Taylor Rose MW: Your Guide to Conveyancing

YOUR GUIDE TO
CONVEYANCING

YOUR GUIDE TO CONVEYANCING

TAYLOR ROSE MW
So you’re buying
a new home…
It’s one of the biggest
decisions you’ll ever make.
It can also be an exciting adventure. But things
can quickly get complicated and stressful if
they’re not handled in the right way.
What you need is a trusted, knowledgeable
advisor to guide you and sort out the legal side.
That’s where your conveyancer comes in, by
offering legal assistance with the purchase
of your property.

YOUR GUIDE TO CONVEYANCING

TAYLOR ROSE MW
WHY CHOOSE US?
You have plenty of options when it comes to choosing
a solicitor to help with your purchase.
You could go with the conveyancer
recommended by your estate agent or
mortgage lender. Or, you could turn to an
online supermarket.
Accepting a recommendation may be
reassuring, but it can also limit your options.
On the other hand, many conveyancing
websites are loaded with hidden charges, or
offer very poor customer service.
At Taylor Rose MW, we offer something
completely different.
We’re an independent firm of solicitors who
specialise in conveyancing, particularly on
new builds.
We’re a well-established and professional
firm, but we also take a fresh, client-centred
approach to service. We’ll make sure your
transaction goes through smoothly, with no
surprises and minimum hassle.
We only use experienced personnel with
specific expertise in conveyancing. We also
have plenty of experience of the complicated
legal issues involved in purchasing newly
built properties.
We always put your best interests first,
making sure you know about every cost
that we know about from the outset and
do everything we can to make buying your
property simple and stress-free.
We’ll be there to offer help and advice every
step of the way, until the transaction is
completed. We’ll answer every call and letter
as promptly as we can.
We’ll help you ask all the right questions at
each stage, so you’re fully informed about
the property and the deal before you commit
yourself. We’ll also make sure all relevant
searches are carried out as part of our
service.
If you’re getting a mortgage, we’ll work with
your agent, mortgage broker and surveyor to
get your purchase done and dusted as quickly
and easily as possible.
Finally, if you’re selling a property, we can
help with that too – preparing the contract,
dealing with the buyer’s solicitors, answering
their questions and staying in touch with
everyone involved to keep your sale moving
along.

YOUR GUIDE TO CONVEYANCING
BUYING A PROPERTY WITH US, STEP BY STEP
Here’s a quick guide to the process of buying a property.
Over the next few pages are more details of how we help you with the later stages.
1 2 3 4 5
Check your
finances
Make the offer
Fill out the
forms
Payment for
disbursements
Apply for a
mortgage
First, take an
in-depth look
at your
finances. Can
you really
afford the
property
you're
interested in?
Remember,
the cost isn't
just the
purchase
price. You also
need to factor
in legal fees,
disbursements,
stamp duty (if
applicable),
removals and
other costs.
For new
builds, you
need to
consider fees
charged by
your
developer e.g.
document
fees.
You make an
offer to buy
the property
from the
seller or
developer at a
particular
price. You
may decide to
get a survey
done to check
the property's
structure and
valuation.
Once the
seller or
developer
accepts your
offers, the
legal process
of completing
the sale
begins. So
we'll get
involved from
this point
onwards.
Before we
start
work, we’ll
send you an
estimate of
our fee and
some forms to
complete so
you can give us
all the details
we need. We
also need to
check your
identification.
We’ll ask you
for some
money up
front to cover
third-party
costs. This is
part of the fee
we’ve agreed
at stage 3,
not an extra
charge.
If you need
a mortgage,
this is the time
to apply (if
you haven’t
already).
You can apply
through a
mortgage
broker, who
will help you
find the best
deal from
a range of
lenders, or
simply go
direct to the
lender you
prefer.
If you’re
buying a new
build, you’ll
probably be
able to get
a mortgage
from the
developer’s
mortgage
broker.

TAYLOR ROSE MW
6 7 8 9 10
Obtaining the
contract
Searches
Checking the
contract
Exchange of
contracts
Completion
We’ll contact
the seller’s or
developer’s
solicitor and
ask for a copy
of the contract
which will also
include other
important
information
about the
property.
Before you
commit to
buying a
property with
a mortgage,
we have to
check out
the legal
ownership and
find out some
important
facts about
the property.
We do this
by carrying
out searches
with different
authorities
who collect
information
about the
property.
The work
involved varies
between
properties,
sellers and
mortgage
lenders.
We’ll report
back to you on
the contract
and answer
any queries
you may have.
We may also
ask you to sign
the documents
at this stage
to save any
delays in
getting these
signed later.
Once
everything is
sorted out,
we’ll set a
completion
date and
exchange
signed
contracts with
the seller’s or
developer’s
solicitors.
On the
completion
date, money
is transferred
to the seller’s
or developer’s
solicitors and
you become
the legal owner
of the property.
Congratulations!
You can now
collect the keys
and move into
your new home!

