Residential Conveyancing Pitfalls & How To Avoid Them
Buying a home is one of life’s biggest decisions and the process can be extremely stressful – but with the right conveyancing solicitor, a house purchase or sale should be a straightforward and easy experience.
Residential conveyancing solicitors look after all the legal aspects of a house purchase or sale to ensure you can buy or sell with confidence and peace of mind.
What Do Conveyancing Solicitors Do?
As a guide, your conveyancing solicitor will ensure your house purchase or sale completes efficiently and as smoothly as possible, and after all the necessary checks have been done.
The legal aspects of buying a property, include:
- The contracts
- Searches
- Mortgage checks
- Exchange of funds from buyer to seller
- Transfer of ownership from seller to buyer
Conveyancing Pitfalls & How To Avoid Them
With property sales currently soaring and demand high for properties with space to work from home, it’s vital you can move fast to secure the house you want.
A professional conveyancing solicitor will help you complete the purchase or sale process as quickly and efficiently as possible – whilst avoiding many of the pitfalls along the way.
Don’t Delay – Instruct A Solicitor Straightaway
As soon as you find the property you want to buy, instruct a conveyancing solicitor straightaway who will get the process started immediately for you.
Choose Wisely
Make sure you choose a solicitor who is a member of the CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) as this is accredited by the Law Society and tells you that person is providing a high-quality service.
Check Or Prepare Documentation
If you’re buying, make sure you tell your solicitor if the property has undergone any alterations such as a loft extension or porch so they can check that the necessary planning permission is in place. Otherwise, you could face issues in the future, such as having to secure retrospective planning permission or undertake remedial work. If you’re selling, make sure you have all the documentation for any alterations you have made or previous owners have made, so your solicitor can hand this over to your buyer’s solicitor.
Be Aware Of Particular Property Needs
Depending on the type of property you’re buying, you may need to provide additional details to your conveyancing solicitor to avoid slowing the process down. For example, if it’s a leasehold flat then your solicitor will need to be given contact details for the managing agents to obtain a management pack with details on service charges, ground rent, insurances, etc. or if you’re making a buy-to-let purchase then extra arrangements and mortgage checks may be needed.
Don’t Skip Searches
Property searches help to highlight any potential unseen risks of the property – which could be to do with its location, nearby environment or drainage issues. Whilst it may be tempting to skip some of the lengthier searches, this can cause problems later on when it comes to insurance or selling the property in the future. Your solicitor will advise on the essential searches and which additional ones are worth doing for your particular property purchase.
Pay Attention To Paperwork
By filling in the paperwork accurately and returning it quickly, you’ll avoid delaying the process. However, make sure you check the details fully and that you understand any restrictions or clauses that may be in place on the property.
We Can Help You With Your Conveyancing Needs
Our specialist conveyancing solicitors have many years’ experience of providing straightforward, supportive advice to clients to enable them to buy efficiently and in as stress-free way as possible.
We can take care of your conveyancing needs so you can complete your purchase or sale of your home without disruption or delay and with total peace of mind.
To speak to one of our specialist solicitors about buying or selling your property, please contact us at our Chorlton office on 0161 860 7123 or email chorlton@hlfberry.com or at our Failsworth office on 0161 681 4005 or email failsworth@hlfberry.com
