What is conveyancing?
Conveyancing is the process by which the ownership of a property is passed from the seller to the buyer.
Who carries out the conveyancing?
Both the buyer and the seller should hire a solicitor or a licensed conveyancer to carry out the process.
You can find more information on licensed conveyancers here
You can find solicitors who specialise in conveyancing here
What does a conveyancer do?
The conveyancer or solicitor will draw up the contracts for the sale of your property. When you have received and accepted an offer on your property, the conveyancers exchange contracts. Normally, a ten percent deposit is payable upon exchange of contracts – this binds the buyer to go through with the sale otherwise the deposit will be lost. A completion date is also set at this time – this is the date at which the property is legally owned by the buyer.
E-conveyancing
To speed up the whole process of conveyancing, the Land Registry is setting up a system where it can all be done online. It's still in the early stages but for more information, see the Land Registry's e-conveyancing portal
