Buying a home is likely to be the biggest single financial transaction you make. It is well worth having a specialist property solicitor on board early in the process so that you can act quickly, once you have found your property. Finding a good one is therefore important!

There are many detailed tasks to be carried out, particularly in raising and answering queries about the purchase and what is included, but these actions fit into a number of key steps.

1. In order for us to comply with Money Laundering Regulations, we will ask you for identification to verify your identity, at the outset of the matter, namely your passport or other form of photo identification to verify your identity, and two recently paid utility accounts to verify your address.
2. We need to ask you to pay some money on account to cover expenses for search fees.
3. Your seller's solicitor will send to us the following documents:

• the contract of sale. This document sets out the main terms of the proposed agreement, including the names and addresses of the buyer and seller.
• a copy of the title deeds to the property or title information document if the property is registered. We will check these carefully to make sure that the seller is entitled to sell the property to you, and to advise you on any rights or obligations that would affect you as owners
• a property information form. This will supply you with essential information about the property you wish to buy, including which services are connected, whether there have been disputes with neighbours, guarantees about any work that has been done, and so on. This needs to be checked carefully to make sure you have no concerns about any of the information given. If you have any queries we will discuss them with the seller's solicitor on your behalf.
• a fittings and contents form. This shows you what the sellers intend to leave at the property, and to take with them. There is often debate about what has been included in the sale (furniture, curtains, etc.) so you should be careful to agree with the seller what items are to be left at the property. Again if you have any queries or problems we will raise them on your behalf with the seller’s solicitor.
• Home Information Pack (HIP). Unless the property was marketed for sale prior to 1st August 2007, or unless the property is exempt, we will obtain the HIP from the seller’s agents. This will contain an energy efficiency report, basic title information, a Local Authority Search and a Water and Drainage Search.

1. If you will need a mortgage to buy your property, you must start arranging it now. We will need to see the mortgage offer from your lender in writing before we can exchange contracts. You must ensure that the offer is acceptable to you, and does not contain conditions which would prevent you from proceeding with your purchase because they are not capable of being complied with.
2. Arrange for a survey to be done on the property. Your mortgage lender's survey is likely to be a valuation only, confirming for the benefit of the lender that the property is worth what you are paying and so is good security for their loan. A full survey will give you a detailed report on the condition of the property and you would be wise to have this before you are committed to go ahead.
3. We carry out the following searches:

• Local Authority Search. This identifies issues such as existing planning applications on the property, breach of planning regulations, tree preservation orders, whether the road is made up and adopted, etc . It also identifies any proposals or council activity that would directly affect the property. Please note if your seller has produced a HIP, this will include the local authority search and drainage search. (If the searches are less than 3 months old, these searches will not need to be applied for again).
• Drainage Search. This shows whether your surface and foul water drains run into public or private sewers.
• Environmental Search. This search checks issues relating to the land where your property is built: for example contamination, toxic emissions, subsidence, previous landfill or waste disposal sites, or a flood plain.
• Chancel Check Search. This is legally defined as "a search made of historical records to establish whether the property is in the historical tithe district of a parish which may have a continuing liability of a chancel repair contribution." What that means, in practice, is that the search will check whether there is a possibility that the land you are buying carries with it an obligation to make payments to the Church. If there is a possibility that you might receive demands for payments of this type, then we can take out an insurance policy to protect you against any possible demands. We will normally ask the seller to pay the premium.
• Land Charges Search. Your mortgage lender will ask us to carry out this search to make sure you have not been declared bankrupt.
• Land Registration Search. We carry out a Land Registry Search to make sure all mortgages or other financial interests registered against the property are known about, to ensure that these are removed by the seller on completion. (This search will be carried out shortly prior to completion).
• Other Searches. Depending on where the property is situate we may have to carry out other searches, e.g., mining search, brine search, commons registration search.

1. When the searches are completed, your mortgage offer received and all outstanding issues resolved, we will request you to come to our offices to discuss the title with you and request you to sign the contract. We prefer a personal attendance but if this not possible we can send a report in writing to you. In each case we will ensure that you understand the nature of the transaction you are entering into.
2. We will prepare a Transfer Deed, Mortgage Deed and Stamp Duty Land Tax Return Form for you to sign and we will discuss the finance with you.
3. On exchange of contracts we will need to provide the seller's solicitors with a deposit, which should be 10% of the purchase price. In certain cases this can be reduced by negotiation if your mortgage offer is higher than 90% of the purchase price, or if your deposit on your purchase is the deposit which is received on a related sale and amounts to less than 10% of the purchase price.
4. You are now ready to agree a completion date (the date when the house becomes yours) and dates will be discussed with you either beforehand or when you attend at our office to sign the contract.

Exchange of contracts

1. The exchange of contracts marks the point when the contract becomes binding on both parties. Until exchange, all dealings between buyer and seller are “subject to contract” and either is free to change his mind about the transaction and withdraw from it or seek to re-negotiate it.
2. When the market is weak a buyer may try to drop the price at the last minute (“gazunder”) and is legally entitled to do so. Conversely, in times of a strong market the opposite may happen, a seller trying to “gazump” by demanding a higher price just before exchange. Even though such tactics may be morally questionable, only after exchange are the parties bound into the deal. The Scottish have a different system in which parties are committed much earlier but in England and Wales, unless our politicians change it this is simply how it is. Of course, if you are faced with such tactics you are by no means bound to cave in and agree. You may be glad to have the support and guidance of a good solicitor and we can provide exactly that.
3. When seller and buyer are ready, exchange of contracts will take place. We will have already sent the contract to your buyer’s solicitor, who returns the buyer’s signed contract to us with the 10% deposit. You are now committed to the sale of the property and you cannot withdraw from the transaction without paying a large financial penalty.
4. If you have a mortgage on your property, by this stage we will have asked your mortgage lender for a settlement figure. This is the amount you must repay to clear the mortgage as the property is sold.

Completion

1. On completion we need to immediately stamp and register your purchase at the Inland Revenue and Land Registry. We will need the full amount of our costs and disbursements one working day prior to your completion date, in a cleared form, i.e. bank draft or telegraphic transfer payment, to avoid any delay in completion. If you prefer you can pay by personal cheque, but you must allow one week’s clearance of the cheque.
2. On the completion date you have agreed, we will hand over the balance of the payment for your property to your seller's solicitor, together with any payments for apportioned service charges and ground rent (if you are buying a leasehold property).
3. Once the seller’s solicitors are in receipt of the completion monies, they will telephone the agent to release the keys to you.
4. We will collect any documents relating to the property on your behalf, which will, after completion of the registration of the property in your name, either be given to you if you own the property outright, or sent to your mortgage lender.

Please note you do not need to be present at our offices to exchange and complete your purchase.

The above is a general outline only, as each transaction has unique requirements.