Property Law and Property Solicitors

What is a property solicitor?

For all legal aspects relating to your transaction, it is imperative you employ a property solicitor to operate on your behalf.

This is different to a conveyancer. A conveyancer is licensed specifically to handle title transfer, but without being a fully qualified lawyer. A solicitor is a licensed legal professional who may also be qualified to handle title transfer.

There are a number of legal documents and procedures that must be completed when buying a property. For the transaction to move as quickly as possible, you need a reliable property solicitor or to take care of the legal and administrative details.

What are the benefits of using property solicitors?

Both solicitors and conveyancers are regulated professionals, and both deal with the legal work required in selling and buying a home. However, unlike solicitors, conveyancers aren’t governed by the Law Society but are instead are regulated by a body called the CLC (Council for Licensed Conveyancers).

A licensed conveyancer may act on both sides (for both the buyer and seller) of a property transaction.

Importantly, they are is not required to disclose any referral fees that they get from an estate agent or any other body – whereas solicitors are required to disclose this information.

Unlike solicitors, licensed conveyancers don’t tend to work in a multidisciplinary firm, which means that they will not have access to the same levels of knowledge about other areas of the law (eg. family law, tax planning). If any of these factors are linked to your house sale and you require some more detailed and nuanced legal advice, a conveyancer may not be the best option for you.

Solicitors are required by law to have valid professional indemnity insurance, which covers their clients for any loss incurred in any eventuality, to facilitate stress-free transactions.

What does a property solicitor do?

When buying a property, your solicitor will start work as soon as the sale is agreed. This will involve (but is by no means limited to) the following:

• Organising searches at the local authority on your behalf
• Receiving replies to questions raised
• Reporting to you with the contract for signing
• Requesting your deposit
• Dealing with the formal mortgage offer (and all the conditions therein) on your behalf
• Receiving the search results and communicating any problems
• Offering advice at every stage of all the above proceedings

Once contracts have been exchanged, it is the responsibility of your property solicitor to ensure the following is put in motion:

• Transferring the deposit to the seller’s solicitor
• Preparing a final completion statement for your approval
• Collecting any balance of funds required
• Preparing the deed of transfer and mortgage deed (arranging for you to sign them)
• Organising final searches to check for debts and bankruptcy

On completion, your property solicitor will go through all the following processes on your behalf:

• Receiving and arranging for any Stamp Duty payment
• Preparing and sending off any relevant Land Registry applications
• Sending deeds to the lender (if the property in question is mortgaged)
• Selling a property

Once the sale is agreed, there are further tasks that fall under the jurisdiction of your property solicitor:

• Obtaining your title deeds and asking you to fill in a detailed questionnaire
• Preparing and sending out legal information and a contract for sale
• Requesting a settlement figure for your mortgage and any other secured loans
• Liaising with all relevant parties
• Negotiating a date for moving (also known as completion)

Once contracts have been exchanged, your property solicitor will ensure the following:

• Receiving the deposit as a down-payment
• Organising final accounts
• Preparing a final settlement for your approval
• Collecting any balance of funds required
• Approving the deed of transfer and arrange for you to sign it

Upon completion, your property solicitor will then pay off the mortgage and notify Land Registry, then hand over the deeds and send any balance of money to you.

Who would need a property solicitor?

Anyone buying or selling a house should seek the advice and services of a solicitor. It is not mandatory to do one (unless specified by the other party), but a solicitor offers you an added level of protection, security and peace of mind by conducting the transaction on your behalf.

Their experience in handling many different types of transaction gives them the knowledge to spot potential problems before they happen, such as old paperwork that hasn’t been registered properly, clauses in documents put in by previous owners, or problems with boundaries exposed by plans of the property.

An experienced solicitor will spot problems like these and bring them to your attention immediately, enabling you to make the best decision and giving you ample time within which to do so.

When transferring a property all the parties involved need to be checked in case they are trying to commit crimes under the guise of a property transaction. Your solicitors will run all the necessary checks with the relevant institutions to give the best possible chance of spotting people involved in this type of behaviour.

This means you won’t lose out if something untoward should happen. Law firms are regulated by a professional body, so if you have any grievance or reason to complain, your complaint will always be answered to your satisfaction.

Why choose Britton and Time Solicitors to help with your property matter?

When considering the services of a property solicitor, whether you need a Brighton property solicitor, London property solicitor, or indeed are in need of advice or assistance further afield, Britton and Time Solicitors is an award-winning multi-legal law firm that’s dealt in success for over 40 years. We take pride in both our tailor-made approach to every case, and our ability to defend each with ardent ferocity.