. This contract will have two parts; the Particulars of Sale and the Conditions of Sale. The Conditions of Sale have information about the proposed completion date and deposit and the Particulars describe the property and details of the lease or freehold. These are then forwarded on the your solicitor with information sheets compiled by the seller on such things as fixtures and fittings and if there are any disputes with neighbours.
• Your conveyancer will consider the terms of the contract and proceed to conduct a Land Registry search to confirm the seller is the owner. At this point they will raise any questions you may have with the seller's conveyancer regarding any extensions and whether the accompanying planning permissions where followed.
• Local and drainage searches will need to be conducted at this point and you can request an environmental search if you are concerned about subsidence for instance. If you are including any fixtures and fittings in the contract they need to be added at this point.
• If you are happy with the contents of the contract and the results of the searches your next step is to sign it. The contract will have come in two parts - one for you and one for the seller. A completion date will be agreed and written in to the contract. The completion date is when all the monies will be paid and you can take possession of your new home. The money will be sent via an electronic transfer. Your conveyancer will have received the deeds for your new property before transferring them to your bank or building society.

The whole process can be as fast as 6 weeks if there are no holdups at all - 10 weeks is more likely but it all depends on the speed of the process (solicitors taking holidays - delays in the post) and any unforseen problems that can occur.