A conveyancing solicitor will assist the property seller with completing the necessary documents and stages in the selling process and ensure they meet all their legal obligations. Firstly, a solicitor will check the title deeds to the property to prove that there are no issues affecting the owner’s right to sell. The solicitor will then help the seller complete the mandatory property information forms, and prepare a draft contract for sale. The draft contract and a copy of the title deeds will then be sent to the prospective buyer’s solicitors, and any queries can then be addressed.
Once the buyer confirms they are ready to proceed with the transaction, contracts will be signed by both parties and ‘exchanged’ between their respective solicitors, at which point the agreement becomes legally binding. The buyer will then pay a deposit (normally 10%) and a date will be set for completion, by which time the seller will have vacated the property. On the day of completion, the seller’s solicitor will receive the balance due, and the keys to the property will be handed over to the buyer. The seller will then receive the proceeds of the sale from their conveyancing solicitor.
Another important role a conveyancing solicitor plays is in ensuring that the seller’s financial liabilities relating to the property are met, especially concerning any outstanding sums owed on a mortgage or other loans secured on the property. A solicitor can request a redemption statement from a mortgage provider, and settle the seller’s account with the lender before the completion date. They can also make sure that any other financial obligations (e.g. estate agent’s fees) are settled by that date.
Our firm has years of experience helping property sellers in the city of Liverpool and across Merseyside. All conveyancing work is supervised by Louise Nelson who is a conveyancing solicitor in Liverpool with over 40 years’ experience. Louise and her team can provide you with a no obligation immediate quotation based on our transparent fixed fee structure:
https://www.bartletts.co.uk/our-services/residential-conveyancing/fixed-prices-for-our-residential-conveyancing-services/
Conveyancing is the process of legally transferring a property from the seller to the buyer, and the job of a conveyancing solicitor is to make this process as fast, smooth and straightforward as possible. A significant amount of paperwork is involved that needs to be properly understood, and handled in a timely and efficient manner. Both property buyers and sellers, therefore, will normally require legal assistance to drive the conveyancing process towards a successful conclusion.
Stamp duty is a tax that you need to pay when you buy a property in England or Northern Ireland. In Scotland, it’s known as Land and Buildings Transaction Tax, and in Wales it’s called Land Transaction Tax with rates set locally. The amount of Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) you pay is calculated using the purchase price of a property, not the amount you’re borrowing through a mortgage.
owner moves out and you move in. In a way that’s true. But when something as valuable as a building is bought and sold, then the process involves something called an exchange of contracts and completion which requires a significant amount of legal involvement before matters proceed to finalisation of the transaction, monies being paid and property ownership and occupation changing hands. This is process is called conveyancing and to complete the property sale and purchase in the most efficient, legally protective way, you 
Last month provided a significant boost for those looking to buy their first property, with the government’s mini-budget announcing that the threshold for paying stamp duty is being raised from £300,000 to £425,000 for first-time home buyers (the property must now cost less than £625,000 to be eligible for stamp duty relief, rising from the previous £500,000 threshold). This means that first-time buyers will now only start to pay the standard 5% stamp duty tax rate when the transaction is worth more than £425,000, and continue in line with the standard rate by paying 10% tax on the value in excess of £925,000, rising to 12% above £1.5 million.
House prices across the United Kingdom have continued to rise rapidly, with Liverpool and Merseyside reaching record new highs in April 2022. Average prices in Liverpool rose by 10.5% year on year to reach £174,890, and by 10.2% to reach £184,880 in Merseyside as a whole. St Helens recorded the biggest annual increase of anywhere in Merseyside with 15.5%, followed by Knowsley with 13.5%, while Sefton had the highest average price at £201,519, representing 9.8% annual growth.
Last week, the British government announced an extension of the Right to Buy scheme to around 2.5 million housing association tenants, with the Prime Minister criticising some housing associations for their ‘scandalous indifference’ to tenants. The Right to Buy policy was originally introduced in the 1980s, allowing social housing tenants to buy their council homes at discounts of up to 70% off the market value. It is estimated that more than two million tenants have taken advantage of the scheme to become homeowners since then.
With the property market still moving at a fast pace, it’s vital you’re able to buy your next home as quickly and as efficiently as possible – and using an experienced professional conveyancing solicitor will help ensure the process is as straightforward as possible.
Legal advice from conveyancing solicitors with local knowledge and experience can be critically important in safeguarding the interests of a buy-to-let property purchaser. The tenancy agreement will need to be assessed to make sure that the terms are acceptable, and that no unwelcome surprises will impact the buyer over the duration of the lease. Legal paperwork will need to be examined, and searches and enquiries carried out, to check whether, for example, any service charges are due on the property, or whether any restrictive covenants or other obstacles exist limiting the buyer’s intended use of property.