When you’re selling property, you need to know about conveyancing – it’s the legal work that leads to the transfer of ownership from you to your buyer and is a vital part of your sale.
Wimbledon properties are highly desirable, frequently topping the table of Rightmove’s most searched London areas. Despite changes in the market, the demand is out there, and you may feel the time is right to list your property. Suppose you’ve decided to sell your home in Wimbledon, Wimbledon Village, Coombe or Raynes Park. In that case, it’s natural to focus on selecting an estate agent and finding a buyer.
However, you should carefully consider who you choose to do your conveyancing – as this could significantly affect the speed and efficiency of your home sale.
You can employ a conveyancing solicitor or licensed conveyancer to work on the legal aspects of your sale. Many people aren’t sure of the distinction – assuming a solicitor and a conveyancer are the same. We look at the differences between the two and some of the things you should know before appointing a solicitor to sell your house.
Conveyancing is the legal process of transferring property ownership from seller to buyer, usually by a solicitor or licensed conveyancer.
A conveyancer’s tasks include reviewing all the legal documents as well as carrying out searches, checks and organising payments:
Other situations also call for legal expertise. If you auction, you should engage a solicitor before submitting your home for sale. You will also need a conveyancer for a remortgage, to handle the legal process.
The process is the same whether you use a licensed conveyancer or a solicitor. Both are regulated by official bodies and insured to do the work. Licensed conveyancers are property specialists, who only work in this field.
They mainly cover the sale of residential property and will be familiar with sales like yours. Solicitors are qualified lawyers – while they may be experienced in conveyancing, they will also be qualified to work in other areas, such as family or employment law.
Conveyancers are generally less expensive than solicitors but can handle most cases perfectly well.
As solicitors sometimes work in different areas of law, they may be required to attend court, making them harder to get hold of or unavailable to work on your house sale.
However, you might want to opt for a solicitor if yours is a more complex transaction – if there is a boundary dispute, for example, where a more comprehensive knowledge of the law would be helpful.
Instruct a solicitor or conveyancer as early as possible, best of all, as soon as you’ve accepted an offer from your potential buyers. Whilst not required, instructing a conveyancer before you make an offer on your next property can help get the ball rolling.
Any land purchase involves legal work to some degree, so it’s advisable to hire a solicitor or specialist conveyancer. They can seek out covenants, boundary issues and public rights of way that could affect your plans for the land.
All this can be invaluable in avoiding small oversights that can cause costly problems.
Shop around for quotes, but don’t look at cost alone. Ask friends or colleagues who have bought and sold in the area for personal recommendations and check online reviews, too.
The Law Society advises checking the solicitor is part of its Conveyancing Quality Scheme – the recognised quality mark for legal experts in buying or selling property. If you use a conveyancer, check that they are registered with the specialist property law regulator, the Council for Licensed Conveyancers.
Your conveyancing bill will include legal costs with a UK average of around £800, and disbursements of around £600. Disbursements are payments for third party costs – like the cost of obtaining the title deeds from Land Registry.
Costs can be lower on a simpler sale but are usually higher if you’re also buying, have a mortgage, or it’s a leasehold property. For example, the Leasehold Management Information Pack can add £200-£300, plus £200-£300 for additional legal work.
However, sellers in South West London may pay more as solicitors’ fees are typically linked to house price. In Wimbledon, where the average selling price on an apartment is £461,340 according to Rightmove, you could spend closer to £1,500. In Coombe Park, with average property prices over £2,300,000, fees could rise over £2,000.
Find out how the fees are calculated, and exactly which costs are included. You may be quoted a fixed fee, a percentage of the sale price or an hourly rate, and this may or may not include VAT, bank transfers, Land Registry fees and searches.
If you’re selling a leasehold property, the additional paperwork this adds to the conveyancing process can increase your bill. You should also determine the cost of extra work if the process becomes more complex than anticipated.
These are some of the costs that may be added to your conveyancing bill, depending on the circumstances:
If you are buying a home too, and funding your house purchase with a mortgage, be aware that some lenders will only deal with certain conveyancers or solicitors – those on their “panels”. If you use someone else, you may need to pay a fee.
As well as checking the fees, find out as much as possible about how the conveyancer will work day-to-day and how best to communicate with them. Many firms have an online system, allowing you to check the progress of your sale 24 hours a day.
Think about the office’s location – is it close enough for you to drop in with paperwork? Find out if your designated conveyancer has a holiday booked and who you can contact when they are away.
While it is possible to do your own conveyancing, it takes time and effort. It comes with significant risks, for example, increased costs if you carry out unnecessary or wrong searches.
Without understanding your legal obligations, your buyer could convince you to reduce your selling price. And you will not have negligence insurance, making you personally liable for any mistakes.
DIY conveyancing is only recommended if you’re a trained conveyancer, since any mistake can cause the house sale to fall through. Equally, you’re leaving yourself open to legal and financial problems in future.
Lenders require the correct searches and surveys to be carried out during the conveyancing process. Lots of legal work related to selling or buying a house involves communicating information in a certain way.
For instance, conveyancers must notify their counterparts at every stage of the chain once contracts are signed. Not to mention, there could be repercussions years later.
Here’s a sample of the responsibilities and risks of doing conveyancing yourself:
You may be considering DIY conveyancing if the sale is exceptionally simple – for example, you have a cash buyer, it’s a freehold property and you’re in no rush to move.
You will have to follow legal procedures and provide evidence of identity to do so. However, unless you have personal expertise as a solicitor then the safest option is generally to engage a solicitor to sell a property.
You will find numerous affordable online conveyancing services if you search the internet for a conveyancing solicitor. While it is possible to use them successfully for buying and selling, similar warnings apply as with the DIY approach.
You will need to be comfortable with the lack of personal contact during the conveyancing process. You may only be able to interact with the solicitor online or through a call centre, rather than having a dedicated lawyer working on your case, and they are likely to have little local knowledge.
If you go down this route, check their reviews online first, get several quotes and look out for hidden costs that will push up the final bill.
While your sale will likely go through smoothly, property transactions are complex, and things don’t always go as planned. From problems with a survey to a buyer changing their offer at the last minute, or pulling out altogether, setbacks can cost you money and even jeopardise the sale. Having the right legal team can help – so there’s even more reason to choose wisely.
If you’re considering selling your home in South West London, we’d be happy to advise you about all aspects of the process. Please give us a call today to discuss our services or book a valuation for your property in South Wimbledon, Wimbledon Chase, Merton Park or New Malden.
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