Whether you’re buying or selling a house, it’s highly recommended that you appoint a licensed conveyancer, or a conveyancing solicitor, to help you throughout the process. But what do they actually do, and how does their role and advice differ when acting on the seller’s behalf compared to the buyer’s behalf?
Keep reading to find out.
What is a Conveyancer?
Let’s first discuss what a conveyancer is and what they do. Also referred to as a conveyancing solicitor, a conveyancer is someone who specialises in the legal aspect of transferring a property from one person to another – whether that be acting on the seller’s behalf or the buyer’s behalf.
This involves arranging, providing you with and dealing accordingly with all the necessary documents, such as the contracts and transfer of deeds.
What do They do to Support a Seller?
When a conveyancer is supporting you as a property seller, they are responsible for sending you all the necessary forms that must be completed prior to sending a draft contract over to the buyer whose offer you’ve accepted, including the fittings and content form and property information form(s) for you to complete.
They will then obtain the title deeds and any other documents required by The Land Registry, as is required to prove your current ownership of the property.
A seller’s conveyancer is also responsible for drawing up a draft contract, along with any supporting documentation, which they will then send to the buyer’s conveyancer.
Once the final contract has been signed, then your conveyancer will check the transfer deed received from the buyer’s conveyancer and send it to you to sign, so that the transfer of the property can be completed.
Lastly, they will also oversee the necessary payments involved – receiving the payment from the buyer and using this to cover any applicable costs involved (such as estate agent fees and the conveyancing fees), before transferring the leftover payment to you.
What do They do to Support a Buyer?
When working on your behalf as a buyer, a conveyancer will obtain the contract pack from the seller’s conveyancer, raising any pre-contract enquiries with them. They will then review the contents of the contract and report these back to you to check that you’re happy to proceed.
Once a deposit has been paid and the contracts formally exchanged, the conveyancer will prepare a draft transfer deed and completion information form, which they will pass on to the seller’s conveyancer for approval, before making the final copy.
After all of this has been completed, they will apply to your mortgage lender for the mortgage loan, send the stamp duty payable to HMRC, receive the title and transfer deeds and will register the property in your name with The Land Registry.
Get in Touch
If you require the help of a solicitor for buying a house or selling a house, then our conveyancing lawyers can help here at Richards & Lewis.
Get in touch with us today to discuss your requirements.
