Housebuying In The UK: How It Happens, What to Do

Many people wonder why buying a house is such a time-consuming process. The answer is that all sorts of interested parties (buyer, seller, lender, solicitors, local and national government agencies etc) are involved and several different areas of the law (contract, land law, insurance, tax, planning) are covered.

All of these stages and interests take up time - and paperwork! Undoubtedly the key advice to first-time buyers who seek a trouble-free buying experience is to place matters in the hands of genuine professional property lawyers with local knowhow.

A good local solicitor has, as well as legal expertise, the contacts on the ground to get the job done. Once you have secured the mortgage the solicitor will contact your lender, preparing and legal-checking all contracts, supervising the mortgage transfer and dealing with necessary local authority checks. Your job will be to arrange a survey, purchase insurance and engage a removals firm if needed. Again, a practised local solicitor will usually be able to advise on these services, or arrange directly on your behalf.

Once all applicable documentation is checked and signed, contracts are exchanged. At this point a deposit is lodged with the seller’s lawyers, final searches are conducted and a title certificate is sent to your lender subject to the mortgage advance being received. Your insurance cover should be activated at this point and you should confirm removals arrangements.

Your solicitor will present you with a full financial statement and you contact the estate agent to arrange, subject to completion, collection of the keys. Your lender will transfer the balance of the mortgage to your solicitor, which is advanced to the seller's solicitor, who returns title deeds once monies have cleared.
Any surplus funds agreed with your lender are released to yourselves. While you collect the keys and move in, your solicitor will pay any stamp duty owed, register your ownership with the Land Registry and send the title deeds to your lender.

Congratulations: you now own a house.

Tagged with: buying a house • conveyancing solicitors • house • property lawyers • Real Estate

Filed under: Foreclosure Properties

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