Complete Guide to the Conveyancing Process
(when Buying)

Whether you are buying your dream house or getting your first foot on the property ladder, you will need to go through the steps of the standard conveyancing process to make it happen.

This process helps to ensure you buy what you are expecting.

When buying property, you will need to hire a professional conveyancer to help you. Professional conveyancers are either solicitors who specialise in property law or lawyers with a special conveyancing license.

The following steps are the process behind the legal transfer of property and are carried out during every property purchase.

The Conveyancing Process – Step #1 Before making an offer

• Apply for a mortgage Decision in Principle
• Choose a suitable conveyancer
• Instruct your conveyancer

The Conveyancing Process – Step #2 From making an offer to exchange of contracts

• Make your offer
• Request a survey, property searches and title documents
• Complete your mortgage application
• Check the property forms and your conveyancers legal report
• Negotiate (if necessary)
• Sign the contract of sale and form TR1
• Pay your deposit
• Agree a completion date
• Obtain building insurance
• Exchange Contracts

The Conveyancing Process – Step #3 Exchange to Completion

• Prepare for completion day
• Completion Day
• Collect the keys
• Move in
• Register with utility suppliers and for council tax

The Conveyancing Process – Step #4 Following completion

• Pay Stamp Duty Land Tax, and register the property title
• The Conveyancing Process Frequently asked questions

The Conveyancing Process – Step #1
Before making an offer

1. Apply for a mortgage Decision in Principle

To purchase a property, you will need to be able to finance it. Most home buyers do this by arranging a mortgage from a bank or building society.

The term ‘mortgage’ is used to describe a loan secured against a property.

Normally, a mortgage is used to make the final balance payment for a property while you finance the initial deposit payment yourself.

Ordinarily, you should apply to a mortgage lender for a decision in principle before viewing properties.

The mortgage lender will ask you a series of questions, including your annual income and maximum deposit. They will then carry out checks into your credit history. Using this information, the lenders underwriter will determine how much money they are willing to lend you, and at what cost. Provided they are satisfied the lender will then issue a decision in principle that you can show any estate agent or seller. This is a great way of proving your ability to purchase a property.

The decision in principle will confirm the terms of the mortgage and the maximum amount that can be borrowed.

All lenders will insist on you agreeing to give the lender the right to repossess the property if you fail to keep to the terms of the mortgage. Reasons for repossession can include on-going missed payments or breaching strict conditions. These conditions could include letting the property without their prior consent.

It is usually a good idea to shop around for a mortgage, as deals can vary massively.

2. Choose a suitable conveyancer

When buying a property finding a good conveyancer is vitally important.

This is because it is their job to protect you from making a bad purchase.

Conveyancers come in two types— Licensed Conveyancers and Conveyancing Solicitors. Licensed conveyancers should be registered with the Conveyancing Licensing Council (CLC), while solicitors should be members of the Law Society. Solicitors and licensed conveyancers can both offer excellent conveyancing services,.

When choosing your conveyancer, we suggest the following:

