Housebuying In The UK: What You Need To Know

Many people wonder why buying a house is such a time-consuming process. The answer is that many different legal areas (land deeds, contracts, planning, insurance etc) as well as multiple interested parties (buyer, seller, lenders, legal representatives, government, local council etc) need to dealt with.

All of these stages and interests take up time - and paperwork! Perhaps the best advice you can give a first-time buyers who want matters to progress with minimum fuss is to engage the services of proper professional property lawyers with local experience.

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 knowledgeable local solicitor will doubtless be able to assist with some or all of these duties.

Once all applicable documentation is checked and signed, contracts are exchanged. At this point your lender will release a mortgage advance, a deposit will be lodged with the seller's solicitors and final checks will be conducted. 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. The balance of the mortgage will be transferred to your solicitor by your lender , with the appropriate monies then being advanced to the seller's solicitor, who returns title deeds. You receive any surplus funds you are due to receive from your lender. All being well, you now collect the keys and move in, with your solicitor tying up loose ends such as paying stamp duties and registering ownership with the Land Registry.

All done: you're a homeowner.

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

Filed under: Foreclosure Properties

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