Buying - Conveyancing

It is usual to get a solicitor or licensed conveyancer to undertake the legal and administrative procedures involved in buying and selling property.

The solicitor's ultimate objective is to ascertain that:

• The property you are buying is everything that it purports to be.
• It belongs to the vendor.
• It is not under threat of a compulsory purchase order or a bypass.

Although your solicitor should be competent, it is worth discussing any worries you have or problems you foresee.

To speed things along, many solicitors or licensed conveyancers now use the TransAction Protocol, whereby the seller's solicitor sends the buyer's solicitor a package of information at the outset of the sale. It includes:

• The draft contract.
• Copies of earlier title deeds if unregistered, or official copies of the entries if registered.
• The property information form that includes preliminary inquiries.
• A fixtures, fittings and contents form listing what is and what is not being sold as part of the deal.

Your solicitor will:

1. Make contact with the seller's solicitor and await the draft contract.
2. Ensure that the seller really owns the property and that you are buying all that you believe you are buying.
3. Send in local and other search forms and fees to the relevant authorities. This is to ensure there are no plans to build a road through your property. (Be warned: these searches are against the house - plans for nearby land are not included and if the property is adjacent to a patch of derelict land, it is worth asking your solicitor to find out about plans for it.).
4. Check property plans against the property itself, send any preliminary inquiries to the seller and deal with any requirements by your lender.
5. Discuss the completion date and the amount of the deposit.
6. Check the searches and make sure your mortgage offer has no difficult conditions attached.
7. Having received answers to these queries, he/she will agree the terms of the contract and it is signed and sent with the deposit to the seller's solicitor. Both the buyer's and seller's contract must be identical.
8. Exchange and receive the contract signed by the seller.
9. Prepare and send the transfer, and carry out final Land Registry searches, checking sellers' title to the property.
10. Receive the transfer signed by the seller, check amendments, sign and have your signature witnessed and return.
11. Check searches and make arrangements for finances on completion.
12. On completion, receive the title deeds and all relevant documents and the property transfer. Hand over a bank draft for the balance of the money.
13. After moving, send the transfer and necessary stamp duty land tax to the Inland Revenue.
14. Complete the Land Registry application. This will eventually be sent to you with a Land Certificate or to your lender.

DIY conveyancing You can do it yourself if you have patience, a lot of time, the ability to understand legalese, a passion for form-filling, access to office equipment and a copy of Which? Guide to Conveyancing. However, you may find that your lender charges you several hundred pounds to have your work checked and that the vendor's solicitor is reluctant to deal with you. Consider the DIY route only if the house is a vacant, freehold property.