Conveyancing Guide

Before you start house-hunting, it’s a good idea to work out what you can afford to spend on buying a house or a flat and your monthly mortgage payment.

Use the Mortgage Affordability Calculator (insert link to calculator when they hover over the word) to work out how much you might be able to borrow.

Think about costs

Consider how you’ll cope if your financial situation changes, or interest rates rise, and be careful not to overstretch yourself.

Remember, your savings will have to cover not just the deposit, but expenses such as mortgage fees (typically anything between £0-£3,000) and Stamp Duty on properties costing more than £125,000 in England and Northern Ireland. In Wales, you will need to pay Land Transaction Tax on properties over £180,000.

To Avoid costly mistakes, it helps to know more about what to look for in a property.

Choosing the right mortgage

It’s never too early for you to start thinking about arranging a mortgage as this can be time-consuming.

You can book an appointment (insert link to mortgage page when they hover over the word) to see our mortgage advisor to see what options are available to you.

Once you’ve found a mortgage product you like, agree it as a mortgage ‘in principle’.

This tells you how much money the lender is likely to offer and the interest rate you’ll pay.

You might have to pay a booking fee to reserve the mortgage product you want. Typical cost: £250-£500

Check your credit report

Before you apply for a mortgage, check your credit report for any errors and to get an idea of your score.

Lenders will look at it when considering your application.

Once you’ve found a home you want to buy, the next step is to make an offer through us.

You only pay for an estate agent if you’re selling property.

Once your offer is accepted you can then arrange a solicitor.

The solicitor will handle the legal work around the property.

The surveyor will survey the property to check for problems, which might affect the cost of the home.

Your solicitor will tell you how much you can expect to pay and might ask for a deposit upfront – this is typically 10% of their fee. Typical cost: £500-£1,500 + 20% VAT

Your solicitor submits searches to the local council to check whether there are any planning or local issues that might affect the property’s value. Typical cost: £250-£300

Valuation survey

This survey is done by the lender to make sure the property is worth the price you’re paying before they approve the mortgage.

It is not an extensive survey and will not identify all the repairs or maintenance that might be needed.

Typical cost: £150-£1,500 depending on the value of property.

Some lenders might not charge you for this, depending on the type of mortgage product you select.

The property Survey

You should commission a survey on the property to help you avoid hidden costly problems in the long run.

It’s your property, so it’s in your interest to pay for a decent survey at this stage.

There are several types of survey available:

RICS condition report – basic ‘traffic light’ survey and the cheapest. It’s most suitable for new-build and conventional homes in good condition. No advice or valuation is provided in this survey. Cost: £250.

RICS homebuyer report – suitable for conventional properties in reasonable condition. This is a much more detailed survey, looking thoroughly inside and outside a property. It also includes a valuation. Typical cost: £400+.

Building or structural survey – the most comprehensive survey and suitable for all residential properties. It’s particularly good for older homes or homes that might need repairs. Typical cost: £600+.

Finalising your mortgage

If everything has gone according to plan, contact your lender or mortgage adviser to proceed.

There is often a fee, usually called an arrangement fee, to set up the mortgage.

This can be added to your mortgage, but if you choose this option, bear in mind you’ll pay interest on it for the life of the mortgage. Typical cost: £0-£3,000.

After you have received a binding mortgage offer, your mortgage lender must give you at least seven days to think about whether or not this is the right mortgage for you.

You can use this time to compare this offer with other mortgages.

If you’re sure that this is the right mortgage for you, you can let the lender know in less than seven days that you want to go ahead.

It’s not too late to change your mind

It is better to pull out rather than risk buying a property that might cost you more than you can afford in the long run.

If you decide not to buy, you can pull out and cancel your mortgage application before you have exchanged contracts.

But you might lose some of your money depending on how far you’ve gone in the process.

If there are no problems or delays, then you should receive the contract to sign and complete the sale.

Before signing the contract, go through it with your solicitor to check that all the details are correct.

Make sure you’re happy with what the sellers have agreed to leave in the property and that all your queries have been answered.

At this stage, you and the seller are committed to the sale.

The seller might also ask you to pay a holding deposit to show intent.

Once you’ve exchanged contracts, you’ll need buildings insurance in place to cover the structure of the property.

Work out your bill with the Stamp Duty calculator. (insert link to the stamp duty when they hover over this)

The remaining money owed to buy the property is now transferred from your solicitor’s account to the seller’s solicitor’s account. Since some of the money comes from the mortgage provider there will be a telegraphic transfer fee. Typical cost: £25-£50.

You might also have to pay a mortgage account fee. The lender charges this fee for setting up, maintaining and closing down your mortgage account. It’s often added to the mortgage, which means you’ll pay interest on it, so consider paying it up front instead. Cost: £100-£300.

You’ll now need to pay your solicitor’s bill (minus the deposit and local searches if you’ve already paid them). Typical cost: £500-£1,500 plus 20% VAT.

Your solicitor will register the sale with the Land Registry for properties in England and Wales. In Northern Ireland it needs to be registered with Land and Property Services and in Scotland with Registers of Scotland. The cost of this will depend on the price of the property.

The sellers will need to pay Latchkey & Vault on completion. The fee is agreed at the outset and is typically a percentage of the purchase price.
Buyers of residential homes costing over £125,000 have 14 days from the completion date to pay Stamp Duty in England and Northern Ireland. Your solicitor will usually arrange this for you.

If you’re using a removal company, moving on a weekday is cheaper. Typical cost: £300-£600+.

Stamp Duty rates

If you’re purchasing an additional home or a buy-to-let property, you’ll have to pay an extra 3% on top of each Stamp Duty or Land Transaction Tax band.