What your property solicitor will do

what your property solicitor will doEveryone buying or selling a property should employ a property solicitor (also known as a conveyancer). The legal process of buying and selling property in England & Wales differs from the process in Scotland.

Our guide to what your solicitor will do, highlights the various tasks they will undertake on your behalf, whether you live in England & Wales or in Scotland and whether you're buying a property, selling a property or both.

  • Selling a property in England & Wales

    Stage 1 - Agreement of sale

    Once the sale has been agreed, your solicitor will:

    • Obtain your title deeds and ask you to fill in a detailed questionnaire
    • Prepare and send out a package of legal information and a contract for sale
    • Request a settlement figure for your mortgage and any other secured loans
    • Liaise with all relevant parties and negotiate a date for moving ('completion').

    Stage 2 - Exchange of contracts

    Once contracts have been exchanged, your solicitor will:

    • Receive the deposit as a down-payment
    • Organise final accounts and prepare a final settlement for your approval
    • Collect any balance of funds required
    • Approve the deed of transfer and arrange for you to sign it.

    Stage 3 - Completion

    Upon completion, your solicitor will:

    • Pay off the mortgage and notify HM Land Registry
    • Hand over the deeds and send any balance of money to you.
  • Selling a property in Scotland

  • In Scotland, sellers may have an estate agent or developer to market the property and a solicitor to effect the transaction. To simplify matters, in some cases the agent is also the solicitor. (Where the term 'solicitor' has been used, this could also be an agent).

    Stage 1 - Before an offer

    Before an offer is made, your solicitor will:

    • Obtain title deeds from the bank or building society whose loan the house is secured on
    • Request a settlement figure for your mortgage and any other secured loans
    • Receive and process any formal notifications of interest and pass relevant details on to you.

    Stage 2 - Making an offer

    Upon making an offer, your solicitor will:

    • Receive formal legal offers from the agent marketing the property, summarise them and ask you what you want to do
    • Confirm with you that the content of any offers is acceptable
    • Recommend changes to offers where necessary and forward alterations to the buyer's solicitor in writing (this process may be repeated a number of times).

    Stage 3 - Concluding an offer

    Upon concluding an offer:

    • The seller will have accepted one offer and will instruct their solicitor to complete the missives
    • Once all parties are agreed on the final terms of the offer, including any amendments, a final letter concluding the purchase is sent to the buyer's solicitor (this is called 'concluding missives' and is legally binding).

    The solicitor will then:

    • Receive full payment for the property on the agreed date of entry from the buyer's solicitor
    • Pass over title deeds and any other relevant paperwork to the buyer's solicitor
    • Repay the mortgage/secured loans (if applicable).
  • Buying a property in England & Wales

  • Stage 1 - Agreement of sale

    Once the sale is agreed, your solicitor will:

    • Organise searches at the local authority on your behalf and ask you for a sum on account of such expenses
    • Receive replies to questions raised and report to you with the contract for signing
    • Request your deposit
    • Deal with the formal mortgage offer and all the conditions on your behalf
    • Receive the search results and communicate any problems.

    Stage 2 - Exchange of contracts

    Once contracts have been exchanged, your solicitor will:

    • Hand over the deposit to the seller's solicitor
    • Prepare a final completion statement for your approval
    • Collect any balance of funds required
    • Prepare the deed of transfer and mortgage deed and arrange for you to sign them
    • Organise final searches to check for debts and bankruptcy.

    Stage 3 - Completion

    On completion, your solicitor will:

    • Receive and arrange for payment of any stamp duty to HM Revenue & Customs
    • Prepare and send off application to HM Land Registry to register your ownership
    • Send deeds to the lender (if the property is mortgaged).
  • Buying a property in Scotland

  • Stage 1 - Before an offer

    Before an offer is made, your solicitor will:

    • Contact the seller's agent notifying your interest in the property (they may try to obtain an assurance that the property will not be sold once you have put in an offer)
    • Confirm you have a loan in place sufficient to cover the expected offer
    • Arrange a survey for you, if necessary, and report the contents back to you.

    Stage 2 - Making an offer

    Upon making an offer, your solicitor will:

    • Write an official letter, with the details of your offer and any conditions you have attached - for example, a time limit
    • Submit it to the agent marketing the property
    • Receive written confirmation from the seller's solicitor as to the acceptance, or not, of your offer
    • Act on your instructions as to accepting any of the alterations proposed and return a letter to the buyer's solicitor (this process may be repeated a number of times).

    Stage 3 - Concluding an offer

    Upon concluding an offer, your solicitor will:

    • Acknowledge conclusion of the offer (missives)
    • Perform any necessary searches with relation to the property for sale
    • Prepare and send off application to HM Land Registry to register your ownership
    • Send the title deeds to the building society or bank (if the property is mortgaged)
    • Receive and arrange for payment for the property to be sent to the seller's solicitor and for any stamp duty to HM Revenue & Customs.

    Get tips and hints with our guide to choosing a property solicitor. Alternatively, you can find a solicitor now on Primelocation.com.

    The content provided in the Primelocation.com guides is for information only. In all cases, independent and professional advice should be sought before buying, selling, letting or renting property, or buying financial services products.