1. Look for a conveyancer that has recently dealt with properties like the one you want to buy. Experience counts for a lot when conveyancing, particularly when dealing with older, listed, leasehold or newbuild homes.
2. Check that a conveyancer is on your mortgage lenders approved panel! If they are not, your lender will appoint someone else. You will be charged twice, and things will be substantially less smooth as the companies have to coordinate with each other too.
3. Look at online reviews. Generally negative reviews are often more illuminating than positive reviews, as some less ethical companies fake or pay for good reviews. If issues such as delays, mistakes, or bad customer service keep coming up, avoid using that conveyancer.
4. Try and find a technologically savvy conveyancer who uses online case tracking. This allows you to keep an eye on your purchase and respond quickly to any problems which may come up.
5. Make sure your conveyancer gives you a name and contact number for the person handling your case. Many conveyancers are large businesses, and it is very useful being able to directly contact someone who knows the specifics of your case. If they are likely to be away, ask them to pass your case’s details on to someone else until they come back.
6. Ask what sort of timescale each conveyancer works to. If you already have a specific property in mind working quickly can be very important to securing it. Slow conveyancing can cause real problems with any property sale. In the same vein, ask what their office hours are, and if anyone works late, or over the weekends.
7. Consider online conveyancing. While there are horror stories circulating the internet about terrible online conveyancing services, the reality is, some are fantastic. There is absolutely no reason a conveyancer needs to be based near the property they are helping you buy, and the best online conveyancing firms can often have access to a lot of property experience.
8. Do not under pay. A good conveyancers basic fee for buying is usually at least £700. Anyone charging less than this should set alarm bells ringing.
   As conveyancers mostly are in place to protect the buyer from purchasing a “money pit”, it can make sense to go for a high-end conveyancing service when buying. These can cost more than £1500, (not including Stamp Duty).
   Some agents recommend hiring a conveyancer who works on a fixed fee guarantee basis. This will ensure you are not charged through the nose if your case requires additional work.
9. It can be a bad idea to follow your estate agent’s recommendation of conveyancer. They often receive a sizeable commission for recommending customers to big conveyancing companies. These companies do not always represent the best value or service for money.

3. Instruct your conveyancer

Once you have found a suitable conveyancer, you will need to hire them, a process formally known as instruction.

To instruct a conveyancer you will need to sign and return a letter of engagement. Conveyancing firms will provide this when they quote. The letter of engagement confirms the details of their fees and services, as well as their terms and conditions.

A good conveyancer will get back to you within 24 hours of you instructing them. If they do not, they are probably too busy to provide efficient conveyancing. Instruct someone else.

The Conveyancing Process – Step #2
From making an offer to exchange of contracts

4. Make your offer

Once you have secured a mortgage agreement in principle and chosen and instructed your conveyancer it is time to view properties. Once you have found a property that meets your buying criteria it is time to make an offer!

Before making your offer you will need to decide how much you are willing to pay. It can be a good idea to get advice from an estate agent based in the area and to do your research to ensure you do not offer too much.

When you make your offer, it is good practice to provide a copy of your lender’s decision in principle to the seller’s estate agent. This helps to demonstrate to the seller just how serious you are as a buyer.

Some agents will ask you to provide conveyancers’ details and proof that you can pay for the property as soon as you make an offer. This could include proof of having the deposit, and an ‘decision in principle’ from a mortgage lender. When a property market is hot you can expect estate agents to ask for this type of information even prior to arranging a viewing!

After the seller receives your offer, they may either decline, accept it, or make a counteroffer.

Once the seller accepts your initial offer, or you come to an agreement after some negotiation, the conveyancing process can begin.

When the seller’s estate agent has both the buyer’s and seller’s information, they will send your conveyancer a completed memorandum of sale.

5. Request a survey, property searches and title documents

Once your offer has been accepted you will need to ensure the property you are buying is everything it appears to be.

Your mortgage lender will insist on a property survey. This is a formal inspection of the property checking its overall condition for lending purposes.

At the same time, your conveyancer will order property searches and copies of the properties title documents.

If you have any enquires about the property, for example, access issues or parking, you should provide these to your conveyancer at this point.

Surveys

A survey is a professional inspection of a property to ascertain both it’s rebuild value, and open market value for purchase. The survey will also confirm if there are any major structural faults.

Surveys generally come in three levels of detail, These range from a basic ‘mortgage valuation’ through to a more in-depth ‘home buyers report’, and finally ‘structural survey’. As you go through these levels of details the cost increases as more time is spent carrying out the survey and reporting back on its findings.

You should ensure your survey is conducted by a member of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). All mortgage lenders will insist on this and will typically provide you with a list of surveying firms to choose from.

