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Conveyancing

Why choose Redkite Solicitors?

For over one hundred years Redkite Solicitors have helped to buy and sell thousands of homes across England and Wales with our conveyancing services. Whether you’re buying your first home, investing in rental property, or selling your house, you can rely on expert legal advice from our conveyancing team to keep the process smooth and straightforward from start to finish.

Residential Conveyancing Solicitors

While our residential conveyancing team is well known for their specialist knowledge in residential property sale and purchase, we also believe in keeping things simple. Instead of bombarding you with legal jargon, we will provide clear, straightforward advice in plain English or Welsh, ensuring you know exactly what’s going on with your transaction throughout the process.

With each new development, we will be in touch to update you in any way that suits you: by telephone, email, or face-to-face. You’ll never have to chase us or take time out of your day to figure out what’s going on. We’ll do exactly what we say we’re going to do, allowing you to focus on packing up and planning ahead.

If you’re feeling nervous about beginning the conveyancing process, don’t be. Our dedicated residential property team are here for you, providing exceptional service at competitive rates. You can rely on us to efficiently tackle each stage of the conveyancing process, and we are always at hand to advise on:

• Freehold property
• Leasehold property
• Investment properties
• Holiday homes (in the UK)
• Tenancies
• Gifts
• Remortgages
• Equity release schemes
• Transfers on divorce
• Probate sales
• Tax planning

With you every step of the way

At Redkite Solicitors, we know how much homes mean to people, that’s why we strive to be available when you need us, every step of the way through your transaction. Our conveyancing team work tirelessly to help you through the process with ease and our aim is to take the stress out of moving for you, allowing you the peace of mind to start planning for your new home.

Accredited by the Law Society for our expertise in residential conveyancing, you can rest assured that your case will be in the hands of specialists. When you instruct a member of our professional, friendly team, you will receive a clear plan of what we will be doing, the estimated costs involved and a list of documents we will require from you. We like to keep our clients engaged in the process so we will regularly communicate with you at each stage of the transaction.

As a well-established high street firm with offices across Wales and Gloucester, our local knowledge is second to none. Questions on the local property market are welcome, and our experts will always advise with your best interests at heart.

Speak to one of our residential property solicitors about our prices; we always aim to provide excellent value for money, because we know it’s what our clients deserve.

Conveyancing FAQ

What is conveyancing?

If you’re a first-time buyer, it’s likely that the word ‘conveyancing’ is new to you so, what exactly does it mean? The term ‘conveyancing’ refers to the legal work carried out in a property transaction. Following a buyer’s offer being accepted, both the seller and the buyer will instruct their respective solicitors to begin the process of conveyancing. There are various stages involved in this process which will differ depending on whether you are a buyer or a seller. Both sides will need to assess the others’ information carefully to ensure it is comprehensive and legal before a contract can be drawn up and exchanged.

During your initial appointment with one of our expert conveyancing team, we will lay out exactly what work needs to be carried out and let you know what we need from you in order to move forward with your transaction. You can rely on us to provide clear and easy to digest information at every stage, keeping you in the loop from offer through to completion.

How long will the conveyancing process take?

TIMESCALES AND KEY STAGES OF THE CONVEYANCING PROCESS

When will I complete?

This is the most common question we receive, but this is almost certainly not easy for us to definitively answer.  Timescales are heavily dependent on every buyer, seller, solicitor and mortgage lender involved in a chain and the specific complexities of each property transaction.

For a simple transaction with no complications, the national average for completion currently stands at between 14 – 20 weeks, but this is dependent on whether we are dealing with a Freehold or Leasehold property (leasehold properties tend to take longer).

Examples of complications that could arise are: –

• If there is a property in probate (deceased estate administration) within your chain
• Delays with search providers or complications that arise out of search results.
• Issues with planning permission and/or building control consents
• Issues with the official registration of the property you are buying/selling
• Incorrect information/outstanding information regarding mortgage applications or offers, for you or any other party in your chain.

We would advise clients that complications like these can arise outside of your and our control, so it’s best to be realistic as to time frames and allow yourself flexibility on completion dates. Whatever happens, we understand that this can be a difficult and stressful time in your life and probably the largest purchase you will ever make, and we will work tirelessly to foresee and communicate any delays and complete your transaction as soon as possible.

Please be reassured that we will be always using our best endeavours for you.

