The paperwork
One problem that comes up a lot is paperwork. If you are selling a house, it’s important to have building regulations approval for any works that have been done. If the work is still going on, then planning permission documents are important.
Restrictive covenants and rights
Properties can be subject to 'restrictive covenants' or rights. These can limit what someone is able to do with the property. People sometimes don’t realise their own home is affected by a covenant or right.
For example, a covenant might state that no big changes can be made to a house. If the seller has breached the covenant by building an extension or making another big change to the property, this can slow things down.
The HomeOwners Alliance gives helpful advice to homeowners and those who want to be homeowners. You can find out more about restrictive covenants on the HomeOwners Alliance website.
- I'm gonna tell you the truth.
I've never actually bought a house, so perhaps talking about the different stages that you've got, might be helpful.
- You put your offer in. You see a house you like. You love it. You go to the estate agents. You put your offer in. Quite often, at the time you put your offer in, you'll be asked to provide some sort of finance details to show that you can afford it.
So if you have a mortgage in principle ready or details of your mortgage broker that the estate agent can get in touch with, that'll be helpful.
If you have details of a solicitor, then, as I say, you can provide it to the estate agent just then.
After that stage, if your offer was fully accepted by the agent, a memorandum of sale will be issued to your solicitor and the seller's solicitor, and that's when the ball starts really rolling.
There is quite a lot of paperwork that comes out at the start of a transaction in terms of client care information questionnaires, but that's so we don't have to keep on coming back to the client throughout the course of the transaction.
We try and get as much information as we can at the outset so we do not have to go backwards and forwards. The contract pack follows then
from the seller's solicitor. Your solicitor will review it, let you have details, let you have a plan, other important documentation.
They will raise inquiries. They would get searches. Your mortgage offer will be forthcoming. The whole process can, depends, normally take anywhere between 8 to 12 weeks. on average, but your solicitor will
guide you through it.
Rights of way
One of the most important parts of conveyancing is making sure the property has 'good and marketable' title. Amongst other things, this means the home must have a right of way. That means you need to be able to get to the property and leave it again.
If the property adjoins and can be directly accessed from a public adopted road, this usually means access is not a problem. A conveyancing lawyer should check this before contracts are exchanged.
Issues can come up if there is a gap between the property and the public road. Or if it's on a private road with no right of way.
Indemnity insurance
Indemnity insurance is a policy that keeps you safe from a problem that might happen in the future. It's a one-off payment. It covers the costs of anyone making a claim.
Indemnity insurance covers things that would take a long time to fix or sort out. Indemnity policies do not fix an issue. They merely ‘stick a plaster’ over an issue. They act as an insurance policy against any associated costs later should the problem or issue happen.
For example, if a historic right of way on the title was exercised in the future and this conflicted with your use of the property. The insurance would cover any litigation costs associated with defending your rights.
The seller may still have indemnity insurance from when they bought the property. Your conveyancer can ask to see this. They will decide if that type of cover will still work.
Conveyancers may need to give the information relating to the indemnity policy to your mortgage lender. It will be for the lender’s valuer to confirm if they are happy to proceed with an indemnity policy.
Breakdown of a chain
A chain is when there are more than two properties, and their sales depend on each other. For example, a buyer must sell their own home to buy a home themselves.
One of the most common frustrations about conveyancing is being part of a chain.
If the chain breakdown involves your property, you need to think about remarketing to find a new buyer.
If the chain breakdown involves someone else’s property, there isn’t much you can do. You need to think about how long you want to wait. If you wait too long, your mortgage offer might run out. You will then need to renew it.
Misrepresentation of the property
Misrepresentation happens when the seller makes an untrue statement about their property. Or they fail to tell the buyer something about the property which they know about and should be disclosed.
Most issues can be fixed before the exchange of contracts. If you find the seller has said something untrue on purpose, think about all the information in front of you. As buying a property will likely be the most expensive thing you do, it is strongly advised that you instruct a surveyor (independent to the mortgage lender) to carry out a survey. They will flag any property issues to you. It might be worth questioning everything and getting as much clarity as you can. If you have instructed a conveyancer, you should ask them to raise any concerns you may have because of your survey and your inspection of the property.
If you have already exchanged contracts, things may be more difficult. You are bound to buy the property. You may need litigation advice. It will likely be a matter of how the contract is worded. It will matter if the seller’s misrepresentation is a breach of the contract. You may need to see if the contract can be rescinded.
You may be able to fix the situation between exchange and completion.
If you have reached completion, it’s very likely you’ll need to resort to litigation. There are ways of overturning a transaction. But they can be very costly.
If the chain breakdown involves someone else’s property, there isn’t much you can do. You need to think about how long you want to wait. If you wait too long, your mortgage offer might run out. You will then need to renew it.