If the survey brings up any problems, such as damp or structural instability, you should use this document to re-negotiate the purchase price. Alternatively, you could ask the seller to rectify the fault or to provide you with a suitable indemnity insurance policy before proceeding any further.

What are property searches?

Conveyancing or property searches are enquiries made on behalf of buyers to various authorities. The aim is to find out as much information as possible about a property and its environment.

Property searches can protect you from certain dangers. These can for example include:

• the risk of flooding
• hidden debts
• mineshaft collapses
• proposed trainlines
• wind turbines being erected, and
• even previous land toxic contamination

If you are buying with a mortgage, your lender will insist on having searches carried out.

While cash buyers are not obligated to conduct surveys and searches, a failure to do so can lead to a buyer being at risk of any of the above.

Title Searches

Title searches are checks made of the Title Register and Title Plan. Copies of both documents can be bought from the Land Registry Website for £3.00.

The title register will tell you who previously owned a property and the price they paid for it. This will also confirm if any loans are secured against the property and who the lenders are. You will also receive confirmation if there are any rights of way that come with the property. Finally, it will detail any restrictive covenants that prevent certain activities taking place at the property.

The title plan is a map which shows the location of the property and its general boundaries. These will be marked in red. The title search is essential as it proves the seller is the legal owner of a property and has the right to sell it.

Local Authority Searches

The local authority search uncovers all information held about a property in the local councils’ records including the land charges register. This holds essential information for you as a buyer.

Local authority searches are caried out in two parts. These are the LLC1 (the Official Certificate of Search Form) and the CON29 (Enquiries of the Local Authority Form).

The LLC1 allows a buyer to find out about tree preservation orders and conservation area or listed building status relating to a property.

The CON29 shows details of planning applications relevant to the property, building control history and planning details.

It will also confirm if any enforcement action has been taken against the property and if there are any restrictions on permitted development that apply to the property. Finally, it will detail any proposed nearby road schemes, and any nearby contaminated land.

If the property is in the way of a major construction project, such as a new road or railway, the local authority search will reveal if the property is subject to a compulsory purchase order.

Council Searches and Regulated Searches.

Local authority searches come in two forms. These are council searches and regulated searches. These searches used to be called official searches and private searches respectively and are still sometimes referred to in this way.

Council searches are conducted by staff at the local authority. They will provide any information “as is” to your conveyancer.

Regulated searches are carried out by a specialist search company. Regulated search providers should be registered with the Property Codes Compliance Board (PCCB) and be members of Independent Personal Search Agents (IPSA) and the Council of Property Search Organisations (COPSO).

Whether a council search or regulated search is best for you depends on your local authority. Your conveyancer should be able to help you with this. Local authority searches costs vary widely, ranging from £30.00 – £300.00, depending on your property’s location. As regulated searches cost a fixed amount, they tend to be the better choice where local authorities costs for searches are higher.

A local authority search is valid for just 6 months. If the local authority search was ordered in January, a second would have to be ordered in July if the deal was not complete by then.

Water and Drainage Searches

Recommended to all homebuyers by the Law Society, a water and drainage search indicates how mains water pipes and sewers are connected to a property.

As a buyer, water and drainage searches provide essential information, especially if you are planning any construction work. For example, if a drain runs under a planned extension, it is likely the water companies’ permission will be needed before you can build over it.

These searches also reveal if a property is connected to the public water supply or drainage system. Properties which are not connected to public water and sanitation systems can have substantially higher running costs.

A water and drainage search can also reveal how much of a property’s drainage system the buyer will be responsible for, and therefore how much insurance to obtain cover for. Collapsed drains can be extremely expensive, especially if they cause subsidence, so this is information is worth knowing.

Another problem that can be revealed by a water and drainage search is low-pressure at showers and taps. Although not ideal for most buyers, this problem can generally be fixed by a good plumber fitting additional pumping equipment.

Water and drainage searches are provided by either a search company or the local water company.

