Property Sales & Purchases

The conveyancing process can be confusing, especially for first-time buyers.

Braddon and Snow’s experienced team of conveyancers will be able to support you through this process, and you will be able to speak to the same people every time. Our team have excellent local knowledge which is invaluable in keeping the process moving smoothly.

Our aim is to ensure that you are kept fully informed throughout the process and we have excellent links with local estate agents, solicitors and developers to ensure that we know exactly what is happening at every stage of the transaction.

Our conveyancing team will:

  • Provide you with a full and detailed breakdown of our quote, to enable you to accurately budget for your move
  • Complete all the standard conveyancing stages, including preparing draft contracts, completing searches to ensure that you are aware of any issues with your new property, checking title deeds, etc.
  • Work proactively to ensure that your move is completed with as little stress as possible.

Read our guide to how conveyancing for buying a property works.

Read our guide to how conveyancing for selling a property works.

Why trust our conveyancing solicitors with buying or selling a residential property?

Our team is independently accredited by the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) in recognition of the high standards of our residential property services.

We consistently achieve high customer satisfaction, with a very good rate of returning clients and recommendations from previous clients.

We are well known for providing clear, practical support through every stage of buying and selling residential property, helping our clients to get their transaction completed as quickly and smoothly as possible.

Speak to our remortgage solicitors in Hoddesdon or Broxbourne

For a free, no obligation residential conveyancing quote or to find out more about how we can help you, please get in touch:

How conveyancing for buying a property works

1.    Instructing your conveyancer

First you will need to choose a conveyancer to handle the purchase for you. This can be a conveyancing solicitor or a licensed conveyancer. This is known as ‘instructing’ a solicitor.

You can wait until you have made an offer to choose a conveyancer, but it will generally help the process go faster if you choose a conveyancer before making an offer as they will be able to get to work for you right away once an offer is accepted.

2.    Reviewing the draft contract of sale

Your conveyancer will review the draft contract of sale prepared by the seller’s solicitors and any supporting documents. They will inform you if there are any issues that need to be raised with the seller, for example, over the proposed completion date.

3.    Raising queries and negotiating amends

If there are any issues with the draft contract or other details about the sale, your lawyer will raise these and negotiate any required amends with the seller’s lawyer. Once these issues are resolved, a final contract of sale will be prepared by the seller’s conveyancer.

4.    Conveyancing checks

Once the sale is agreed, your conveyancer will need to carry out legal checks on the property and surrounding area to identify any issues you need to be aware of.

Common conveyancing checks include:

  • Checking the property title – To ensure the seller legally owns the property and that there aren’t any issues with the property title that could affect you
  • Local authority searches – Checking for issues such as new developments planned in the area and anything else that might affect you once you take ownership of the property.
  • Water authority searches – Checking who supplies water to the property, who is responsible for the sewers and if there are any public sewers under the property.
  • Environmental searches – Checking whether any previous use of the land or nearby land might affect the property e.g. contaminated soil, landfill sites, risk of flooding etc.

There are other searches that may be recommended depending on the area, such as a mining report if there was historical mining activity in the area.

It is also a good idea to have a property survey carried out to check the condition of the property and identify any issues that need to be addressed at this point.

5.    Exchange of contracts

Once the conveyancing checks and property survey are completed, you will sign a copy of the contract held by your conveyancer and the seller will sign the copy held by their lawyer.

After the contracts are signed, your respective lawyers will go through the contacts line by line to check they are identical, which is usually done over the phone. They will then exchange copies of the contracts, normally by recorded post.

Once the contracts have been exchanged, the sale is legally binding on both parties.

6.    Pre-completion

Once contracts have been exchanged, your lawyer will transfer your deposit (usually 10% of the purchase price) to the seller’s lawyer.

Your conveyancer will also ‘lodge an interest’ in the property with HM Land Registry, meaning that the title deeds for the property will be frozen for 30 days.

Finally, your conveyancer will provide a statement showing the outstanding balance still to pay, which you must deposit into your lawyer’s bank account at least one working day before the agreed completion date.

7.    Completion

On the completion date, your lawyer will transfer the outstanding balance to the seller’s lawyer and you will take receipt of the keys to the property, usually from the estate agent.

The sale is now final and the property is legally yours.

8.    Post-completion

Following completion, your lawyer will update the property title deeds with HM Land Registry to reflect the change of ownership. They will then send a copy of the title deeds to your mortgage lender (if you have a mortgage) who will hold onto them until your mortgage is repaid.