YOUR GUIDE TO CONVEYANCING
SEARCHES
Searches give you important information about the legal status of the
property and sometimes the surrounding area, so you can decide if you’re
completely happy with your purchase before you go ahead. They are
obtained through third party suppliers or the local authority.
You must have searches done if you’re buying a property with a mortgage.
However, it’s still advisable to get them done even if you don’t need a
mortgage to buy.
You may need different searches depending on the location of the property
or the requirements of your mortgage lender. There may also be some
additional searches you can have if you wish. The most commonly required
searches are included in our estimate.
You’ll receive information on the results of your searches when we receive
them.
We’re always happy to offer information and advice on the searches we
carry out for you.
Our cases were
handled smoothly with
an extremely personal
service. We would find
it hard to use anyone
else now.

TAYLOR ROSE MW
CHECKING THE CONTRACT
Once the seller’s or developer’s solicitor releases the contract package to
us, we’ll carefully check it, along with the property documentation and
title deeds.
We’ll clear up any queries you have with the seller’s or developer's
solicitors. There may be follow-up enquiries to sort out too.
We will often ask you to sign documents at this stage, so that we can be
prepared as possible in advance. However, you’re not committed to the
purchase until all searches and enquiries are dealt with and you are happy
to go ahead.
If you’re getting a mortgage, we’ll check over the offer from the lender for
you. We’ll also make sure that the seller is happy with the deposit you’re
offering, particularly if it’s less than the usual 10%.

YOUR GUIDE TO CONVEYANCING
EXCHANGE OF CONTRACTS AND COMPLETION
Properties
We’ll prepare a final completion statement showing how much money you
need in order to complete the purchase. You should put this aside so you can
access it quickly. Under anti-money laundering regulations, we may need to
see evidence of where the money came from before we can accept it.
Once the contracts, searches and mortgage offer are all in place and the
deposit is ready to be paid, you can sign the documents (if you haven’t
already) and we can exchange contracts with the seller’s solicitors and agree
a completion date.
Until contracts have been exchanged, neither you nor the seller are legally
bound to go through with the transaction. If you pull out of the purchase
between exchange of contracts and completion, the seller may be able to
keep the deposit you’ve paid, or even sue you for a full 10% deposit if you
paid less than 10%.
Just before the completion date, we’ll request the mortgage money from
your lender and collect the rest of the money from you. This usually happens
the day before completion, at the latest.
Once all the money is with us, we’ll send it to the seller’s solicitors by
electronic bank transfer. It’s difficult to say how long the transfer will take, as
it’s under the control of the banks involved. They’ll phone us to confirm that
it’s arrived, at which point the transaction is complete.

TAYLOR ROSE MW
New build properties
We’ll prepare a final completion statement showing how much money you need in order to
complete the purchase. We’ll need this money from you as soon as we know the completion
date from the developer, so you should put it aside so you can access it quickly. Under antimoney
laundering regulations, we may need to see evidence of where the money came from
before we can accept it.
Once the contracts, searches and mortgage offer are all in place and the deposit is ready to be
paid, you can sign the documents (if you haven’t already) and we can exchange contracts with
the developer’s solicitors and agree a completion date. We’ll talk to the developer’s solicitor
to agree a completion date that works for everybody.
Until contracts have been exchanged, neither you nor the developer are legally bound to go
through with the transaction. If you pull out of the purchase between exchange of contracts
and completion, the developer may be able to keep the deposit you’ve paid, or even sue you
for a full 10% deposit if you paid less than 10%.
Just before the completion date, we’ll request the mortgage money from your lender and collect
the rest of the money from you. This usually happens the day before completion, at the latest.
Once all the money is with us, we’ll send it to the developer’s solicitors by electronic bank
transfer. It’s difficult to say how long the transfer will take, as it’s under the control of the banks
involved. The developer’s solicitor will phone us to confirm that it’s arrived, at which point the
transaction is complete. We’ll call you to let you know, and you can come and collect the keys
to your new home.
Sometimes, new properties aren’t finished by the time contracts are exchanged. In this
situation, the completion date is described as ‘on notice’, which means you can move in as
soon as the house has been inspected and signed off as structurally complete. The developer's
will let you (and us) know the completion date as soon as they can.

