As members of The Law Society’s Transaction Scheme we follow the Law Society’s National Conveyancing Protocol which is designed to make the conveyancing process as straightforward and efficient as possible.

The steps involved in the purchase of your property will include the following:

• Once we have received a memorandum of sale from the selling agent, or details of the transaction from you if your matter is a private sale, we will ask you to complete a short questionnaire and to put us in funds to enable us to commence searches;
• The seller’s solicitors will supply us with a contract pack, including title deeds to the property, a plan, protocol forms (a property information form, fixtures list and a leasehold information form if title to the property is leasehold), a contract and the Energy Performance Certificate;
• We will check title to the property, order searches, approve the contract and draft a transfer deed. We will also raise any relevant enquiries with the seller’s solicitors so that we can report to you thoroughly;
• We would recommend you have a survey carried out, as we are unable to advise you on matters such as the physical structure of the building. If you are getting a mortgage, your lender will also carry out a valuation of the property. You should let us have a copy of your survey and mortgage valuation;
• Once we have received your mortgage offer, searches and replies to enquiries, we will provide you with a written report on the property for you to consider. We will also send you a contract and transfer deed to sign, or you can attend the office to sign them and discuss any questions you may have;
• If we are also instructed in your sale, we will ensure that the two transactions can exchange simultaneously, and supply you with completion statements setting out the costs and disbursements incurred in relation to each matter;
• As soon as all parties are in a position to proceed, we will exchange contracts. This is the point at which the agreement is binding, and you cannot pull out of the transaction without incurring penalties. At the point of exchange you should book your removals and put your buildings insurance in place as this is when the risk of the new property will pass to you;
• We will order your mortgage advance, or ask you to put us in funds for any balance required to complete;
• On the completion date, funds will be transferred between solicitors and once completion has taken place we will notify you and the selling agents so that keys can be released to you; &
• Post completion we will submit your Stamp Duty Land Tax return to HMRC and pay any duty owed, we will also register you as owner with the Land Registry and supply you with evidence once the Land Registry has completed our application.

By instructing Sintons you can be confident that we will handle your matter diligently, providing you with all the information you need to understand the process from start to finish.

If you require any further information please feel free to contact us.