I need help with Conveyancing

When you purchase property, title passes from the seller to you. The method behind this transfer is known as conveyancing. It can be an incredibly confusing system, often with documents dating back tens or even hundreds of years.

There are various ways to avoid pitfalls when buying a house, and the most basic is simply to understand exactly what it is you are buying. Whilst many of the documents contained within the deeds to your property may at first seem confusing, on the whole they’re actually rather straightforward.

Perhaps most important, the deeds will outline the chain of possession the property has passed along over the years. Who you bought it from, who they bought it from, who they bought it from, and so on. It will also tell you the price of each sale, which is always an interesting item to track!

The deeds will also show the exact boundaries of the property, including any garden or driveway that may exist. The various utilities will be listed, including any rights of way or servitudes that may exist over the land. It may be useful to know exactly where the electricity, gas or water comes in from in case any work is needed in the future. An environmental search is included too, which flags up any possible problematic areas, such as nearby coalmines.

An important issue to clear up early on is the burdens that apply to the home. How much do your neighbours need to contribute to roof repairs, for example? And if the water pipe bursts in the front garden next door, do you need to split the bill?

A conveyancing lawyer can assist with all of these, and is a prerequisite if you’re thinking of buying or selling a property. They can carry out property searches quickly, and identify all the above issues. They will also be able to give advice on the changing market for first time buyers – at the moment, various help-to-buy schemes exist, complete with a reduction in stamp duty.

But people don’t always buy somewhere with a view to living in it. The buy-to-let market is growing, and for those of you interested in leasing the property out to tenants, seeking legal advice is vital. Issues such as HMOs for student accommodation and factoring fees are just some of the things to be considered.

The property world can seem large and confusing at first, but with the correct legal advice it can be shrank down to something more understandable. Using ReviewSolicitors, you can find the right solicitor for your legal issue.