Your conveyancer will also handle the payment of any Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) you owe for the purchase. If the property is a leasehold, they will inform the freeholder that the purchase is complete.

How conveyancing for selling a property works

1.    Instructing your conveyancer

The first step is to choose a conveyancer to handle the sale for you. This is known as ‘instructing’ a conveyancer.

You can wait to do this once you have accepted an offer on your property, but it will usually help the sale process to go faster if you choose a conveyancer earlier. Many people do this at the same time they first place their property on the market as this means the conveyancer will be ready to leap into action as soon as the sale is agreed.

2.    Completing the seller’s questionnaires

You will need to complete several questionnaires covering details about the property and exactly what is included with the sale.

There are four standard property seller questionnaires:

  • TA 6 – Covering general issues, such as the property boundaries, council tax rates, any disputes or complaints and proposed developments in the areas.
  • TA 7/TA 9 – If you are a leaseholder, you will need to complete questionnaire TA 7 with details about the lease and if you are a commonholder, you will need to complete form TA 9 about the commonhold.
  • TA 10 – Covers which fixtures and fittings are included with the sale.
  • TA 13 – Covers practical details, such as the proposed completion date and how keys will be handled, as well as confirming that the property is free of any mortgage and other liabilities.

You are required to fill out these questionnaires truthfully and to the best of your knowledge – failure to do so could result in the buyer taking legal action against you if you omit something that later causes them a problem.

3.    Drawing up the draft contract

Your conveyancer will use the information you provided in the questionnaires to draw up a draft contract for the sale. This will then be sent to the buyer’s conveyancer who will review the contract and seek approval of the terms from the buyer.

4.    Contract negotiations

If the buyer wishes to change anything proposed in the draft contract, your conveyancer will liaise with the buyer’s conveyancer to work through these issues. They will agree any changes with you before drafting a final contract of sale.

Common points of negotiation include:

  • The completion date (when the sale will become final)
  • What fixtures and fittings are included in the sale
  • If any other fixtures and fittings must be purchased separately and how much the buyer will pay for them
  • Who will remedy any issues raised in the buyer’s property survey and whether the sale price needs to be updated to reflect this

5.    Requesting a redemption statement from your mortgage lender

If you have a mortgage on the property, your conveyancer will request a ‘redemption statement’ from your lender which will show exactly what you need to repay in order to pay off your mortgage. This will include both the balance remaining on the loan and any early repayment fees or other costs.

6.    Exchange of contracts

Once the contracts are finalised, your conveyancer and the buyer’s conveyancer will ‘exchange contracts’.

Your lawyer will have one copy of the contract, which you will sign, the buyer’s lawyer will have another copy of the contract, which the buyer will sign. Both lawyers will then go through their respective copies of the contracts to make sure they are identical, then they will send each other their copy of the signed contract, usually through recorded post.

Once contracts have been exchanged, the sale is legally binding on both parties.

7.    Pre-completion

As soon as contracts have been exchanged, the buyer’s lawyer will transfer the deposit (usually 10% of the sale price) to your lawyer. The property remains legally yours until the agreed competition date.

8.    Completion

On the agreed completion date, you will vacate the property and hand over your keys to the estate agent.

The buyer’s conveyancer will transfer the outstanding balance of the sale price to your conveyancer and the sale will be complete.

9.    Post-completion

Once the sale is completed, your conveyancer will:

  • Use the sale price to pay off any mortgage you have on the property
  • Transfer any remaining balance to your account
  • Hand over all necessary legal documents to the buyer’s lawyer
  • Confirm that the buyer’s lawyer has updated the property title deeds with HM Land Registry to reflect the change of ownership
  • Pay any taxes owed on the property (e.g. Capital Gains Tax if it was a rental property)

Our residential conveyancing fees

We offer fixed fee conveyancing for buying and selling property, with a single price agreed in advance covering our fees and the costs we pay to third parties (known as ‘disbursements’).

This approach means you will know exactly how much your conveyancing should cost from the outset, so you can budget accordingly.

In the unlikely event that any unexpected complexities or other issues arise during the course of your transaction, or there is a change to your instructions, we will agree any resultant change in fees with you in advance.

To see how much your conveyancing might cost, you can request a conveyancing quote.

Find out more about our residential conveyancing pricing.

