Buying your first home is a big step and it is such an exciting time. But with this comes a lot of additional things to think about, as well as additional expenses on top of the cost of the property. One of the things that many people can be confused by when buying their first home is the legal side of things. This is called the conveyancing process, and you will need to find a specialised solicitor such as this building survey Birmingham based company to get this side of the home buying process done correctly.
Conveyancing is the name for the legal part of the property ownership details – as a house is a large and complicated item to purchase, there is a lot of legal documentation to go along with this to ensure that this is done correctly. It is possible to do this yourself – but this is certainly not advisable, as it is a time consuming and complicated process, and if you do not have the knowledge to do this it is best to leave it to the professionals, as this will cause a lot of added stress.
Once you have found a local conveyancing solicitor you then ask them to oversee the process. If you are unsure where to find a solicitor, your estate agent will be able to recommend one to you, but it is also worth asking around people you know who have recently moved to a new house as they may be able to recommend one to you. You can then compare some quotes from different solicitors, as fees can vary, so it is a good idea to look into this.
Once you have your solicitor, they can then write to the solicitor of the person who you are buying the property from. This is the first step in the purchase, and they will ask for the seller’s solicitor to send over the legal documents of the property you are purchasing.
Once this has been done, then there will be a more thorough check of the property that you are buying. Even if you have viewed the property several times, it is a legal requirement that the property is thoroughly checked for things such as flood risk, searches with water authorities to check where drains are and checking the legal documents all belong to the seller and that ultimately, the property is rightfully theirs to sell.
Once this is all in order and all parties are happy with it, you can then get to the exchange of the contracts. Once this is done the property is more or less yours – it means that the seller can no longer back out of this – you will then be given a completion date which is the date the seller has to move out by, and then you can move in! Congratulations!
