It’s National Moving Day on 19 August, an annual awareness event that aims to bring together key players in the home moving industry and promote stress-free property moves.
On average, people in the UK move home eight times during their lifetime, with August being the most popular month of the year for moving house.
According to the latest figures, there were 309,000 UK house moves in 2023 and 61% of households say that they find moving house stressful.
However, knowing what to expect from the conveyancing process can help a property sale or purchase run smoothly.
With this in mind, in this blog our Residential Conveyancers consider the stages involved in buying a home.
Stage one: Find your dream property.
The first stage in buying your dream home is finding it. If you are buying with the help of a mortgage, it is often worth getting a mortgage in principle in place with your preferred provider before you start your search.
An agreement in principle provides a clear indication of how much you can borrow and makes any offer you make on a property more credible.
Stage two: Instruct a conveyancing solicitor.
Once you have had an offer accepted on a property, the next step is to instruct an experienced residential property solicitor to handle the legal side of the transaction and guide you through the conveyancing process.
At Beverley Morris & Co. Solicitors, our dedicated team of conveyancing solicitors is very experienced in helping a wide range of people complete their dream move.
Our residential conveyancers are based in Blackheath, South East London, and help people in the local area and across the wider UK with property sales and purchases.
Whether you are buying a property for the first time, moving house or are an experienced property developer, we will provide a personalised service designed to fit your needs and will support you every step of the way.
To speak to our Residential Conveyancing team today, call 020 8852 4433 or email enquiries@beverleymorris.co.uk.
Stage three: Pre-contract matters.
Your conveyancer will then conduct initial checks and searches on the property you wish to buy.
These include examining the title deeds and assessing whether there are any restrictions on a property, including those relating to planning permissions, building regulations and environmental factors.
At this stage, it is also recommended to arrange a survey on the property. A property survey alerts a buyer to any potential defects or risks to the structural integrity of a building.
If anything is highlighted as an issue in a survey, it can be used to help a buyer renegotiate the purchase price.
The seller’s solicitor will prepare a contract of sale outlining the terms and conditions relating to the property transfer and provide the relevant documentation.
Your conveyancer will review this, raise any queries with the seller’s conveyancer and obtain a copy of your mortgage offer.
The seller and their solicitor will then answer the raised enquiries and return these to your conveyancer, who will also check all the necessary paperwork.
Stage four: Exchange of contracts.
Once all enquiries have been resolved to everyone’s satisfaction and all parties are happy with the terms, the buyer pays a deposit (usually 10% of the purchase price) in preparation for exchange.
A completion date is agreed, and the buyer and seller exchange signed contracts, making the sale legally binding.
Your conveyancer will then prepare for completion by drafting the transfer deed and completion information form, which are sent to the seller’s conveyancer.
Stage five: Completion.
On completion day, the buyer transfers the remaining purchase funds and receives the keys to the property.
Your conveyancer will then handle the payment of any stamp duty and register the change of ownership with the Land Registry .
Conveyancers Blackheath
Buying a new home is exciting but, for a property sale or purchase to go smoothly, it is crucial that you enlist the help of an experienced residential conveyancer.
At Beverley Morris & Co. Solicitors, we offer a range of residential property services for individuals and businesses and provide clear, sensible, and cost-effective legal advice on every aspect of the conveyancing process.
Beverley Morris & Co.’s conveyancing specialists are accredited under the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme, so you can rest assured you have direct access to specialist help.
For more information about our conveyancing legal service in Blackheath, click here.
Or to speak to our Residential Conveyancing team, call 020 8852 4433 or email enquiries@beverleymorris.co.uk.