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Conveyancing:
Residential or Commercial
MTG Solicitors has a conveyancing team dedicated to providing a fast and
efficient service whether it is residential or commercial property sale or
purchase.
Whether you are a first time buyer or seeking investment opportunities our
Conveyancing team will keep you updated on a regular basis by providing
reports, liaising directly with you via the phone, meetings and e-mail.
Set out below is a brief guidance on our Conveyancing procedure for first
time buyers, sellers and investors.
PURCHASING A PROPERTY
Pre-exchange general overview:
• Client care signed with ID (e.g. port + drivers licence + utility
bill in your name)
• Monies on account - approx £350.00
• Varied searches conducted
• Enquiries raised
• Deposit cheque ready before exchange (usually 10% of the purchase
amount)
The above are the 5 basic points to EXCHANGE of contract,
keep this process in mind at the start of your purchase, it usually helps in
understanding the initial process.
Set out below is a brief introduction to how MTG Solicitors will handle the
purchase of your property together with replies to frequently asked
questions, click on below to get more information.
• APPOINTING A SOLICITOR:
• DRAFT DOCUMENTATIONS:
• SEARCHES:
• RAISING ENQUIRIES:
• MORTGAGE OFFER:
• IMPORTANT NOTE:
• EXCHANGE OF CONTRACT:
• COMPLETION:
• KEYS:
• REGISTRATION:
APPOINTING A SOLICITOR:
Once the sale has been agreed the first task which falls upon you is to
appoint a Solicitor, by forwarding a " memorandum of Sale "
to us will give us the authority to deal with your file.
At MTG Solicitors our friendly staff will provide immediate quotations and
guide you through any questions that you may have enabling you to make your
decision as quickly as possible.
Once appointed we shall provide you with a client care letter setting out
an estimate of costs and our basic procedure. We shall also request money on
account in order that we may carry out searches on your behalf.
DRAFT DOCUMENTATIONS:
We shall then request the draft contract and other documentation from the
Sellers Solicitors. Once this is received we shall raise enquiries with the
Sellers Solicitors and send out a report to you enclosing the documents
received from the sellers solicitors together with an explanation. The next
step is to carry out searches on your behalf.
SEARCHES: What are searches and
why are they required?
Searches are required as they provide further information on the
property which cannot be ascertained by just inspecting the property. There
are four types of searches which need to be carried out at this stage:
• Local Authority Search
This search is required as it will show details of any planning
applications made on the property i.e. if there is a rear extension at the
property the search will reveal whether any planning permission was obtained
at the time. The search will also reveal any proposals for new roads or
traffic schemes, tree preservation orders, conservation areas, enforcement
notices and any other matters within the Local Council's knowledge that may
affect the property;
• Drainage Search
This will reveal whether the surface and/or foul water runs into a public
sewer. This is important as this search will reveal whether you are to
contribute towards the clearance and maintenance of the drains at the
property;
• Environmental Search
This search will reveal if there are any waste disposal sites within the
vicinity of the property, whether there are any risks from contaminated land.
• Land Charges Search/Bankruptcy Search
This search is carried out on behalf of your lender to make ensure that
you are not bankrupt. If you have a common name/surname it is quite common
that a few entries may be revealed. If this is the case then we shall ask you
to sign a copy of the search to confirm that the entries do not relate to
you.
Once the results of the searches have been received a report on the
results of the searches will be sent to you.
RAISING ENQUIRIES:
We shall then raise ' enquiries before contract', these
are enquiries raised to the vendors solicitors on issues revealed by the
documentation received. Where the property is Leasehold property enquiries
shall also be raised to the freeholder/managing agents with respect to the
amount of ground rent, service charge payable, whether there is any
foreseeable expenditure, whether there are any outstanding issues with the
existing tenant, the vendor. A copy of any enquiries raised shall be
forwarded to you.
MORTGAGE OFFER:
Once your mortgage offer has been received and all our outstanding
enquiries are received we arrange an appointment with you to discuss and sign
the documents and to discuss a date for you to receive the keys to the
property ' completion date'.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
The Seller wants to withdraw from the property but surely he can't
as I have signed my contract?
You should note that just by signing the contract does not make it
legally binding. The contract will only become legally binding once it has
been ' exchanged' between your solicitor and the vendor's
solicitors. This is when the solicitor, after taking your instructions
formally sets the completion date with the vendors solicitors. Once contracts
are exchanged you must complete your purchase on the date set otherwise you
will be penalised.