YOUR GUIDE TO CONVEYANCING
AFTER COMPLETION
The seller’s or developer’s solicitors
send the signed deeds to us. This
confirms that your property now
legally belongs to you.
We will pay any stamp duty and
receive a certificate from HM
Revenue and Customs confirming
that the Stamp Duty Land Tax
form has been submitted. This
certificate is required to register the
transaction at the Land Registry.
We’ll send you all the necessary
documents once the Land Registry
stages have been completed.
Genuinely the
best service
I have ever
received from a
solicitor. Taylor
Rose MW
exceeded my
expectations.

TAYLOR ROSE MW

YOUR GUIDE TO CONVEYANCING
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What is Shared Ownership?
With shared ownership, a house or flat is intended to be owned partly by the buyer and partly
by a developer or housing association. The buyer would pay rent on the share they do not
own. Sometimes, the share owned can be increased by buying more of it, and then paying less
rent. Mortgage providers will lend for shared-ownership properties, but there are strict
criteria. The mortgage must also be approved by the developer or housing association.
What are Restrictive Covenants?
Restrictive covenants are legal promises to do (or not do) certain things on a property. They
are usually set up by the former landowner or developer. Restrictive covenants are very
important as they bind whoever owns the property, even if that person was not the original
person entered into the covenants. You need to consider how they will affect your use of a
property, and make sure you get permission in writing for anything that needs it.
How long will my transaction take?
It will ultimately depend on the type of transaction being dealt with, but most transactions
should go through to exchange within 8 to 12 weeks from receipt of the draft contracts on a
purchase. If you are selling as well as purchasing, or purchasing from the bottom of a large
chain of transactions then this timescale will be dependent on the whole chain being ready,
but we aim to have everything ready as soon as possible.
What is meant by a deposit?
A deposit is a down payment on the purchase of a property. Many buyer's pay a deposit of
10% of the purchase price, and get the rest from a mortgage lender. Sometimes deposits are
less but this is agreed between buyer's and seller's on an individual basis. Deposits are usually
offered to the seller or developer when contracts are exchanged. The money is either paid on
exchange or held by the buyer’s solicitor and passed over, along with the mortgage money, on
completion. Deposits have to come from buyer's own resources – in other words, not from a
mortgage secured on the property or other loans.
In some situations, buyer's can lose their deposit if they pull out of the purchase after
contracts are exchanged.
What is exchange of contracts?
Exchange of contracts is where the seller or developer and buyer formally commit to the sale
and purchase and a completion date is agreed. The two solicitors send each other contracts to
buy and sell the property, and the arrangement is then legally binding. Contracts are not
exchanged until both the seller, developer and buyer are definitely ready to go ahead. After
this point, neither side can pull out without suffering a financial penalty.

TAYLOR ROSE MW
Why is conveyancing for a new build different from an ordinary purchase transaction?
New-build transactions involve the sale/purchase of a completely new property. Usually,
the developer owns the whole site and is selling it bit by bit, in the form of housing plots.
Sometimes, they use a slightly different conveyancing procedure from the normal one, to
make it easier to deal with a large number of sales at the same time.
What is 'completion on notice'?
'Completion on notice' is where a fixed completion date is not available, usually because the
property is still being built by the developer. Normally, the developer will be able to give an
estimated date for when the property will be built. They will also provide a 'termination date',
which is the latest date when they can finish the building.
What are Deeds?
‘Deeds’ themselves actually dematerialised in the early 2000’s so what you will be sent will be
a copy of the electronic register held by the Land Registry which will be updated to show the
property in your name following successful registration. Copies of the register are sometimes
accompanied by documents received from your seller, including building regulation and
planning documentation relating to your new property.
What are property searches?
If you are purchasing with the aid of a mortgage, we will carry out property searches on behalf
of you and your lender. These searches give more of an insight in to the property you are
purchasing, for example, environment and flood risk factors, water and drainage connectivity,
and local authority factors such as planning, and building regulations, highway queries as well
as any Land Charges issues which may impose financial charges on your property. Please note
this is not an exhaustive list.
What is Chancel Repair Liability?
Land in England and Wales was historically owned by the Church and properties falling within
certain areas today may still carry a liability to pay towards the cost of the repair of the
Chancel of the Parish Church. If the property you are purchasing falls within one of these
areas, you could be asked to make a contribution towards maintenance and repair. A search
can be undertaken to determine of any liability exists, and an indemnity policy can be put in
place where there is an unknown risk.

For more information about Taylor Rose MW or if
you would like to instruct us, please get in touch:
W: www.taylor-rose.co.uk
E: info@taylor-rose.co.uk
T: 020 3988 5588
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Authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, SRA No. 623604