Conveyancing process

Conveyancing process

So you’ve bought your property. What does your solicitor have to do? There are a number of things which have to happen during the conveyancing process which we’ve listed below in very simple terms. These are to protect you and also other parties involved in your purchase including the mortgage company, service charge company, etc.

Below are some of the terms used in the conveyancing process:

House / Apartment Lease
Every apartment or house has a lease. It sets out all the rules of ownership and who does what during the conveyancing process. It will also have the name of the first ever purchaser on the front cover. If you are not the first purchaser your name will never appear on the lease. If you are the first purchaser your name will be there forever.

Section B of the Land Registry Register

So how does your ownership get registered? The government has a department called the Land Registry. This is where every land transaction is registered. The property you are buying will have an entry here called a “register”. On the register in section B your purchase is noted and the seller removed. This proves your ownership.

Read here for more information about the Land Registry:

Land Registry

Mortgage Company Register

Most people buy a property with a mortgage. What’s to stop you now selling the apartment or house and pocketing the mortgage money? You are noted in section B of the register and so is the mortgage company.

NB: Should you ever secure a loan against the property this is where the loan company will enter its interest and you could not then sell without their permission as well.

Service Charge

Don’t be concerned that the seller hasn’t cleared the service charge and that you now have a bill which isn’t yours. As with the mortgage company, there will be an entry in section B for the management company of the building as well.

Notice of Assignment

So why all the entries on the register? This is where the notice of assignment comes in. Each part mentioned in section B of the register has to sign a notice of assignment saying they give permission for the sale to go ahead. So if the seller owed service charge the management company would refuse to give permission for the sale to be registered.  

Deed of Covenant

What next? Well, normally you (as the buyer) have to sign a deed of covenant. As your name never appears on the lease this is a secondary document which you sign to say you are taking on all the clauses of the lease.

Share Certificate

Some buildings have a share certificate process for the management company. This does vary building to building so your solicitor will advise.

Thank you to the guys at Homebuyer Conveyancing for their assistance. Homebuyer Conveyancing helps you compare the price of conveyancing or even estimate them if you are currently thinking of buying or selling.