Useful Definitions for Conveyancing

Once your Conveyancer has received Contract Papers from the Seller’s Conveyancers they will review the Legal Title and any other information provided and raise any legal questions which they need the Seller to reply to, commonly referred to as ‘Additional Enquiries’.

Following the exchange of contracts, buildings insurance is normally the buyer’s responsibility. Therefore as a buyer you must arrange for the property you are purchasing to be insured from exchange of contracts unless you are purchasing a Leasehold property in which case the Landlord normally insures. Your conveyancer will advise you accordingly.

This is Latin for “buyer beware” and explains the principle that when buying a property it is at the buyers risk and they should carry out all enquiries and due diligence necessary including matters of a non-legal nature.

Many moves are connected by a series of transactions known as a ‘chain’. There may be several transactions involved in this chain and Harold G Walker will work as quickly as possible for your completion. However, the sale or purchase can only be finalised once all parties involved in the chain are ready to exchange contracts.

A property chain begins with a buyer not selling a property and ending with a seller not buying one. As property chains can vary in length, any transaction will only move as quickly as the slowest link. For this reason, Harold G Walker does not charge to expedite your instruction.

 This refers to a legal obligation that dates back to medieval times, but is still very relevant today. It requires landowners to contribute to the cost of repairs to the chancel of an Anglican Parish Church. The parish is not always the immediate land around the church and so some properties can fall in to the parish of a church quite some miles away.

The date agreed prior to exchange of contracts between all parties. It is also the date on which the balance of the purchase price is paid. The seller must vacate the property leaving it in a reasonably clean and tidy condition by no later than 2.00pm on that day.

This is the legal document which sets out the terms of your sale/purchase and which will be signed by both the seller and the purchaser and which will commit both parties to the sale/purchase.

These are the documents provide by the Sellers conveyancers to the Buyers conveyancers and include the Contract, Legal Title Documents, Property Information Form and Fittings & Contents Form completed by the Seller(s) and miscellaneous documents such as planning permissions, warranties, guaranties and certificates.

A Conveyancer (or Solicitor/Lawyer) is the legal professional who will act for a buyer or seller in the Conveyancing process.

This means the legal process of transferring property or land from one party to another.

This is the sum paid by a buyer to the seller (via their Conveyancer) upon exchange of contracts. The deposit is normally 10% of the purchase price although a lesser deposit can sometimes be negotiated. If you are selling and buying at the same time the deposit on your property for sale will normally be used as the deposit for your purchase. The deposit is retained by the seller if the buyer fails to complete their purchase on the agreed completion date.

These are costs payable to third parties such as Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT), Land Registration Fees, Search Fees etc.

A search carried out with the water Authority confirming the route to the nearest mains drain to the property. This will show whether a mains sewer passes through or close to the property.

These are legal rights which are granted in favour of the property or over the property in favour of others, e.g. a right of way, rights of drainage etc.

A search carried out in the locality of the property against environmental hazards such as flooding, pollution and previous land use.

Once all parties in the chain are ready, able and willing to proceed, the solicitor’s acting on behalf of the buyer and the seller will exchange contracts. The completion date is then set and from that moment onwards all parties are bound by the contract. The sale is now legally binding. 

A form completed by the seller(s) to indicate which items they will be leaving or removing from the property on completion.

A tenure (type of ownership) of property and the highest form of ownership recognised by English Law. Freehold lasts for an unlimited time and means that you will own the property and the land it sits on.

The owner of a Freehold Property.

This is a where a third party contributes to the purchase price (typically a family member). Your conveyancer will need to carry out further checks and obtain consent to the gifted deposit from any mortgage lender.

This is an annual amount paid to the Landlord to rent the property from the Landlord and the amount payable will be set out in the terms of the Lease.

An insurance policy which sometimes needs to be put in place where there is a legal defect with a property to insure against the defect affecting the property value.

A party who owns land or property and is paid by others for the use of this. If you are a Leaseholder you will pay your Landlord a Ground Rent for the use of the land/property.

A Government organisation which registers the ownership of land/property in England and Wales. Your purchase will be registered with Land Registry after completion.

A Lease is the contract (document) which sets out the terms on which one party rents a property/land from another party. If you purchase a Leasehold property such as a flat you will have a Lease of the flat.

A tenure (type of ownership) which lasts for a definitive time i.e. a set term of years. If you purchase a Leasehold property you will lease the property from a Landlord for a defined period of time.

Evidence of legal ownership of land/property usually set out in Official Copy Title documents held with Land Registry or in Title Deeds if the land/property is unregistered.

A search carried out at the local authority relating only to the property. Providing details of relevant information held by the local council including; planning and building regulatory history, road status and proposals for roads around the property, plus other matters of importance.

A company which deals with the management of an estate/development where the property is located. This is more common with Leasehold property but may also apply to a Freehold property too. You will generally pay Service Charges to the company and may also need to become a shareholder or member depending on the set up of the company.

The document which you sign to legally commit to your mortgage and make the repayments to the mortgage lender. The mortgage deed is registered at Land Registry against the Legal Title to the property.

A formal written offer provided by a lender to a buyer. Having carried out a number of checks relating to a buyer’s financial circumstances and a survey of the property.

A form completed by the seller to provide information about the property such as boundary responsibility, disputes, alterations, services, etc.

A report prepared by the Conveyancer once they have received the Contract Papers and the search results to explain the legal aspects of a buyer’s purchase.

An obligation or restriction set out in the Legal Title which must be observed by the property owner i.e. preventing alterations, keeping animals, carrying out trade or business etc.

Sums payable to a Landlord, Management Company or other appropriate third party for the provision of services to a property, i.e. repairs, maintenance, insurance etc. This is more common in relation to Leasehold property.

Refers to evidence to be supplied to your Conveyancer as to how you are financing your purchase, i.e. bank or building society statements. This evidence is required in order for the Conveyancer to comply with the Government’s Anti-Money Laundering Regulations.

This is a self-assessed tax on YOU (i.e. the purchaser) NOT the property, although certain factors such as the purchase price and tenure are also taken into account in calculating the amount of SDLT. It is chargeable on land transactions by any person or company to HMRC. Your SDLT Return must be treated as seriously as your Income Tax or Value Added Tax Return. Whereas other Tax Returns are completed at the end of each tax year, you have to complete an SDLT Return and pay the SDLT within 14 days of what is known as the ‘effective date’ of the land transaction (usually the Completion Date).

A surveyor acting on behalf of the buyer or buyer’s lender, will normally visit the property by arrangement through your estate agents to carry out a survey. A buyer may have any of three types of survey carried out by their lender’s surveyor:

1. Valuation – a basic inspection carried out on behalf of your lender. This will confirm whether the surveyor believes the property provides adequate value for the proposed mortgage. This valuation offers very little information and will not provide protection to the buyer.
   
2. Homebuyers Report – the visiting surveyor will spend 3-4 hours checking the structure and condition of the property. This will provide a more detailed report and will highlight any concerns.
   
   
3.  Full structural Survey – this will normally be carried out where either there is a major structural problem with the property or where the Homebuyers Report has raised questions about the structure of the property. This can take up to 8-hours and is a very detailed report.

A way of sending money through the bank’s electronic system. The money is received on the same day as it was sent to the recipient’s bank.

This is the legal document which transfers property from one person to another and is filed at Land Registry to evidence the change of ownership.