Land registry pre-completion searches comprises of the following searches:

• Land Charges Search 
• Bankruptcy Search
• Official Search of Part with Priority 
• Official Search of Whole or Part without Priority 
• Official Search of Whole with Priority 

Land registry pre-completion searches are done after the exchange of contracts, but before the completion to ensure that everything is exactly as before the contract exchange regarding the property or your ability to buy the property.

If you bought the property with a mortgage, you will need to pay off the remainder of your mortgage, before you sell it. You would have to consult with your lender or broker to find out how much you owe. It includes possible penalties for early repayment.

Other than that, you may also need to pay for the following when selling your property:

• Outstanding debts secured against the property in addition to the mortgage.
• Real estate agent fees.
• Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) fees (if the property is not exempt or has a valid certificate)
• Legal fees.
• Land registry fees
• Removal costs.
• Capital gains tax, in case the property is not your primary home or includes a lot of land.
• Cost for essential home repairs or improvements.

We accomplish the transaction within two months. But there are various unique situations and factors that impact the purchase of the property. Most of the time delays occur due to the excess time taken in the transfer of money, late signing and returning of legal documents, and providing incorrect information in the forms. We advise looking at the matters above to make the process faster. We also check every aspect to avoid delays.

After the completion stage, your job as a buyer or seller is complete. However, we have some paperwork to deal with. We need to make sure that the Land Registry records are updated to display the new owner, all old mortgages are paid off and removed from the Land Registry, and if any fresh mortgage is registered at the Land Registry. Once all these tasks are completed, we will update you.

We strictly follow the target of completing the transaction within two months and for this, we follow up with other conveyancers and third parties who are holding things up. Yet, there are a few unexpected circumstances that become the cause of the delay. Some of the common causes of delay are listed below:

• Mortgage applications, taking much longer to process than usual, probably because a reference that the lender requires from a third party is not immediately available, or because the mortgage lender is unusually occupied.
• A single delay at any point in the chain will delay every other process.
• The mortgage company comes up with unforeseen conditions.
• Any member in the chain doesn’t want to process it as quickly as the others.
• Searches or inquiries reveal something not anticipated before.

Yes, we do provide a full breakdown of the conveyancing charges right at the beginning. We have a range of conveyancing services available at a flexible price. But, our quote for conveyancing is fixed, which is clearly mentioned at the very beginning of the transaction. 

For identity proof, you would need anyone from the following:

• A valid passport
• A valid driving license

For address proof, you would need anyone from the following from the past three months:

• Utility bills
• Council tax bills
• Bank statements
• Mortgage offer letter (if you are using a mortgage to finance the property you are buying)

In case you are not a resident of the UK, we will ask for two forms of proof of address and one proof of identity, certified by a Notary Public bearing the notarised seal.

After receiving your identification, our solicitor will obtain electronic verification using the ID documents provided. If we couldn’t obtain a satisfactory result, we will contact you for other proof.