Edkins Millward Property Lawyers Limited

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01323-888250

Buying a Property

  1. Finding a property
  • It is a good idea to contact us before you start looking for a property to purchase. This will allow us to explain the process to you and answer any questions you may have.  We can also provide you with a no obligation fee estimate, including disbursements, so you are aware of the costs involved.  We can send you the initial paperwork and forms to complete so we have everything we need to get started as soon as you have found your dream home or perfect investment property.
  • If you are buying with the aid of a mortgage it is advisable to speak to your mortgage broker before you start looking for a property so you can be confident of the amount you can borrow and budget accordingly. Also, some estate agents like to see an offer in principle before they will negotiate the sale of a property to you.
  • Contact us again as soon as you have had an offer accepted and provide the estate agent with our details so they can send us the relevant paperwork.
  • Consider what type of survey you require (full structural or housebuyers) and decide which surveyor you are going to use so you are ready to book a survey as soon as we have received the contract papers from the seller’s solicitor. We would always advise you to obtain a survey on any property you are looking to purchase.
  1. Pre-Exchange   
  • We will let you know as soon as we receive the contract papers from the seller’s solicitor. At this stage you should finalise your survey arrangements and any mortgage application.
  • We will go through the contract papers, check the title of the property and raise any necessary enquiries.
  • If the property is leasehold we will request the leasehold management pack from the sellers' solicitors.
  • We will submit the following searches:
    • Local authority searches – to check matters such as whether the property is listed or in a conservation area, the planning history, whether any enforcement notices have been issued and whether any traffic schemes are planned near the property.
    • Environmental searches – to check matters such as the property’s risk of flooding or whether it is situated on contaminated land.
    • Drainage and water searches – to confirm that the property is connected to the public sewage system and water supply and whether there are any drains/sewers within the boundary of the property. 
  • Once we have received satisfactory replies to enquiries, the leasehold management pack (if applicable) the results of our searches and your mortgage offer (if you are having one) we will prepare our report to send this to you with the legal documents for signing in readiness for exchange of contracts. If you have any questions or concerns following our report you are of course welcome to contact us to discuss these further or to make an appointment before signing the paperwork.
  1. Exchange of Contracts
  • Once we have received your signed documents, your deposit and confirmation that all other parties in the chain are ready to exchange we will be in a position to exchange contracts. If your purchase is linked to your sale of a property we will be able to use the deposit being paid by your buyer and it is unusual that we will need to ask you for any money at this stage.
  • Before contracts are exchanged a completion date (this is the date you physically move and when ownership of the property will transfer to you) will be agreed between you and the other parties in the chain. When contracts are exchanged the completion date is fixed and you will be legally bound to purchase the property on the completion date.
  • You will need to put your buildings insurance on risk on exchange.
  • If you have a mortgage we will request the mortgage money from your lender to be sent to us in time for completion.
  • We will send you a completion statement showing the sum required from you to complete which must be sent to us at least one working day before completion.
  1. Completion
  • We will send the money to the seller’s solicitor.
  • As soon as we receive confirmation from the seller’s solicitor that the money has been received we will contact you confirming you can collect the keys from the estate agents.
  1. After Completion
  • We will pay stamp duty, where applicable, and register transfer of the ownership of the property to you with the Land Registry.
  • As soon as we receive confirmation from the Land Registry that the title has been transferred to you we will send you a copy together with any other relevant paperwork for your safekeeping.

For straightforward freehold conveyancing matters the transaction is usually able to complete within 8 to 12 weeks of an offer to purchase the property being accepted.  This is subject to everyone in the chain being willing and able to agree this timescale.  In chains where leasehold properties are involved, or it transpires there are any issues which need to be resolved, the process is likely to be longer.  However, you can be assured that we will always act as quickly as possible, endeavour to find out as much information as we can as to the progress being made by other parties in the chain and keep you regularly updated.