Moving home is often a very stressful in event in your life, but it doesn't need to be! Instructing a Solicitor who can communicate well with you, keep you up to date with what is happening and explain any complex legal issues in a straightforward and practical way is key to simplifying the conveyancing process. That will leave you free to concentrate on the important things, like packing and planning your new space!
If you are buying or selling a buy-to-let property you will need a Solicitor who can keep you up to date and keep the process moving quickly, so you can focus on getting the property ready for your tenants.
You may be offered cheap, or even free, conveyancing services by your lender when you re-mortgage and these deals can seem attractive, particularly when you think that a re-mortgage should be quick and easy. But such services are often complained about for being inefficient and difficult to communicate with. Having a dedicated Solicitor you can call any time and who is looking our for your best interests is well worth the £420 you'll be charged for my services.
If a property transaction moves quickly and there are no delays or problems then it would take around 6 weeks. However, in reality most sales or purchases take 2-3 months and it is not uncommon for delays to extend the timescale up to 6 months. You can read this post for a more detailed description of the stages involved in the process. There are a vast number of varied reasons why a transaction could be delayed, there isn’t nearly enough room to start listing them here!
Be prepared for the process to take a little longer if your property is a new build or a leasehold, you are buying with a shared equity scheme or there are more than 2 or 3 properties in the chain.
Stamp Duty Land Tax (“SDLT”) is a tax charged by HMRC on the purchase of land in England and Land Transaction Tax (“LTT”) is charged by the Welsh Revenue Authority on the purchase of land in Wales. The rules are similar but the rates are different so make sure you refer to the correct rules.
The purchaser pays the tax on completion of the purchase. The rules are complex and there are a number of different rates and reliefs for all kinds of different circumstances. When you purchase a property your Solicitor will tell you how much tax is payable, they will file the tax return and arrange the payment for you but they can only do this with the information you provide, so you need to make sure you tell them anything that is relevant and give accurate and correct information about your circumstances. For a quick estimate of how much SDLT you will pay you can use HMRC’s online calculator for properties in England or the Welsh Revenue Authority’s calculator for properties in Wales.
The word deposit is often used in two different contexts in the conveyancing process which can be confusing. When you think of your deposit you think of the amount of cash you are contributing to the purchase, so if your mortgage is 70% of the purchase price you will say that you have a 30% deposit. This is not incorrect but it is a different context to the one your solicitor is usually using when they refer to your deposit.
When your solicitor talks about your deposit they usually mean the contract deposit which is paid on the day of exchange of contracts. When you exchange contracts on a purchase this is the date that you become legally obligated to go ahead with the purchase. This legally binding contract requires a deposit to be paid to the seller. This deposit is usually 10% of the purchase price although it is negotiable. It is not related to the amount of mortgage funding you will receive.
Read this post about the stages of the transaction so you know when the exchange of contracts is likely to happen.
You should always arrange your own independent structural survey when you purchase a property. If there are any problems with a property it is up to you to find them before you buy and in most cases you cannot complain to the seller later, even if they knew about the problem and didn’t tell you. Your surveyor will find any problems up front so you know what you are buying and, if necessary, can negotiate the purchase price to make sure you can fund any repairs.
If you are purchasing with a mortgage your lender will carry out a valuation of the property but you cannot rely on this. This is only a basic valuation and not a structural survey so there are many things that would not be checked. Many lenders are now carrying out desktop valuations only, which means they don’t even send a person to physically inspect the property.
This website is owned and operated by RAH Legal Ltd. Its legal professionals (Rachel Hodges and her team) provide their legal services through solicitors’ firm Carbon Law Partners. Carbon Law Partners is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Its full details can be found at its website here: https://carbonlawpartners.com/team/rachel-hodges/. RAH Legal Ltd is a professional services company registered in England & Wales Company Number 11973318. Registered Address: 42 Wimborne Road, Pencoed, CF35 6SG.
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