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Guide to the Conveyancing Process | Speeding things up |

After an offer has been accepted on a property, it is usual to instruct a Solicitor or Licensed Conveyancer to undertake the conveyancing process. This guide provides an overview of the conveyancing process and offers advice on how you can help things to move forwards as smoothly and speedily as possible.

Let's consider a typical sale of a property in a chain.
Buyer Buyer's Conveyancer Vendor's Conveyancer Vendor
After an offer has been accepted on a property, the Estate Agent selling the property produces a Memorandum of Sale. This document lists the Buyer, Vendor, Buyer's Conveyancer and Vendor's Conveyancer and confirms the price the Buyer has agreed to pay for the property. The selling Estate Agent distributes this document to the various parties.
As soon as the Memorandum of Sale is received the Buyer needs to:
  • Instruct their Conveyancer and
  • If necessary, apply for a mortgage
 When the Buyer's Conveyancer is instructed, there is not a lot for him to do until he hears from the Vendor's Conveyancer. Sometimes, with the permission of the Buyer, Local Authority (and any other) Searches may be initiated. As soon as the Vendor's Conveyancer is instructed they will:
  • Apply for the Title Deeds (if the property is mortgaged they will be held by the lender.)
  • Send the Vendor two standard forms. These are the:
    1. Property Information Form and
    2. the Fixtures and Fittings Form.
 The first thing the Vendor needs to do is instruct their Conveyancer.
If a mortgage is required, the company providing the funds will require a survey and valuation of the property. The Buyer may also require a full structural survey. Surveys and valuations will be arranged and carried out soon after the mortgage application is made. The lender's surveyor will liaise with the selling Estate Agent who will arrange a convenient time with the Vendor to do the survey.     The Property Information form is a standard form that asks for information about Boundaries, Disputes, Notices, Guarantees, Services etc.

The Fixtures and Fittings form is a standard form that lists items at the property that may or may not be included in the sale.

As soon as the Vendor receives these forms they should be completed and returned to the Vendor's Conveyancer
      When the Vendor's Conveyancer receives the standard forms back from the Vendor, they prepare a draft contract and send an 'Information Pack' to the Buyer's Conveyancer. The Information Pack includes:
  • Copy of the deeds
  • Copies of the standard forms
  • A draft contract
  
When the Buyer receives the documentation he should examine it to make sure that
  • everything the Vendor said would be sold with the property is on the Fixtures and Fittings form
  • the Property Information form does not reveal information about disputes or other information that would affect the decision to purchase the property

Any queries should be raised with the Buyer's Conveyancer who will attempt to resolve them.

 When the Buyer's Conveyancer receives the 'Information Pack' he will
  • Forward copies of the documentation to the Buyer with explanations
  • Initiate Local Authority (and any other) Searches
  • Liaise with the Buyer to make sure the Buyer understands the terms of the contract
  • Liaise with the Vendor's Conveyancer to agree any amendments to the contract that may be necessary.
   The Vendor's Conveyancer will liaise with:
  • the Vendor to make sure the Vendor understands the terms of the contract
  • the Buyer's Conveyancer to agree any amendments to the contract that may be requested

If the property is mortgaged, the Vendor's Conveyancer will ask for redemption figures (how much is still owed) from the mortgagors to check there will be enough money to pay back any mortgages.

 The Vendor will be kept informed by his Conveyancer regarding the progress of amendments to the contract.
  When:
  • any amendments to the contract have been finalised
  • the Local Authority (and any other) Searches have been received
  • a Mortgage Offer has been received (if needed) - and the Buyer is in a financial position to proceed
  • a Completion (moving) date has been agreed with the Vendor's Conveyancer (and Vendor) and other Conveyancers acting for other properties in the chain

it is common for the Buyer's Conveyancer to formally report to the Buyer - to ensure the Buyer understands and is happy with the contract. At this stage the Contract is almost ready to be signed.

