Buying A Property: The Purchase Process
In this part 4 of Beagle Street’s Home Buyers’ Guide, we’ll go through the actual process of buying a house, split into two sections:
1. The Purchase Process
So you’ve spent hours, weeks and months searching for the property of your dreams and now your offer has been accepted! Read on as we look at everything you need to do now, going into detail on:
- What is conveyancing?
- Types of ownership
- How do I find a solicitor?
- Insurance and Wills
2. Completion
Before you’re in a position to move in, you’ll need to complete. It’s an exciting day, but could throw up one or two anomalies. To protect against these, this page goes over:
- Information about completion day
- Setting up your home
What is conveyancing?
Conveyancing describes the process of legally transferring a property from seller to buyer. It starts when your offer on a house is accepted and finishes when you complete.
How long the conveyancing process lasts mainly depends on how many other buyers and sellers are involved (the ‘chain’).
To complete the conveyancing process most people get a solicitor or ‘conveyancer’.
Why do I need a solicitor?
A solicitor could be really useful and important to have when buying a house. In particular, they’re able to give you expert assistance in the following areas:
- Explanation & advice
A good solicitor can explain the whole house buying process in detail and provide invaluable expert advice on various legal issues that could arise through the purchase process. They could also warn (and protect) against issues that could happen in future. - Searches
It’s very important that various searches (for example, legal boundaries, rights of way and planning permissions) are carried out on the property before you buy. Your solicitor can do these for you and advise if anything unusual comes out of them. - Exchange
Your solicitor can arrange the contract that you must exchange with the seller to make the house sale legally binding and then arrange a date for completion. - Completion
This is when the property legally becomes yours. There are a few processes involved in completion, including the transfer of funds to the seller and registration of your (and your mortgage lender’s) name with the Land Registry. Your solicitor can do this, as well as sorting out any stamp duty payments.
How much do solicitors cost?
You need to be a bit careful, here, as the cost of your solicitor and the cost of conveyancing are different.
- Cost of solicitor
This is the basic fee charged by your solicitor for doing the legal work, and advising you. As it’s a very competitive market fees can vary, but are usually between £850-£1,500 [1]. - Cost of conveyancing
On top of their basic fee, a solicitor could add ‘disbursements’. These are costs that the solicitor has paid on your behalf, for things such as the Land Registry fee, bank transfer fees, search fees for example. On average, these cost between £850-£1,500 [2] but will differ by property price, area, conveyancer and complexity of service.
If you’re thinking of agreeing to use the solicitor recommended by your estate agent, remember that this is probably a commission-based recommendation, so it could cost you more.
Types of ownership
When you buy a property, ownership might be legally shared in different ways. Your conveyancing solicitor can explain the different types of property ownership in more detail, but they are basically spilt into the three types below:
- Sole ownership. Here, the house is in your name only. In this case, your property could be part of your estate if you pass away.
- Joint tenants. This means your share in the property automatically passes to the surviving owner(s) if you die. You cannot pass on your share of the property in your Will.
- Tenants in common. A property owned like this means you might own a different share to others. While this share doesn’t automatically go to the other owners if you die, you could pass it on in your Will.
It’s easy to see how the type of ownership you have could be important in a number of different circumstances, such as marriage or divorce. It could also be important if you’re co-habiting (not married or in a civil partnership) and decide to split up. If you’re co-habiting, you may find this article at the Money Advice Service helpful.
Could I do it myself?
There’s no legal reason why you can’t do the conveyancing yourself, but if there’s a mortgage involved then it’s almost certain that your lender could insist you use a professional service. Many lenders also require you to use one of their recognised solicitors to do your conveyancing.
You need to bear in mind that conveyancing involves a lot of legal jargon and paperwork and it’s essential that it’s all completed correctly. Otherwise, mistakes could cause considerable delays, or even cause the sale to fall through.
How do I find a solicitor?
There are a few ways you can find a reliable conveyancing solicitor which we’ve listed below for you:
- Get a recommendation from family or friends.
- Ask your mortgage lender or adviser.
- Go with your estate agent’s recommendation – but remember that this could end up being an expensive option, as the estate agent could be paid commission by the conveyancer.
- Search online. This might help you find a cheap quote, but you have no information about the quality of their service. Compare conveyancing quotes on sites such as the Home Owner’s Association.
To find a reputable solicitor, you could check to see if they are a member of the Law Society of England and Wales or the Law Society of Scotland AND a member of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme.
Insurance and Wills
In the excitement of buying your first home, things such as Life Insurance and making a Will may not be the first thing you think of. We completely understand, it’s not nice to think about our own death. But it’s very important to sort out, to have peace of mind that your home is protected if the worst were to happen.
Life Insurance
A mortgage is a large commitment, and if you have people who depend on you financially it’s important to think about how they might cope if you weren’t there. This is where Life Insurance comes in – it could help to ensure that your loved ones can pay the mortgage if you died.
There are a couple of different types of life insurance depending on what you are wanting it for. Below we’ve put together some information on the two types and what the differences are so you can see which may be best for you:
| Level term life insurance | Decreasing term life insurance |
|---|---|
| The amount you’re covered for stays the same throughout your policy term | The amount you’re covered for decreases over time |
| The monthly cost of your policy stays the same | The monthly cost of your policy stays the same |
| Monthly premiums could be more expensive | Monthly premiums could be cheaper because your cash payout decreases over time |
| Peace of mind knowing how much could be paid out to your loved ones if you die | Peace of mind knowing your loved ones could get a payout if you die |
Here at Beagle Street, we like to make things quick and simple. So, you can get a quote for life insurance which suits your needs in minutes.
Will
A Will is a legal document that details how you would like to distribute your assets, so you choose what or how much you’d like to leave to your beneficiaries. It’s really important to have one in place when buying a house as, without one, your assets will be settled according to the Law of Intestacy. This means the wishes of you and your family will be ignored and out of their control if you were to die, perhaps leaving shares of your estate to people you didn’t intend to [3].
At Beagle Street, we can offer you a free will writing service when you take out your life insurance with us- told you we like to keep things easy!
Where next?
Now move on to the next page to learn more about the second part of buying a house- ‘Completion’.
Appendix
- Money Advice Service – The cost of buying a house and moving
- Home Owners Alliance – How much do conveyancing fees cost?
- Citizens Advice – Who can inherit if there is no will – the rules of intestacy
Additional Sources
- Home Owners Alliance – Conveyancing process explained for buyers
