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| Buying property

For most people, buying a property is the biggest financial commitment they will make. At Levi Solicitors, our local conveyancing solicitors will make sure that your investment is sound.

We will guide you through the conveyancing process, making sure that you know which stage has been reached and what will be needed from you next to progress matters. The main steps involved in buying a property are as follows:

Arranging a mortgage

Speaking to a mortgage lender once you decide that you want to buy a property will give you the chance to check that you meet their lending criteria and find out how much they are prepared to lend you. You can apply for a mortgage offer in principle and you can let estate agents know that you have this when you make an offer so that they can tell sellers that you are a serious buyer who has already addressed the issue of finance.

Finding a conveyancer

Instructing property solicitors early on can help to reduce the time taken to reach exchange of contracts. If you ask us to deal with your purchase, we can carry out the initial work such as opening a file, checking your identity as required by law and letting you have the forms for completion.

As soon as you have an offer accepted, you will be able to give our details to the estate agent, who will pass them on to the seller’s solicitor. They will then be able to send the contract papers out straightaway.

Having a survey carried out

It is always advisable to have a survey carried out if you are buying a property. While your lender will carry out a valuation, this is often cursory and will not look in detail at the condition of the property. A survey should highlight areas of concern. If you are buying an older property, one in poor condition or of unusual construction or you intend to carry out major works, an in-depth structural report may be recommended.

Solicitor deals with contract, enquiries and searches

As soon as we receive the contract package from the seller’s solicitors, we will go through all of the information provided, including the legal title and the property information forms and respond with a list of enquiries.

We will also apply for the searches that you will need, which will usually include a local search and drainage enquiries.

This part of the process can take several weeks to deal with, particularly if the seller’s solicitors have to apply for documents such as copy planning consents or guarantees or if the local authority has a backlog in dealing with searches.

We will also need to wait until your mortgage offer is received. If there is a chain, then everyone in the chain will need to be ready before contracts can be exchanged.

Exchange of contracts and completion

We will liaise with you as to completion dates and then exchange contracts. A deposit of 10% is usually paid on exchange. If you are tying in a sale, we will generally be able to use the deposit from your buyer. Once exchange of contracts has taken place, the completion date will be fixed.

We will then order funds from your mortgage lender and let you know how much we will need from you to complete.

On the day of completion, we will let you know once the seller’s solicitor has received the balance of money from us and you can pick up the keys from the estate agent. Following completion, we will arrange for registration of your purchase and mortgage at the Land Registry.

| Selling property

If you are selling a property, we can represent you, ensuring that completion takes place promptly. As soon as you ask us to deal with the transaction, we will start the preliminary work, letting you have the property information and fixtures and fittings forms to complete, verifying your identity and opening a file. This will give you plenty of time to find any documents you may need to accompany the property information form such as guarantees and copy planning consents.

Once you accept an offer, we will then be able to send the contract papers out immediately, potentially reducing the length of time it takes for the other side to be ready to exchange contracts.

| Transferring property

If you want to change the ownership of a property from joint names to your sole name or from your sole name to joint names, we can deal with the transaction on your behalf. We will explain the implications of doing this and how to protect your interests if you have contributed more to the property than another owner.

We will explain the different types of joint ownership to you and ensure that you choose the right option for your circumstances.

If the property is subject to a mortgage, we will liaise with your lender to secure their approval to the transfer. Alternatively, if you are tying in a remortgage, we will do the necessary remortgage work on behalf of your new lender and arrange to redeem your existing loan.

| Remortgaging property

You will usually need a solicitor to represent you and your new lender if you remortgage your property. The lender will require us to carry out searches and enquiries beforehand so that they know the property is good security for their loan.

We know that you are likely to want to complete quickly if you are moving to a better mortgage deal and we always work proactively to move a transaction forward without delays.

We will let you have a redemption figure for your existing mortgage as soon as this is available so that you can see how much they will need to discharge their loan, to include any administration fees or penalties they may be charging.

| Equity release

If you are considering taking out an equity release policy, you will need independent legal advice before you sign as there are serious implications to this type of agreement. We can provide the advice you need and ensure that you understand the terms and conditions that you will be agreeing to.

For more information about our services, see our residential conveyancing solicitors page.