The legal profession

Buying a house is a much more complicated business than buying a tin of biscuits. The name’s not the same, for a start. The legal profession uses the name conveyancing for transferring the ownership of a property from seller to buyer.

But with our help, the process should hold no fears; we’ll talk you through this too. Buyer and seller should be represented by a solicitor or licenced conveyancer, because the process can be complicated, and there is much that can go wrong. And it’s worth remembering that the same solicitor can’t act for both parties.

The solicitors work on your behalf to make sure everything is done legally. They’ll exchange the contracts they have drawn up and decide a date when the sale should be completed. A date must be set so you know the exact point when the house legally belongs to you, and you can move in.

It’s normal for buyers to pay a deposit; 10 per cent of the price usually covers it, with the balance when the contracts are exchanged.

The final stage of a sale is when the Land Registry changes the name of the person who owns the house. Before this can happen contracts must be signed and exchanged, and the transfer document is sent to the Land Registry along with any mortgage details.

Compass Estate Agents:
calming the nerves and smoothing the way.