Legal Process of Buying a House

Reading Time: 4 minutes

June 14, 2019

The legal process of buying house can be confusing, but it doesn’t have to be.

Our services doesn’t stop once your mortgage offer has been issued, we are here to help all the way through to completion of the home purchase. The solicitors process involves the legal transfer of ownership of the property from the seller to you.

Before a solicitor is able to start the process for you, you need to instruct them – if you are struggling to find a solicitor we have relationships with excellent solicitors and will be able to source one for you if you need us to. Try to avoid Estate Agents solicitors as it is likely that they will be a commission-based referral and therefore can be expesive.

Once you have instructed a solcitor the exciting process of transferring the property into your name begins! To give you an idea of the steps that take place through we have created a process diagram for you below:

The first steps

You’ve had your offer accepted on your new home and the solicitor nees some more informaion about you and your new home. They will send you a ocuple of forms to ocmplete, we can do this for you or guide you through if you would like!

Your Mortgage Offer

Great news, your mortgage offer has been issued. This will be sent to the solicitors. This is the time to start thinking about insurance ready for exchange of contracts —something we can help arrange.

Contract of Sale received from the seller

There is nothing for you to do at this time, but your solicitor will liaise with the sellers solicitor to discuss the contracts.

Conducting Searches

The solicitor will make some enquiries about the property and the land. These include ‘local authority searches’, ‘environmental searches’ and an investigation on the title. Just to check all is in order with the property

Raising Enquiries

These are questions your solicitor asks the sellers solicitors in regards to the draft contract. How long it takes to respond depends on the number on enquiries raised.

Problems with the searches or enquiries

If there are any problems with the searches of enquiries the solicitors will liaise between each other to resolve these problems.

Searches and enquiries acceptable

The solicitors have had an acceptable reply to all enquiries and will be in touch with their advice about what to do.

Signing Contracts

Once the contracts have been agreed between your solicitors an the sellers solicitors and copy of the final Contract will be sent to you for signing—take your time to read through this.

Completion!

Congratulations—you have your new home! You can now move in, if you haven’t been told how to already, contact the buyers estate agents to find out how to collect your keys.

Hopefully the process diagram above has given you a better idea of the legal process when buying a house. Any other questions contact one of our brokers today.

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