|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Buying a new home isn't like most things we buy you have to employ a professional to do the deal for you. Getting a solicitor is crucial unless you happen to be an expert in conveyancing the legal process of buying and selling property. As soon as the offer you make on a property is excepted by the sellers, the sellers estate agent or the seller themselves (private selling) will be asking you for the details of your solicitor to pass on to their solicitor. It is always best to choose a solicitor before you start house hunting it's an important decision and shouldn't be made in haste. Any seasoned buyer will tell you that their highest anxiety was caused by slow solicitors who appeared not to want to communicate with their clients or the estate agents concerned. So the solicitor you choose can make the deference between a relatively stress free transaction or loads of stress and hours spent chasing your solicitor. What is the Solicitors Role? The role of the solicitor is primary to represent his client in the process of buying or selling their property the procedure the solicitor carries out varies a little depending on whether you are buying or selling your property or both. Lets assume that you are buying a property, the first step is that the seller excepts your offer the sellers solicitor and the buyers solicitor would be notified of the details. If the seller is using an estate agent, he will send all the relevant information to all parties concerned in the form of a sales memorandum. Both solicitors can then get on with their work if there are no estate agents involved there is no difference except you and the seller will notify the relevant solicitors with the information required see our Private Selling Link or our Buyer Guide For full details. Your solicitor will obtain draft contract and title deeds from the seller's solicitor to prove the property legally belongs to the seller. Your solicitor will carry out a local authority search and any other searches that may be required. Your solicitor will ask the seller questions about the property this will cover thing such as whether any alterations have been made what fixtures and fittings are included in the sale and so on. Your
solicitor will check your mortgage offer and finalise the details
of the contract. Your
solicitor will inform the mortgage lender of the completion date
agreed by both parties and included in the contract and asks for the
mortgage funds to be made available on that date Your solicitor will make final checks with the land registry making sure nothing has change over the past few weeks. Your solicitor will prepare the transfer deed which records you as the new owner and it is sent to the sellers solicitor for signing. Compilation the transfer deed and land registry certificate and the keys of the property are produced in return for the money from your mortgage lender lodged with the solicitor. Your solicitor still has some work to do such as arranging for the transfer deed to be stamped and arranging for the stamp duty to be paid if required. Stamp duty will be collected by your solicitor as part of the overall legal fees he then returns all the relevant paper work to all the relevant parities and the job is done. As you can see the whole process is not quite as simply as some would have us believe that's why it is important to get the right professional to do it for us.
Is calculated by the price of the property you are buying. Up to 125,000 - charged at 0% £125,000 - 250,000 charged at 1%, £250,000 to £500,000 is charged at 3%, £500,000 + is 4%.
Make sure the solicitor you choose is a specialist in residential conveyancing it's a specialist area of law and you need someone who is experienced in it. Probably the best way to find a good solicitor is by recommendation ask your friends and family about their experiences with solicitors when they sold or purchased a property. In particular could they usually get to speak to their solicitor about their case, or at least was the solicitor assistant helpful, when neither were available did they return their calls when they left a message, or did they have to continually chase them. You can ask your estate agent or mortgage broker both deal with solicitors all the time and should have a good knowledge of the local firms to use or avoid. First Choice Property Net only ever recommend solicitors that we have worked with before or have a good knowledge of.
Time To Get A Quote & Check out your chosen solicitors Conveyancing fees vary enormously so try to get at least three or four quotes just contact your chosen solicitor either by telephone or better still e-mail them even the local firms are becoming more interactive. Whichever way you contact them they should be able to provide you with a quote quickly via e-mail fax or letter at worst. Don't forget to ask them what's include in their quote most firms specialising in conveyancing offer a fixed price covering charges for the solicitor time their indemnity fee phone calls and letters. For property costing £100,000 expect to pay anything from around £350.00 the figure will depend on the price of the property and weather its freehold or leasehold. Usually leasehold property requires more work and could cost more in conveyancing, in most cases there is a mortgage involved the lender's legal work will also be added into the cost. Most solicitors will ask for land registry and local authority search fees up front the balance is due when you have completed on the property and the solicitor has tied up all the lose ends. Questions To Ask Your Solicitor Are
you a specialist in residential conveyancing? Complaints About Your Solicitor If you have a compliant about your solicitor you should contact the complaints department within the firm of solicitors you are dealing with. Explain your complaint and what you would like to done about it, if you are not happy with the outcome you can contact the Law Society and ask to speak to the Officer for the Supervision of Solicitors. Licensed Conveyancers These are people who are trained and licensed to undertake property conveyancing. They are allowed to compete with solicitors in conveyancing work. They were created in the mid eighties to increase competition and break the monopoly of solicitors. Licensed conveyancers are regulated by the council of Licensed Conveyancers all licensed conveyancers must be insured so clients are protected in transactions undertaken on their behalf. Licensed conveyancers sometimes provide a good cost effective alternative to a selector. You may well get far more individual attention as all they deal with is conveyancing it may be worth checking out a few and ob |
|||
|
||||