Environmental Searches

An environmental search identifies whether a property is, or could be, affected by several different hazards. These could be either natural or manmade hazards.

The environmental search involves checking if the property is built on land contaminated by previous industrial occupants and if it is near a landfill site or waste processing facility. It will also often include a basic check for possible flooding, landslip and subsidence.

This search is considered essential by some, including the Law Society. Only consider skipping it if you are confident in your absolute knowledge of your property’s history and the local area.

Different packages can be bought online from both the water companies and specialised search companies. Your conveyancer can advise you on what search is best for a certain property.

Flood Risk Reports

A flood risk report checks if a property is vulnerable to river, sea, surface, or groundwater flooding.

This report is essential if a property is near to the sea, or on the floodplain of a river.

Whether you need a flood risk report is down to local knowledge. If you are unsure about the potential flood risk of an area it is worth talking to long-term, local residents. They can help provide a fuller picture of any historic problems.

Note that if a property has a potential flood risk it will generally be harder to obtain competitive quotes for building insurance.

Chancel Liability Repair Searches

A chancel liability repair search shows if an owner of a property is obligated to help fund repairs to a parish church.

While this may seem antiquated, around half a million houses, including newbuilds, are affected by this obscure law. This is because it applies to areas of land as well as specific buildings. A property may have once been part of a larger estate subject to these charges.

Your conveyancer will be able to advise if you need to obtain this search.

Canal Searches

Canal and River searches, also known as River Authority searches, are like chancel liability searches. However, the obligation they are checking for is to do with waterways, rather than places of worship.

Some properties, normally those which back onto rivers or canals, come with associated rights and maintenance responsibilities. These can include mooring rights, and the responsibility of upkeep for a certain section of the waterway.

This search is not always necessary. Your conveyancer will be able to advise if it is required.

Mining Searches

Other properties may need a mining or brine search. These searches check if there is a problem with the land the property sits on. This is based on previous claims from nearby properties and is often sold with a subsistence search.

If a problem is identified, it may need further reports to identify what needs to be done to reduce or insure you against any risk.

You are only likely to need a mining or brine search in areas of the UK where mining has been historically widespread. These areas include but are not limited to Northumbria, Cornwall and Wales. Again, your conveyancer will confirm if mining searches are necessary for your area.

The limitations of searches

You should order all of the required searches as soon as your offer is accepted.

Don’t expect searches to catch everything that happens around a property on a daily basis.

Visit the property’s area throughout the day to check for any on-going issues. These could include ensuring a school run or pub closing time is bearable.

You should always ask your conveyancer which searches they will apply for before you instruct them.

6. Complete your mortgage application

Once your offer has been accepted, you will need to establish that your mortgage offer in principle holds up.

While a decision in principle will normally be valid for up to 90 days, they are always subject to conditions in the wider economy. Changes such as the Bank of England interest base rate moving up or down or even a slowing economy can have fairly dramatic knock-on effects. Any such changes will often result in lenders having to change their mortgage products to reflect these changes.

If your lender does change their product, this could mean changing the money you have to put up as a deposit or paying a different interest rate. At this point it may worth shopping around again for a different lender that can offer you a better deal.

7. Check the property forms and your conveyancers legal report

Your searches should arrive within 2 -3 weeks of ordering them. Your conveyancer will assemble these into a formal legal report containing the results of their enquiries.

Take the time to read through both the legal report and each property search. If you do not understand any of these ask your conveyancer to explain in more detail.

The report will also confirm whether or not the seller has provided safety certificates for the proeprty. These could include:

Electrical Installation Conditon Report – detailing the overall safety of the electrics within the property.
Gas Safety certificate – confirming that all gas fittings and joints are indeed ‘gas tight’ and deemed safe.

It is worth ensuring that you check the Fittings and Contents TA10 and Property Information Form TA6 carefully as well. These forms will confirm the property’s details, and what is included within the sale.

