Conveyancing is the legal process of transferring Title in a property to/from another person or giving a legal interest in a property to a lending institution.  Although it can be dealt with personally, it is recommended that specialist legal representation is obtained, and often independent legal advice is a necessity where a mortgage is involved. 

The milestones of the conveyancing process are typically as follows:-

1. Contracts are prepared by the seller, these are issued with evidence of ownership (title) together with other general information in the seller's knowledge; 
2. The buyer may then raise appropriate enquiries and commission relevant searches to ascertain information about the property not available in the deeds and information supplied by the seller;
3. Any required mortgage finance would have to be confirmed at this time;
4. Once the buyer is satisfied with the information about the property and any relevant funding is in place, contracts can be exchanged to commit the seller and the buyer to a legally binding completion date.  A deposit of (usually) 10% of the purchase price is required to be paid on exchange, with buildings insurance liability being passed to the buyer at this time;
5. Between exchange and completion some final searches are carried out and the monies required from the buyer to complete the purchase are made available;
6. Upon the agreed completion date the purchase monies are paid in return for the keys to the empty property.

Following completion, the net sale proceeds are released to the seller after redemption of any outstanding mortgages and estate agents fees.  The buyer must submit a Stamp Duty Land Tax return to the Inland Revenue with the full tax payment applicable before then making their application to the Land Registry to record the change of ownership and note any mortgages in the Property Title.

The time it takes to conclude any conveyancing transaction will vary.  Some factors that you may wish to consider are, whether your transaction forms part of a chain of sales/purchases, the time taken for individuals to secure required mortgage finance and the personal circumstances of any person which might have a direct bearing on a timescale that may or may not be convenient to them.

It is imperative when purchasing/transferring land, especially with a Partner, Spouse or other individual to instruct a Solicitor as advice will need to be given regarding the manner of the proposed ownership, the options available and the type most applicable to you and your circumstances.

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