What is Conveyancing
When you are transferring the ownership or a house, a commercial building or even land from a buyer to a seller then this is known as conveyancing. Conveyancing is the legal process of the transaction and it starts from when you first agree on the offer, right up to when you handover or receive the keys!
At First Choice Legal, our mission is to provide our clients with a seamless, efficient, and stress-free conveyancing process. We understand that buying or selling property can be overwhelming, so we take on all the legal complexities for you. Our dedicated team of experts handles every detail with care, ensuring that your transaction is smooth and hassle-free. Whether you’re a first-time buyer or an experienced investor, we are committed to guiding you through each step of the process, allowing you to focus on what truly matters while we manage the legal work. Your peace of mind is our priority!
We make selling a house easy
We help you through the entire legal process and settle any mortgages or charges on your behalf! We work hard to consistently work on progressing the matter for a swift and easy completion!
CONVEYANCING IN 10 SIMPLE STEPS
When buying a property remember the next 10 simple steps:
1. Instruct your legal representative or conveyancer.
2. Sign and return client care pack
3. We carry out searches on your behalf!
4. Reviewing of legal paperwork and drafting and preparing contracts and transfer documents.
5. Raise or respond to any necessary enquiries with third party.
6. Carrying out AML and legal checks and searches.
7. Signing contracts.
8. Exchange contracts.
9. Completion of sale and exchange of keys.
10. Post Completion work. This is registering your property with the Land Registry, paying any owed Stamp Duty or redeeming any mortgages and charges secured on the property by the seller.
At First Choice Legal the conveyancing process is efficient and simple, we can help complete your conveyancing process in only 4 to 6 weeks.
Buying or selling your home?
BUYING A NEW HOUSE?
When you’ve chosen the perfect home to buy yourself and your offer has been accepted by the seller or agent, then the next step is to instruct a legal representative or conveyancer for the conveyancing. That means now it is time for the legal process of the contracts and transfer from the seller to the buyer. When buying a property ensuring you have a good conveyancing team is important. When making what could be as considered as one of the largest investments of your life then it would be a wise idea to select a good conveyancer.
We are helping our clients complete their property transactions within 4-6 weeks! We carry out the searches and raise any necessary enquiries with the third-party solicitors/conveyancers. We also work closely with your broker and lender and ensure your finance is in place for completion. We then carry out the necessary legal checks and prepare the contract and transfer documents together with the third-party solicitors. Once we carry out the necessary final checks we arrange for execution of the contracts and transfer documents and then exchange and complete with the other side. Once this is done you can receive the key on the same day! The final step is just about paying any Stamp Duty owed and making an application to register the property with the Land Registry. Once the property is registered, we will update you with the updated office copies from the Land Registry.
ARE YOU SELLING YOUR HOUSE?
When it comes to selling your house, we understand that this can be a confusing and difficult time. That’s why when you are selling your house, you want to make sure that you’re instructing the right conveyancer or solicitor on your behalf. At First Choice Legal, we stive to deliver a stress-free experience to our clients when we are conducting the conveyancing process on your behalf and that’s why we make sure that we help you from the beginning right up to settling your final mortgage payment and getting your safely paid the proceeds of the same.
How we can help?
Buying Freehold
A Freehold title is when you own the property outright including the piece of land its built on. That means when you buy a freehold the property is your responsible and so is the land. Generally, most houses are freehold purchases however, some may also be sold as leaseholds. It is important to check what your property is.
When buying a Freehold, you don’t need to worry about renewing a lease or for the lease to be running out because you’ll own the property outright. If you buy a freehold, you will be referred to as the freeholder. You will not be required to pay any ground rent, service charges or other landlord charges. Buying a freehold title is often known to be more costly which means that you will have to input a large deposit if you are purchasing with a lender.
A whole house is usually a freehold so you would not only own the building itself but also the land that it sits on. It is uncommon for a standalone house to be a leasehold although, there are some instances where this can be the case, so it is crucial you check with your solicitor or conveyancer whether your property title is freehold or leasehold. Another benefit with purchasing a freehold title is that there is usually fewer conditions placed on the property in terms of restrictive covenants, or conditions that you would have to comply with.
Buying Leasehold
With a leasehold property you do not own the Freehold title and that means you would have ownership of the property for a length of time by making an agreement with the freeholder. When the lease finished ownership of the property the ownership of the property will usually return to the freeholder unless you opt in to extend the lease.
Leasehold titles are usually offered when it comes to buying property such as flats or maisonettes and this means that whilst you own the property for the duration of that lease, you do not own the land on which that property is built. Therefore, you may incur additional service charges, ground rents, or fees for any communal and shared areas of the property. This also means that whilst you are the owner of the property you may not be the owner of the building that the property is in unless you buy a full house, in which case this means you own the property but not the land that the house sits on.
When buying a leasehold property this means that you will take over the lease from a previous owner unless the freeholder is providing you a new lease for a duration of time. When buying a leasehold property, you will want your conveyancer or solicitor to check if there is any ground rent, or service charges, how many years are left on the lease, and if there is the option to extend the lease at any point.
Another important tip for you is to check that your conveyancer checks what the service charges are for and if there are any services that need to be carried out such as lighting or gardening in common areas. You will also want your conveyancer or solicitor to check if the length of a lease may affect getting any finance on the property or if it will affect the property resale value as well as checking if there are any increases on the ground rent or service charges within the contract.
Buying Commercial Property
When purchasing a commercial property, the conveyancing process is very different to residential conveyancing. This is because the conveyancer or solicitor must carry out extensive checks on your behalf to establish the use and permission of the building and to ensure that legally it is fit for purpose for the buyer.
A commercial property can be any type of commercial building or land that is not used for residential purposes. Some examples could include; shops, restaurants, factories, warehouses, garages, pubs, sports Centre, or any other type of building which has any type of commercial use.
Some commercial buildings may come with flats built upstairs and so such a commercial property would have a residential aspect to the building too. You can buy Commercial property with a freehold title or on a lease and so it is important to ensure that you establish the title you are purchasing as you will have different legal obligations and rights under each of these titles.
Purchasing Land
When buying land, it is imperative that you instruct a legal representative who is experienced in Land transactions. Land transactions can often be considered as tricky! However, we have helped numerous clients purchase land and helped carry out the necessary checks with the local authorities and other third parties to establish crucial information about the land on your behalf.
Buying land can be tricky, so you want to make sure your boundaries are not only explained clearly, but also are confirmed with the third-party so there is no confusion or irregularity of where the boundaries are when buying a piece of land. This is often one of the biggest issues for many people later down the line. Therefore, when you instruct us on your behalf, we will ensure the title plan is checked and confirmed and that the property has the appropriate legal checks carried out before you finalise the purchase.
