MORTGAGE HELP DESK UK

What is the Role of the Solicitors?

Appointing A Solicitor Before The Point Of Exchange Completion Date

Appointing A Solicitor

You will need to appoint a solicitor or a Property Conveyancer to deal with all the conveyancing and legal formalities of the property transfer process. Some solicitors will charge their fees as a percentage of the value of the property and others as a fixed fee. When appointing a solicitor to deal with the legal side of the purchase you must always ask for a quote and look for recommendations. Some solicitors that specialise in conveyancing offer an online service.

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Before The Point Of Exchange

Following your acceptance of the formal offer, your solicitor will make all pre-sale enquiries if any between your self and your vendor, he/she will then take you through the exchange and close of the sale. Your solicitor will do several ‘local searches’. In addition to this you should carry out a search yourself, for example by researching on what is going on in your surrounding area. You may ask your local planning department, if there are any applications been or being made to build or develop any properties adjacent or relevant to your likely acquisition. You could also ask other people in the neighbourhood questions like what life is like when living in the area and what is going on in the area.

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Exchange and Completion Date

Usually about two weeks prior to ‘moving in day’, your solicitor will call you in , this is known as the ‘exchange date’, you will exchange contracts. Your mortgage offer should be in place when you exchange contracts. Then on completion, your name will be registered with the Land Registry and you will have to pay Stamp Duty and Land Tax. Your solicitor will arrange this for you. At this point in time, you will also have to pay any money transfer fees for transferring from your solicitors account to your sellers solicitors account.

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