KEY STAGES

Stage 1 Acceptance of offer and Instruction (0-2 weeks)

• At this point, you should immediately instruct your chosen Solicitor, if you have not already done so. If there is an estate agent involved, they will pass on the terms of the offer agreed to all parties and their solicitors. If the transaction does not have an estate agent, we will need to be provided with the names of the other party and the name and contact details of their chosen solicitor.

There are number of keys issues and stages that need to be addressed before exchange of contracts:

• At this stage, you will need to provide us with documentation to verify your identity and address, as well as evidence of the source of funds for all aspects of the transaction. We will also require a copy of your bank statement showing the funds in your bank account from the outset. We cannot commence work until all this is in hand, as such, please have this information ready from the outset and be prepared to answer enquires on this, so not to cause any delay.  Please also prepare any giftors to provide this information. The buyer and seller will be asked to pay initial funds on account of initial third-party disbursements, such as searches for the buyer and copy land registry documents for the seller

Stage 2 – Production of contract papers (0-3 weeks).

• The seller’s solicitors will obtain the property’s title deeds and prepare a draft contract, which they will forward to the buyer’s solicitor for approval.
• The seller will complete standard Property Information forms detailing things like fixtures and fittings and leasehold information.
• The seller will obtain a provisional redemption statement relating to any existing charges on the property that will need to be redeemed (paid off) on completion.

Stage 3 – Investigation of title and arranging funding (0-6 weeks)

• Several searches will be carried out on the property by the buyer’s solicitor, including local, environmental, and water and drainage searches. This process is designed to reveal any information that might adversely affect the property such as the future enjoyment, mortgage ability and re-sale of the property.

• The buyer’s solicitor will send any Pre-Contract Enquiries they have to the seller’s solicitors once they have looked at the title pack and searches. These are designed to reveal more detail about any potential issues with the property regarding, for example, unusual rights of way issues, or whether the seller has carried out any structural alterations.
• Unless a cash purchase, the buyer needs to get a mortgage agreement in place, with a written mortgage offer from a lender, which the lender will also share with your solicitor.

Stage 4 – Reporting and signing of contract documentation (0-2 weeks)

• Once the above has been completed, the buyer will receive a Property Report from their solicitor, explaining the contract, property title, search results and mortgage offer in detail. The solicitor will also draw attention to any issues that need to be resolved prior to an exchange of contracts.
• The buyer’s solicitor will usually also send the contract, transfer deed and mortgage deed to the buyer for signature and return in readiness for exchange and completion. Similarly, the seller’s solicitor will send the contract and transfer deed to the seller to sign in readiness for exchange and completion.

Stage 5 – Exchange of Contracts (0-1 week)

• Once contracts have been signed and a completion date agreed, the buyer’s solicitor will request the buyer pay their solicitor the deposit, (usually 10% of the purchase price) and the contracts will be exchanged.
• The contract is legally binding on both parties once exchange of contracts has taken place. The completion date will be set at this time. If either party refuses to proceed with the transaction or they delay and do not complete on the agreed completion date, then they will be liable to pay compensation to the other party.
• Once exchange has taken place, the buyer’s solicitor will arrange with the mortgage lender for money to be released in time for the completion date, and will make sure that the seller hasn’t entered into any other contract or obtained another mortgage on the property.  The solicitor will ask the buyer to settle the balance to complete the purchase prior to completion and if there is a lender involved provide evidence of home insurance as in most cases the property is at the buyer’s risk from exchange of contracts.

Stage 6 – Completion (time as agreed between parties, this is usually 2 weeks after exchange to allow for funds to be provided and mortgage advance to be obtained)

• On the completion date, the buyer’s solicitor will bank transfer the balance of the purchase price to the seller’s solicitor as soon as possible, so the keys are released – usually around early afternoon.
• The seller’s solicitor will redeem any existing charges (i.e. the seller’s existing mortgage) and pay the estate agents fees if applicable.

Stage 7 -Post Completion

• There will be some administrative matters for the buyer’s solicitor to tie up, including paying Stamp Duty Land Tax in England or Land Transaction Tax in Wales, and arranging for the registration of the title at HM Land Registry.  It may also be necessary to serve notices on a landlord or management company or the bank or building society, to advise them about the completion.
• Upon completion of the registration of the buyer’s title at HM Land Registry, the buyer’s solicitor will send a copy of the registered title to the buyer and their mortgage lender.