EXCHANGE OF CONTRACT:
In order to exchange contracts the following is normally required; all
outstanding enquiries must be replied to, satisfactory results of searches
must be received, buildings insurance, if buying with an assistance of a
mortgage your mortgage offer must be received and any conditions attached
must be complied with. Lastly a deposit shall be required from you.
Can I exchange contracts before I receive my mortgage offer?
Most solicitors will strongly advise against this as once contracts
have been exchanged you are legally bound to complete on the completion date.
COMPLETION:
Once your matter is ready to be exchanged and you have provided your
solicitor a completion dated contracts, it will then be exchanged with the
vendor's solicitors. This will be confirmed to you in writing and a statement
will be provided to you setting out the balance required to complete (usually
the monies gained through a mortgage).
Once exchanged your solicitor will carry out one more search; the Priority
Search. This is to find out if there are any new entries registered against
the property i.e. another mortgage, if so the vendor's solicitors will have
to confirm that this shall be removed before completion.
KEYS:
On the completion date the solicitor will call you to confirm that your
purchase has been completed and you will be able to collect the keys either
through the Estate Agents or directly from the vendor.
REGISTRATION:
Your solicitor will deal with the registration of the property in your
name. Within approximately 2-3 weeks you will receive a completion pack
enclosing a copy of the register with your name and your lenders name (if
any). This pack should be kept safely as the documents contained therein may
be used if you decide to re-mortgage or sell your property in the future.
SELLING YOUR PROPERTY
INITIAL INSTRUCTIONS:
With your initial letter setting out our fees, we shall request monies on
account of our costs together with details of your existing lender (i.e.
account number, name and address of your lender). If you have more than one
mortgage please ensure that details are provided with respect to each one in
order that we may request the title deeds and redemption figures from your
lender.
In addition you will be provided with the following forms which need to be
completed by you:
SELLERS PROPERTY INFORMATION FORM
This form deals with details regarding the actual property and the
questions ranging from what boundaries you have maintained at the property;
to what if any alterations have been carried out on the property etc.
• Fixtures & Fittings Forms;
This sets out a basic list of items that may be at your property and you
have to tick whether the item shall be included in the sale, excluded from
the sale or that there are non at the property.
If it has been agreed that the purchaser is to purchase some items from
you, you should insert the price for the item and we shall take instructions
from the purchasers solicitors whether their client shall purchase the same.
You should note that all items included in the sale must be
left at the property on the completion date.
• Sellers Leasehold Information Form (Leasehold Properties only)
This form must be completed where you are selling a Leasehold property.
Details of your Landlord/managing agents if any, should be inserted here. The
form also deals with the amount of ground rent or service charges payable.
This information is important for us too as we can write to your
freeholder/managing agents directly for up to date information about the
ground rent and service charges payable.
Do I have to complete the forms most of the questions don't apply
to me and the forms are too lengthy?
All forms provided must be correctly completed to the best of your
knowledge. If any of the replies are not known then state this. If you leave
it blank it is very likely that the purchasers solicitors will send the form
back, this will delay the matter. The forms may appear to be lengthy however
they include simple questions and the majority of the forms require you to
just circle yes/no as an answer.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
Note that information provided in the form must be to the best of
your knowledge and do not make any false or inaccurate statements as this may
amount to misrepresentation.
Once all the relevant information is obtained from you we shall prepare a 'sellers
pack' to be forwarded to the purchasers solicitors, this will
include the contract and the forms completed by you.
FURTHER ENQUIRIES:
It is very common for the purchaser's solicitors to come back to us with
any additional enquiries either legal/other they may have relating to the
property. We will require you to answer any enquiries relating to the
property. We shall forward you a copy of any enquiries raised together with
our replies.
COMPLETION
Once the purchaser's solicitors are satisfied with the replies to
enquiries we shall call you in to sign the contract and negotiate a completion
date . Upon your instructions we shall exchange contracts. We
will then receive a Transfer document from the purchaser's
solicitors; this is the legal document which will enable the purchaser's
solicitors to register their client as the proprietor/owner. We will
be unable to complete unless this document is signed by you.
On the actual completion date the purchaser's solicitors shall send us the
purchase monies and from this we shall deduct the following:
• the amount payable to your lender/s to redeem the mortgage;
• our fees;
• the agents fees if you have instructed us to do so
BALANCE
The balance, if any shall be transferred to you.
Call today and book your appointment with one of our
friendly legal staff
on 020 8754 5577 or email at - info@MTGsolicitors.com
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