Conveyancing Solicitors

Are you buying or selling a property? Moving home should be an exciting time, speak to our expert property lawyers to see how we can make it as simple and stress free as possible.

Ready to make the move?

Are you buying or selling a property in the Birmingham and West Midlands area?

Our friendly, reliable residential conveyancing solicitors have the local knowledge and years of experience to ensure your move runs as quickly and smoothly as possible. Whether you are a first-time buyer, an experienced home mover or a property investor we will provide you with high quality legal advice throughout the conveyancing process that is great value for money.

At Davisons law firm our clients are at the heart of everything we do – that’s why people come back to our conveyancers again and again.

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Call 0808 304 7471

What is the conveyancing process?

Conveyancing – the legal process of transferring property ownership from one person to another – happens in several stages; which can often be likened to a jigsaw puzzle in that all of the pieces need to be in place to form a whole picture. Once you have made an offer on a property and instructed your conveyancer to act on your behalf, conveyancing can begin. The conveyancing process follows several key stages.

Property information/Title

The seller’s conveyancer will have asked the seller to complete various forms giving information about property related matters (the Property Information form and the Fittings and Contents form). Your conveyancing solicitors will receive these forms along with contract papers and title. Your conveyancer will ask you to read the paperwork and they will check whether you have any questions; as you can appreciate your conveyancer hasn’t physically seen the property and is to some extent relying upon information from you and the seller on the finer property details. If there is anything your conveyancing solicitors needs to know they will ask the seller’s conveyancer. If there is anything your conveyancing solicitors need to know they will ask the seller’s conveyancer.

Property searches

Your conveyancing solicitor will arrange the following property searches:

Local authority searches. These searches reveal whether there plans in place for extensions, housing developments or new roads that will affect the residential property. They also reveal whether there are any tree preservation orders in place or covenants that might affect your house purchase.
Land Registry checks. These checks prove the seller owns the property and has the right to sell it to you.
Water authority searches. Searches show whether there any public drains that could affect you now or in future, particularly if you plan to carry out building works.
Environmental search. This reports flood risks, whether there is any contaminated land or a landfill site nearby, if there are high levels of radon gas in the area and more.
Location specific searches. If you are buying a residential property in Birmingham, for example, you might need to have a mining search carried out. In some locations you might require searches into common land use, public paths or pipelines.

There are a number of other searches that your conveyancer can undertake for you which are optional.

Mortgage conveyancing

Once you’ve found your mortgage through a mortgage broker or other means, your property conveyancing solicitor will check the terms and conditions of your mortgage offer. At the same time the mortgage lender will arrange for a surveyor to survey or value the property to check that the property value is worth the money you will pay. This survey is not comprehensive so you may wish to organise an additional survey yourself.

Signing contracts

Your conveyancer will have received a draft contract from the seller’s conveyancing solicitors. They will talk you through the contract, so you understand it thoroughly before you sign. Your conveyancer will check that all their enquiries have been answered satisfactorily and that all the fixtures and fittings you expect are included in the purchase.

Exchanging contracts

Your conveyancing solicitor and the seller’s conveyancer will read the contracts to each other over the telephone to check they are identical. Immediately afterwards they will post the contracts to each other. If you are in a housing chain this happens with every transaction along the chain at the same time. At this point you pay a (typical) 10% deposit on the property, and you are legally bound to purchase. A moving day (completion day) is fixed.

Completion

The completion date is moving day. Your conveyancer will: Transfer the money for the property to the seller’s conveyancing solicitors. Once money has been transferred you can collect the keys!

After completion

Your conveyancing solicitor will:

Pay any Stamp Duty Land Tax due.
Receive the title deeds for the property from the sellers conveyancer. They will also receive proof that the seller has paid off the mortgage.
Register the property in your name with the Land Registry. This can take approximately 3-6 months; we have no control over the Land Registry timescales.
Send a copy of the property title deeds to your mortgage lender. The lender keeps the deeds until you pay off the loan.
Send the legal documents to you after the Land Registry has received them.

How long does conveyancing take?

Conveyancing usually take around 20 weeks, but is likely to be longer for leasehold properties. Conveyancing is a complex process and dependant on a number of moving parts and parties which makes each situation unique. To minimise delays and make the process as smooth as possible we recommend taking the following steps as early as possible:

Instruct a conveyancing solicitor as soon as soon as possible.
Provide all necessary ID and Proof of Address to your solicitor at the outset.
If selling we recommend:
- Instruct your solicitor to prepare the contract pack ASAP in readiness for a buyer and inform your solicitor of any unusual aspects of the property or title. Any title defects can be resolved early on.
- Gather and provide certificates/guarantees and any other documents provided at your time of purchase, works done etc to your solicitor.
- If the property is affected by a Management Company, whether freehold or leasehold, the Management pack (that has to be provided to any buyer) should be ordered and paid for ASAP. The pack can often take several weeks to come from the Management Company.

How much will it cost?

The Cost of a conveyancing service will vary depending on the value of the property and how much legal work is required. Throughout the process there will also be third party payments that will need to be made, known as disbursements, these will vary depending on the type of transaction.

If you would like to get an idea of likely costs, speak to one of our experts who will be able to provide you with a no obligation estimate of legal fees, including any additional fees based on the information you provide at the time so you know where you stand.

Costs and Timescales

Why choose Davisons

At Davisons we offer a personal, bespoke service with a conveyancer assigned to you. You will receive direct contact details for your conveyancer, along with our promise that, wherever possible, you will get a same-day response to any query you have.

As a well-established local solicitor, our conveyancers have extensive knowledge of the residential and commercial property markets in Birmingham and the surrounding areas. We also have long-standing relationships with third parties, so you can be sure of the best legal advice through the entire process.

Conveyancing FAQs

How can a conveyancer help me?

A conveyancer is a solicitor, property lawyer or licensed person who is legally trained to help you buy, sell and let your property. They can also clarify your rights in a leasehold and conduct property searches for you which is an important requirement when buying a property.

What are online conveyancers?

Online conveyancers follow the same conveyancing processes as traditional conveyancers. The difference is that every step takes place online and by phone instead of face-to-face.

Although online conveyancing can be cheaper, there are significant downsides. Online conveyancing is an impersonal, one-size-fits-all model. To keep conveyancing fees low you are likely to talk to a different person every time you call rather than one assigned conveyancer. As a consequence, it can take a longer for you to receive answers to your queries which can be frustrating.

Tight margins mean online conveyancers may have to take on larger amounts of work than in-person conveyancers. This means if any complications arise it can be a while before issues are resolved. The longer and more drawn-out conveyancing is, the more likely it becomes that somebody in a property chain will experience a change in circumstances which could lead to a sale falling through.

Do I need to use the mortgage lender recommended conveyancing solicitor?

Many mortgage lenders have a panel of solicitors who they recommend. Always ask the question whether you are required to use their panel of solicitors or if you can source your own. You may find that the panel of solicitors recommended could work faster with your mortgage lender because of the business relationship.

We recommend to all potential clients to research the conveyancing solicitor and ensure they are happy with their services prior to proceeding.