When you buy a property, it is essential that everything is done correctly. It is a big purchase and there are many legal documents involved with buying a property. Some property purchases are more complex than others, but you will always need a solicitor that specialises in property law like this conveyancing solicitors Cheltenham based company to help you to make the property your own.
Conveyancing is when ownership of a property is transferred to someone else and applies to land as well as buildings. A conveyancing solicitor will be aware of the legal rules that surround this, and there is a general process that needs to be followed to ensure that it is done correctly.
When the process starts, the solicitor will carry out checks on your identity. This is a legal requirement and is in place to ensure that you are who you say you are and to prevent money laundering – the property market is commonly targeted by money launderers, and by doing this it helps to clamp down and prevent it.
Having a conveyancing solicitor ready before you purchase a property is a good idea. If you have started to look for a property, then it is a good idea to find a good conveyancing solicitor beforehand, as this will not only make the process faster, it is also a sign to the seller and to the estate agent that you are keen to get going and serious about the purchase, which can be handy when there is so much competition out there!
Once you have started the process, and all of the identification checks have gone through, the seller’s solicitor will send through a package of information known as the contract package to your solicitor. This will enable them to start working on the process of making the property yours. They will go through this and raise any queries that they may have where they may need more information, carry out searches like local authority searches and then go through all of the information with you to check that you are happy with it.
They will also receive a copy of the mortgage from your lender and ask you to approve a copy of it. Once all of this has been done, you can then exchange the contracts, and this is the part that then legally makes the property yours.