Incredibly, some buyers get to this point before finding out if the property is a leasehold or a freehold. While most estate agents and licensed conveyancers will make this clear at the outset, it is important you know what you are buying. You do not want to get stuck paying ground rent or a service charge you did not expect.

If your property is a leasehold you should check the leasehold details in Leasehold Information Form TA7.

8. Negotiate (if necessary)

Check the survey, searches, and enquiries for anything which you think may reduce the value of the property. Any of these could hold vital points which may mean you want to negotiate the original purchase price of the property.

You may want to consider asking your seller to provide or pay for indemnity insurance to rectify issues with any previous work carried out at the property. Take both your conveyancer and your surveyor’s advice on surveys and searches.

9. Sign the contract of sale and form TR1

Provided the searches do not reveal any deal breakers, and after the seller has responded to all enquiries to your satisfaction, it is time to proceed with your purchase.

Your conveyancer will send you the TR1 transfer of property form and the final contract for you to read and sign.

You should return these documents via registered post or by hand to ensure they are received quick. Upon delivery, check with your conveyancer to confirm they have received them.

10. Pay your deposit

After signing the TR1 form you will be expected to send your deposit monies to your conveyancer to be held as cleared funds. This is to ensure they are ready for completion.

You will not be able to exchange contracts until your deposit monies are held by your conveyancer.

Typically, deposits are set at around 5 – 10% of a property’s purchase price. However, these can sometimes be set substantially lower or higher depending on the situation. Ultimately, deposits are normally set by the seller of a property, but these can often be negotiated.

11. Agree a completion date

Once your deposit is with your conveyancer it is time to agree a completion date. As long as there are no other buyers in the chain, this can be a simple process, and you can choose a date that suits both you and the seller.

If you are in a property chain your conveyancer will negotiate with all parties involved to agree on a completion day. This can be difficult time consuming. This can lead to a completion day slightly further down the line than you would like.

Typically, completion is agreed to take place one or two weeks after the exchange of contracts. This is normally the case even in longer chains when sellers and buyers are working hard to complete their purchases.

12. Obtain building insurance

You will need to buy building insurance for your new property prior to exchange of contracts.

This is because most mortgage lenders insist on this being in place as you become legally responsible for the property. Some sellers will cancel their building insurance policy following exchange of contracts, rather than completion. This is because technically they are no longer responsible for the property.

13. Exchange Contracts

Once the TR1 form is signed, building insurance is in place, and the deposit is sent, it is time to exchange contracts.

This is the step which effectively locks a transaction into place making it legally binding. Once contracts have been exchanged, neither party can pull out without the other having legal recourse.

Today the exchange of contracts takes place on a recorded telephone call between both parties’ conveyancers.

Both parties’ will have signed the final version of the contract of sale before this conversation, and the document authorises their conveyancers’ actions.

As part of the exchange, your conveyancer will send the deposit to the buyers conveyancer. They will keep this as cleared funds until the sale completes.

The Conveyancing Process – Step #3
Exchange to Completion

14. Prepare for completion day

Following the exchange of contracts your conveyancer will send you a final completion statement.

This will include a summary of all monies that need to be with your conveyancer prior to completion.

More than likely you will still have some conveyancer’s fees to pay, as well as search costs and a land registry fee. These will be in addition to stamp duty and any balance monies still owed for the property.

You should make sure all monies are with your conveyancer the day before completion is due to go ahead. This will help towards the transaction proceeding smoothly on completion day.

If you are getting a mortgage, you should ensure your conveyancer has a signed copy of the Mortgage Deed. This is so that your conveyancer can request your mortgage monies from your lender without delay.

Pre-completion searches

Just prior to completion, your conveyancer will order the following land registry pre-completion searches:

• The Bankruptcy Search (K16),
• The Land Charges Search (K15)
• The Official Search of Whole with Priority (OS1)
• The Official Search of Part with Priority (OS2)
• The Official Search of Whole or Part without Priority (OS3)

The bankruptcy search establishes whether you are, or are about to become made bankrupt. This search typically goes back five years. If you are applying for a mortgage, a bankruptcy search will be insisted upon by your lender.

