Once you find a property you love, you will need to agree a purchase price with the seller usually via the estate agents. Once the purchase price has been agreed, if it is needed and you do not already have an existing mortgage, you should apply for a mortgage in principal.

You should also select a solicitor or conveyancer to act on your behalf for the legal conveyancing process. Your solicitor or conveyancer will handle all communication with the seller’s solicitor, and legal steps including contracts, property searches and reports, exchange and completion. They will also handle anything with the Land Registry on your behalf.

Our team will be able to help you with this service, for a completely transparent quote for your full legals costs click the button below.

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If you are buying a property with another person you have two routes in which to take on how you purchase the property.

If you are a couple, particularly if you are married, becoming joint tenants is the ideal route when purchasing a property. This means that you both own the whole property so if the worst should happen and one of you dies, the full ownership of the property will transfer to the other.

The second option when purchasing a property with another person is as tenants in common. This option allows you to agree on owning a proportion of the property. You can still decide to own the property equally, but also allows you to change the percentages. Should one of you die, their proportion will pass to whoever is specified in their will. If they have not made a will (something we advice on every house purchase) then their proportion will go to their next of kin. If you are married and choose the route of tenants in common, this would be the husband or wife.

Do you need to make a will? We can handle this alongside any house purchase with a 10% discount. Need to make one anyway? Click the link below for more enquire about our will writing service.

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There is no set time it takes for a property purchase to complete. Due to the nature of each purchase being a unique transaction with many different variables at play it can change the length of time in which a house purchase progresses. Usually we recommend an average time for 12-16 weeks to complete a house purchase from instruction of the solicitor. This can much quicker if their is no chain, the property is vacant, or it is a cash purchase. However if there is a chain involved the process can take much longer.

Your conveyancing costs depend on many variables unique to your property purchase. There are not just legal fees to consider, but other additional disbursements and government fees such as stamp duty to consider. O’Hara Solicitors offer a free instant conveyancing quote that offers the most transparent estimate to your full legal costs plus disbursements to give you the full picture of legal costs.

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A gifted deposit is a cash gift you use to pay for some or all of a mortgage deposit, usually given by relatives or friends. This is often done by parents of first time buyers to help their children get on the property ladder.

If you have a gifted deposit you will also need to provide a letter from the giftor stating that it is a gift with no interest payable, is non-refundable and the giftor will have no interest in the purchase property.

Your gifted deposit if from a parent or grandparent, it will not be affected by inheritance tax if they live for the next seven years. If the donor dies within the seven years, the money will become a Chargeable Transfer. This means you may need to pay inheritance tax. There is a £3000 tax-free gift allowance each year so any money you do receive under this limit will not be taxed.

Commonhold is a system of ownership and management of property that is made up of individual properties (units) and common parts such as flats, building or parcels of land. Each unit is owned and managed by the “unit holders” with a freehold interest.

The “common parts” of the commonhold are owned and managed through a commonhold association set up by the unit holders. A commonhold association is a company, limited by guarantee which then owns the freehold of the ‘common parts’ of a commonhold. The commonhold association’s board of directors, appointed by commonhold association members (i.e. unit holders) oversee the association’s day-to-day management functions.

The advantages of the commonhold over a leasehold is that it provides more control for the unit holders over key decisions about the building’s day-to-day management as the costs involved. It also means that no ground rent is payable.

The disadvantages to a commonhold is that many mortgage lenders are unfamiliar with the model so may be reluctant to lend against commonhold properties. 

If you are a first time buyer, it is advisable to arrange a mortgage in principal when you begin to view properties so you know your budget. Once you have secured a property purchase price on the chosen property, you would then arrange your mortgage with your mortgage provider whilst instructing your solicitor.

Whilst these terms may sound complicated, you can simplify the meanings of freehold and leasehold down to differentiate between the two.

Freehold – You own the property and the land it is built on for as long as you want. Owning a freehold means that you will have complete responsibility for the property including repairs, insurance and upkeep.

Leasehold – You own the property for a set period of time, but not the land it is built on. The Lease will give you certain rights to use any communal areas, such as paths, parking areas, bin store or bike sheds for example. You will also need to pay service charges and ground rent to the freehold and may need written permission to change anything to the property.

Choosing what is right for you as a property purchase is down to personal preferences on how you wish to manage a property. If you want full responsibility of a property and it’s land then a freehold will suit you, whilst a leasehold can often be a cheaper way to get on the property ladder with minimal responsibility, although may be restrictive.

The best time to arrange insurance for your property during the conveyancing process will be just before you sign the contracts. Our conveyancing team will guide you on when it is the right time to arrange this and will not proceed any further without it.

Commonly known as a TA6, the Law Society’s Property Information Form is completed by the property seller to give the buyer detailed information about the property. It includes boundaries, alterations, planning and building control, guarantees and warranties, parking, services information and any other information integral to the property.

This is filled out by the seller to the best of their knowledge and as accurately as possible. No information should be willingly excluded. 

The TA6 form should not be used as a substitute for having a survey done on the property as the seller will give answers based on their own information only. They will not have legal or technical knowledge on matters prior to their ownership, however it will give your legal team an idea of any steps needed to be taken to investigate anything further where necessary.

The TA7 leasehold property information form is an integral part of selling any leasehold flat, house or apartment. It should be filled out alongside the TA6 property information form as it provides the potential buyer with all the necessary leasehold information specific to that property including how it is managed and who by. It also covers information such as ground rent, service charges or any notices or complaints.

The Law Society’s TA10 fixture and fitting contents form is one of the several forms that must be filled out by the seller of the property during the conveyancing process. The TA10 sets out the details of what is or isn’t included in the sale of a property.

Many people, specifically first time buyers are unsure of the difference between a fixture and a fitting so detailing the information makes sense. A fixture is deemed to form part of the land or building, whereas a fitting sometimes known as a chattel and does not usually pass on to the purchaser when the property is being sold. However this does not mean to say that you can not negotiate any fittings that you may wish to leave or add to the sale of the property at a negotiated price with the buyer.

Property searches are completed by the solicitor or conveyancer on your behalf when you purchase the property. They are enquiries with public authorities to give you more information about the property you plan to buy that include access rights, flood risks or any planning or development. These are the searches generally done on a property purchase:

Local Authority Search – This search covers areas such as planning and building regulations, whether there are nearby roadwork or railway schemes, if the road the property resides on is adopted by the council or not or whether the property is listed or in a conservation area.

Water & Drainage Search – This search outlines whether the property is connected to the main water supply and public sewers, the location of the water mains and if the public sewer is in the boundary lines of the property as this may affect any abilities to extend.

Environmental Search – This search will provide any information about the contamination risk to the property via any nearby landfill sites, former or current nearby industrial sites, radon gas hazards, ground stability and or any flood risk ratings.

There may other searches more specified to the local area such as properties located near areas with a mining history requiring a mining search.

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