What does your Solicitor or Conveyancer do?

Although it is possible to do your own conveyancing when buying or selling a property, it is often easier and cheaper in the long run to ask a solicitor or conveyancer to do it for you.

The activities they undertake include:

• Asking questions of the seller and then collating their responses. The sorts of things they may check include who owns the boundaries, whether they have been any disputes with neighbours and what fixtures and fittings, such as lights and curtains, are included.
• They will check the guarantees on the property, such as details of planning permissions for extensions and that there are the necessary building regulation certificates.
• They will also check that the seller really is the owner of the property and prepare a Report on Title for you.
• They will find out if there are any other local taxes you may have to pay, such as parish fees for the maintenance of the local Church.
• They will check with the local authority and the land registry that the property is as it is supposed to be and what the plans are for the local area. You may not know that the view you have now is going to be spoilt by the plan to build a large warehouse.
• They will arrange to pay the stamp duty on the property on your behalf and arrange for the land registry to change the title deeds to your name.
  You will also need to prove you are who you say you are with several forms of ID.
• You will need to provide proof you can afford the deposit and will need to send this to their bank account before contracts are exchanged.
• They will liaise with the mortgage lender to make sure the money they are lending for your property purchase is available on the day of completion.
• And finally, they will call you to let you know it has all gone through and that the property now belongs to you.