The Land Charges Search ensures there are no new charges secured against the land, which could affect you if you purchase the property.
Priority searches are checks that the title of the property has not changed since the official copy of the Title Register was obtained at the start of the conveyancing process.

If you are buying the whole of a registered property, an OS1 search is needed. If you are only buying part of it, such as a new build which is part of a wider development, you will need an OS2 search. A K15 search is done in place of the OS searches when purchasing unregistered land.

The Government advises that you should order your Land Registry pre-completion searches no less than five days before the transactions completion date to ensure it arrives on time.

15. Completion Day

On completion day your conveyancer will send the seller’s conveyancer the remaining balance payment, usually via bank transfer. This can take a few hours, so do not worry if it does not go through immediately.

When this payment has arrived the seller’s conveyancer will complete the sale and send you an official copy of the title register as well as a transfer deed. These documents will be used to register you as the property’s new owner with HM Land Registry.

Congratulations! You are now the legal and proud owner of your new home.

After the conveyancers have done their part, the next steps are up to you.

16. Collect the keys

Once you have paid for a property, the seller’s conveyancer will give their estate agent authorisation to release the keys.

The time of day you can collect the keys to your new home will depend on your place in the chain but this is usually before 1pm. Don’t be surprised if this final stage happens later in the day due to delays in the property chain.

17. Move in

Having collected the keys to your new home you should head straight over and check it out.

It is a good idea to change the locks after buying a property. You will never know who the previous owners gave copies to.

Finally, take meter readings for gas, electricity, and water. By taking readings you can then measure your utility usage and ensure you are charged correctly.

18. Register with utility suppliers and for council tax

If you are planning on living in a property you will need to register with utility suppliers and for council tax.

While gas, electricity and water immediately spring to mind, there are a host of other utilities to consider. You may need to organise broadband, TV and potentially even a landline telephone.

The Conveyancing Process – Step #4
Following completion

19. Pay Stamp Duty Land Tax, and register the property title

The final steps involved with buying a property are to calculate and pay Stamp Duty Land Tax and register the changes to the property title with HM Land Registry.

This will typically be done by your conveyancer after they receive a copy of the deed of transfer.

What is Stamp Duty?

Stamp Duty Land Tax, commonly referred to as SDLT or simply ‘stamp duty’ is a tax levied by the Government on the purchase of property.
Currently, stamp duty starts to apply once the amount paid for a property crosses a threshold, which varies depending on several factors.

Stamp duty is not currently payable on residential properties with a value below £250,000. For first time buyers, the threshold is increased to £425,000, provided the property they are purchasing is worth less than £650,000.

The rate of stamp duty also varies, depending on factors including first time buyer and UK resident status. It will also depend on whether the property is your only residential property.

If you want to work out the amount of stamp duty payable on your purchase you can use the HM Revenue and Customs’ calculator.

Your conveyancer will ask for the money required for stamp duty in the completion statement. This is alongside their remaining fees and any remaining balance still required for completion.

Do I need to register my property?

Yes!

Registering residential property upon completion of sale has been a legal requirement since the 1990s.

If your property is already registered your conveyancer should send HM Land Registry a copy of the TR1 form, in addition to the mortgage deed.

The amount this change costs depends on if you are buying a whole or part of a property, and how much you have paid for it. Registering a property using the online portal is cheaper than via post. Ensure your conveyancer is using this to reduce your costs.

If a property is not already registered, you will need to apply for a first registration upon purchasing it. This can require an additional payment and further paperwork.

All of this should be handled by your conveyancer, and the costs should be included in the completion statement.

Further reading

For further information on how conveyancing works for both buyers and sellers, see our Ultimate Guide to the Conveyancing Process.