Our other residential conveyancing services

As well as helping with buying or selling a property, our residential conveyancing solicitors in Hoddesdon and Broxbourne can assist with matters including:

You can also find out more about our general residential conveyancing expertise.

Speak to our residential sale and purchase solicitors in Hoddesdon or Broxbourne

For a free, no-obligation residential conveyancing quote or to find out more about how we can help you, please get in touch:

 

What our clients say

  • "No improvement to service needed. Alison was the epitome of professional calm in going over options and maintaining patience, and indeed advised against a path that certainly would have achieved higher fees for her, but the correct call in retrospect. So I feel her advice was professional and unbiased. She was attentive in keeping me appraised of news, and maintained a polite and stress free approach which kept me calm and optimistic a final result in my favour would occur. Would recommend her, and the firm, to others." Anon
  • “Dealt with Alison primarily for Power of Attorney, very helpful and polite.” Anon
  • “I cannot think of any way that we could have had better service!!!” Anon
  • "Our solicitor has been extremely conscientious at all times, always available to advise and above all has always been very supportive and empathetic to my case. He really did make a stressful situation a lot easier for myself and my family" Mrs T
  • "We used this wonderful firm for a recent home sale and purchase, their service was outstanding. Everything was carried out with the utmost care and attention and all the staff including a senior Partner were so friendly and helpful. Absolutely top notch." Anon
  • "Over the past 8 years Teresa Braddon and her team have created my Will and have done numerous conveyancing transactions for myself and my family.  I have found Teresa and her Team most helpful and efficient. Everything was carried out with care and attention. All the staff including Teresa, a senior Partner, were friendly and helpful. I would recommend Braddon and Snow and their services." Tony Stavrou
  • "I would highly recommend Braddon & Snow to anybody, very professional and efficient service. They treat you like a person rather than just a number. I am mentally disabled and sometimes I do not get respect or understanding shown to me. Braddon & Snow couldn’t of been more kind and they always took the time to explain all the legal terminology to me so I understood. I would especially like to thank Emily Morten and Jane Blackett as they really went above and beyond what they had to. Value for money and excellent staff. Use this company."  Mr M Brooke
  • "Thank you all so very much for all your help and kindest attention over the years.   In every conceivable way you go out of your way, above and beyond any expectations. You are incredible, and all your team are unbelievably pleasant. I hope these few lines go a little way to thank you so very much."  Mr M Ledger
  • "May I say that Laya has been fantastic.  She has been an absolute delight to speak with, always giving clear and positive instructions and pacifying when necessary.  Please be assured we will definitely recommend your company and hopefully be in a position to use your services again and again." L Page
  • "We found dealing with Braddon & Snow very pleasant and relaxed.  We had a few problems dealing with the seller's leaseholder solicitors which needed a lot of patience and Teresa and Laya were very helpful at all times and very easy to communicate with." R & J Keith
  • It’s been an absolute delight and superb to work your Conveyance Team of Jane Blackett and Emily, providing first class services. Dedicated and smart resolutions to most difficult queries. Our sincerest and dearest appreciation for their magnificent services and friendly communication throughout
  • I appreciate the efficiency of your team (Louise, Sara, Elle, Melanie, Alex, Lauren etc) during this crisis. You were always easy to get and had a great phone forwarding system with access to the details on transactions. Everybody was very helpful, responsive and friendly. You can be proud of the company you work for. 
  • I cannot speak highly enough of the service given to me in the sale and purchase of my properties last week by Jane Blackett and Ken Sheppard at the Broxbourne office. They dealt with my matters promptly and with care and commitment. Nothing was too much trouble and they were always there to speak to me when needed. Everything was done with professionalism and courtesy. They ensured that everything was covered and I felt very confident in their dealings with all matters concerned. I recommend them without hesitation to give their clients a smooth and excellent service.
  • The best thing throughout this process was the professionalism shown by the Conveyancing Team at Braddon and Snow Solicitors, our case was handled by Melanie and her very able assistant Roksana.  Although we were frustrated and sometimes very ratty, they kept very calm and dealt with all of our enquiries and problems as they came along, most of all they kept us advised and up to date.  We in all honesty could not have asked for or been supported any better by these two Ladies. Towards the end, we were calling Roksana on a regular daily basis, and were delighted to hear her positive and cheerful friendly voice.  I would highly recommend these Ladies to anyone, unlike the Firm that they were dealing with, who would not even respond to their calls.