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Conveyancing

domestic conveyancingMcKeag and Co have been providing conveyancing services to clients throughout the North East for over 80 years. We deal with a full range of conveyancing matters for both local and long distance clients including selling, buying, re-mortgaging, transfers of equity, right to buy, buy to let, Tyneside leases, shared equity and new build. Whatever your conveyancing needs we will be there to assist you.

All cases are handled by a qualified solicitor who will be happy to speak to you and discuss your requirements.

Please feel free to call us on 0191 213 1010 and ask to speak to one of our conveyancers. Alternatively please use the contact form to receive an initial quote by e-mail.

For further information on some of the conveyancing services that we provide please scroll down below

Contents

  1. Selling your House
  2. Buying Your House (including right to buy)
  3. Remortgaging
  4. Transfer of Equity
  5. Home Information packs
  6. Stamp Duty Land Tax

 

1. Selling your house

Our aim

The sale process

  1. Marketing
  2. Instructing Solicitor
  3. Compiling HIP
  4. Acceptance of the offer
  5. Details from Agents
  6. Property Information and Contents Form
  7. Redemption figure and Deeds
  8. Contract and supporting documents to seller
  9. Additional Enquiries
  10. Exchange contracts
  11. Completion
  12. Pay agent, redeem mortgage

2. Buying a house (including right to buy)

Our aim

The Purchase process – A step by step guide

  1. Mortgage in principle
  2. Find a property
  3. Instruct a solicitor
  4. Contract and HIP from agents
  5. Survey and Mortgage Offer
  6. Searches
  7. Title check and additional enquiries
  8. Report to client
  9. Deposit and request funds
  10. Exchange contacts
  11. Completion
  12. Registration formalities
  13. Deeds and confirmation

3. Re-mortgages

The re-mortgage process – A step by step guide

  1. Mortgage in principle
  2. Instruct solicitor
  3. Deeds, redemption figures
  4. Title Check and enquiries
  5. Request funds
  6. Complete
  7. Balance to client
  8. Registration formalities
  9. Deed and confirmation

4. Transfers of Equity

Information about Transfers of Equity – A step by step guide

The transfer of the house from joint names to your sole name or from your sole name into joint names is often referred to as a Transfer of Equity or Charge of Parties and is a relatively straight forward process although you will need the consent of your mortgage company and the agreement of other property owners, if any, which can be more problematic.

The first thing we would recommend before even contacting a solicitor is speaking to your mortgage company and ask for their approval; if they do not agree then you will not be able to transfer the property without also re-mortgaging to a new lender. If your mortgage company do agree they will have some forms for you to complete and will normally charge you an upfront fee for their consent.

Obviously the other party to the transfer will also have to agree to the transfer and if this involves a divorce or separation we always recommend that you both take independent legal advice from specialists matrimonial solicitors. Your house is probably your biggest financial asset and you will both want to make sure that the agreement is fair and that neither party is losing out. If you are also getting divorced it is normally a good idea to include the house transfer in the formal divorce settlement.

The procedure for each mortgage company differs slightly but it is normally possible for a conveyancing solicitor to then draw up the Transfer Deed which will be signed by you, your husband and the mortgage company before being registered with the Land Registry.

The Transfer Process – A step by step guide

  1. Instruct Solicitor
  2. Mortgage company approval
  3. Title Check and enquiries
  4. Transfer to all parties
  5. Completion
  6. Balance paid out
  7. Registration formalities
  8. Deeds and confirmation

5. Home Information Packs

Home Information Pack (HIPs) became compulsory for all residential properties being marketed since 14th December 2007. The person responsible for providing the HIP to potential buyer will normally be the estate agent but you don’t have to use them to compile the HIP. Please contact us for a quote for providing your Home Information Pack if you also instruct us for your sale you will receive a discount on our normal conveyancing fees.

More about Home Information Packs

HIPs were made compulsory in stages based on the number of bedrooms in the house but became compulsory for all residential properties on 14th December 2007.

The HIP will contain the following information:

Other documents can be included within your HIP, they are optional but if included can help speed up the sale later.

It is hoped that by providing buyers with information (free of charge) at the outset and there is less chance of buyers becoming aware of any surprises later on. Hopefully this will reduce the number of sellers who put an offer in but don’t go on to complete the purchase. We hope that by providing as much information to the seller as soon as possible unnecessary delays and expense can be avoided for all involved.

6. Stamp Duty Land Tax

Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is payable on the purchase or transfer of property in the UK where the amount paid is above a certain threshold. In addition most property transactions must be notified to HM Revenue & Customs within a certain time limit - even if no tax is due.

Various rules apply for working out how much, if any, SDLT is payable. The amount of tax due is based on the value of the property called the ‘chargeable consideration’. There are some transactions that are exempt from SDLT there are also reliefs available in some circumstances which can reduce the amount payable.

For up to date details of the rates and threshold as well as the reliefs available please try the following link:

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/sdlt/basics.htm

Some properties automatically qualify for some Stamp Duty relief because they are in a disadvantaged area please try the link below to see if the property you are purchasing qualifies:

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/so/dar/dar-search.htm