The Conveyancing Process
Frequently asked questions

Where should I look to find a conveyancing solicitor?

• It is often a good idea to look for a reputable licensed conveyancer or solicitor in an online database, directory, or review website.
• You should contact any legal professional you are considering and ask them if they fit your requirements.
• Ensure you check their reviews before instructing them, as a bad conveyancer is a big problem when selling.
• Sometimes, online conveyancing can be a good idea. Specialised online firms can be faster than more traditional brick and mortar outfits, and when buying property speed matters.
• When shopping around for a conveyancing service, you should ask several companies for a quote breaking down all fees, so you know exactly what you are getting for your money.

Do I need a lawyer to buy a house

• Yes! You will need the help of a solicitor or a licensed conveyancer when buying a house.
• They are needed to prepare the legal documents, order searches and surveys, help with payment negotiations, send the payment, and ensure all legal requirements are fulfilled.
• While it is legal and theoretically possible to buy a house without the help of a legal representative, DIY conveyancing is generally a bad idea for a bunch of reasons.

How much do solicitors charge for buying a house?

• When buying a house, your conveyancer’s fees are typically split into two categories. These are legal fees, and disbursements.
• Legal fees cover the money the conveyancers are charging you themselves, while disbursements are required for paying third parties, such as a leaseholder or search company.
• Legal fees typically vary from £500-£1150, while disbursements will cost an extra £700 or more. When buying a leasehold property, an additional £300 or so will be required to cover the extra disbursements.

Do I need indemnity insurance?

• As buying a house is a risky proposition, you may want insurance to mitigate some of the danger.
• An indemnity insurance policy can protect you from key things going wrong in the purchase process.
• Typically, indemnity insurance covers issues with planning permissions, building regulations, restrictive covenants, access, chancel repair liability, and missing deeds or documentation.
• You typically pay for indemnity insurance as a one off purchase, which then remains tied to the property indefinitely.
• Sometimes, you can get the seller to purchase indemnity insurance as part of your negotiations.
• You should ask your conveyancer if indemnity insurance is advisable in your case.

How long does it take to buy a house?

• The amount of time it takes to buy a house can vary enormously, depending on a whole bunch of factors.
• If you are a cash buyer, and are willing to forgo searches and a survey, you can buy a house in as little as four weeks.
• Alternatively, if you are buying with a mortgage, and are in a chain, the purchase can take several months, as everyone in the chain organises their own sales and moves.
• Typically, it can take around 12 weeks to buy.

Why do I need to sign the TR1 form?

• The TR1 Transfer Form is the official legal document used to change the ownership of a property.
• This form outlines the parties and property involved in the transaction and any conditions associated with it.
• You need to sign this document when buying to show that you agree to the terms of purchase, as well as any covenants binding the land.
• Sometimes, alternative forms including the TP1 and TR2 forms are used instead. A TP1 form is used to transfer the ownership of part of a property, while a TR2 form is used to transfer a property when the owner has died.

Is it possible to exchange contracts without a completion date?

• Not only is it possible to exchange contracts without a completion date it is also sometimes done.
• When this is the case either party can suggest a completion date at any point in the future and set it as soon as an agreement is reached.
• This can lead to substantial delays in completion, however.

When should I buy a house?

• Typically, it is advised to buy a house as soon as you can afford the deposit and reliably cover the mortgage payments.
• This is as houses typically increase in value, and mortgage payments are normally cheaper than rent.
• You should look for a house in spring, as typically more homes are on the market. March is typically suggested as a good compromise between property prices and availability.

When should I move?

• Do not move on a Friday. As the traditional day to move on it is the busiest for conveyancers, estate agents and removal companies.
• In addition, problems on a Friday can delay the move until Monday, while with other days of the week when problems arise you can continue the next day.
• Finally, newly discovered urgent problems with your home can be more easily repaired in the week rather than over the weekend.