   When:
  • any amendments to the contract have been finalised
  • mortgage redemption figures have been received (if needed) - and the Vendor is in a financial position to proceed

the Contract is almost ready to be signed

  
Prior to the Buyer and Vendor signing the contract to buy/sell the property, their respective Conveyancers will liaise with the Conveyancer's acting for any other properties in the chain. If a property chain has 5 properties in it, there will be 6 Conveyancers involved - one acting for each Vendor and one for the Buyer at the bottom of the chain. For many Buyers and Sellers involved in property transactions this is where the whole process becomes shrouded in mystery. Often hold-ups occur and no-one seems to know what is going on. Communication between the Conveyancers may be intact but information often fails to reach other parties involved in the chain. This is where ChainManager comes to the rescue. ChainManager puts the people who have the biggest vested interest in making sure problems are resolved quickly - the Estate Agents selling the properties in the chain - in the driving seat. The Estate Agents selling each property can use ChainManager to build the chain so everyone involved can view it and communicate effectively. Buyers and Sellers know there are likely to be delays and problems but, if they are kept informed, they are much less likely to be become stressed and frustrated enough to pull out. Used properly, ChainManager can oil the wheels of the whole process and keep the chain moving smoothly towards completion.
  Once all the Conveyancers have, in accordance with their client's wishes, agreed a date for Exchange and Completion of Contracts - the Buyer's Conveyancer will insert the dates in the contract to purchase the property and forward it to the Buyer for signing.   Once all the Conveyancers have, in accordance with their client's wishes, agreed a date for Exchange and Completion of Contracts - the Vendor's Conveyancer will insert the dates in the contract to sell the property and forward it to the Vendor for signing.  
The Buyer signs the contract and returns it to his Conveyancer. The Buyer will provide the funds to his Conveyancer to be used as a deposit when Contracts are Exchanged.       The Vendor signs the contract and returns it to his Conveyancer.
On the date agreed for Exchange of Contracts, the Conveyancers in the chain will liaise and funds will be moved from Buyers' Conveyancers to Vendors' Conveyancers in respect of the deposit required for each property in the chain and contracts to Buy and contracts to Sell will be Exchanged. At this point the agreement to buy or sell the property is irrevocable.
On the date agreed for Completion of Contracts, the Conveyancers in the chain will liaise with each other and any mortgage lenders and funds will be moved from Buyers' Conveyancers to Vendors' Conveyancers in respect of the balance outstanding (price agreed less deposit) for each property in the chain. The contracts to Buy and contracts to Sell have now been Completed.
Speeding things up
(The biggest contribution to speeding things up is made by everybody involved in the chain using ChainManager!)
Vendors - if you are selling a property there are several things you can do to speed things up:
  • As soon as you put your property on the market, notify your Solicitor so they can apply for the deeds. If you leave this until you have agreed a sale, it can cause a delay as obtaining the deeds sometimes takes weeks. In the event that you don't move, it is easy for your Conveyancer to return the deeds to whoever holds them.
  • Ask your Conveyancer for the standard Property Information and Fixture and Fittings forms. You can complete these so they are ready to return to your Conveyancer as soon as a sale is agreed.
  • The Property Information form asks you to supply copies of planning permissions and building regulation approvals relating to the property and any extensions to the property. If you do not have these to hand, you can obtain them from your Local Authority - again saving time when a sale is agreed.
  • If you do all the forgoing, when a sale is agreed:
    1. you can immediately supply all the forms to your Conveyancer
    2. your Conveyancer, having already obtained the deeds, will be able to raise a draft contract
    3. the 'Information Pack' can be sent to your Buyer's Conveyancer in a matter of a few days, not, as is often the case, after several weeks.
Don't forget - In the early stages of the conveyancing process it is the Buyers who are spending money. They need to pay for a survey and pay 'up front' to their Conveyancer to start the Local Authority Searches. The sooner the Buyer receives the 'Information Pack' and can satisfy themselves that nothing is revealed that could cause them to withdraw their offer, the sooner they will be happy to start spending money. Once they start spending money, they will be committed to the purchase.
Buyers - there are two main areas where the actions of a Buyer can influence the speed of the conveyancing process:
  • Mortgage - if you require a mortgage to buy your next property - make sure you get a mortgage agreed in principle before you start looking for a property. When you agree to buy a property - it means that all the form-filling you have to do and the checks and references that a lender requires will already be done - saving days and possibly even weeks.
  • Local Authority and other Searches - when your offer is accepted there is always a period where nothing seems to be happening while you wait to hear from the Vendor's Conveyancer (they are busy preparing the 'Information Pack' - see above). If you instruct your Conveyancer (and pay them 'up front') to instigate the Local Authority Searches - and the 'Information Pack' reveals something about the property that causes you to withdraw your offer - the money spent on the Searches is wasted. You will need to take your Conveyancer's advice as to how early in the process to send off for the Searches.