Conveyancing problems revealed!

Even if you have done everything possible to make things go well, there are unfortunately still a few stages where problems can arise in conveyancing. One of the major problems we encounter in our profession is conveyancers and solicitors who disgiuse their fees.

Cheap or discounted fees

What does my conveyancing quotation include?

As part of our conveyancing service, we will tell you our fee, the VAT payable on it together with any third party costs (usually referred to as disbursements) which should be limited to the following: -

Home Information Pack - energy performance certificate, personal local authority search, official drainage & water search and official copies of your title.

Sale - official copies of your title and bank transfer fee to repay your mortgage.

Purchase - bank transfer fee to pay over purchase price on completion, stamp duty land tax (if applicable), final search fees (also referred to as a priority search and bankrutcy search) and registration fees payable to Land Registry to transfer ownership of the property to you.

Remortgage - official copies of your title, bank transfer fee to repay your existing mortgage, indemnity insurance in place of a local authority search, final search fees (also referred to as a priority search and bankruptcy search) and registration fees payable to Land Registry to transfer ownership of the property to you.

If you have obtained a quote elsewhere (which we would always recommend), if it includes anything else, you should ask why. The chances are you will discover it should be incorporated into the actual fee the solicitor or conveyancer is receiving. Always look at the total cost and any small print. It might not seem quite as cheap once you do!

We're so confident that we tick all the boxes that we have made it even easier for you to compare our conveyancing service with our competitors by clicking here. You will see firms that are actively pursuing your business. It also includes a google search facility so you can search further afield if you prefer.

Gazumping

Another problem encountered by home buyers is gazumping. In a seller's market this is widely used which makes the whole conveyancing service more stressful and often adds to the cost for the gazumped buyer.

What is gazumping?

Gazumping is the term used to refer to when a seller accepts an offer from one potential buyer but then accepts a higher offer from someone else. The first buyer is left in the lurch and either has to offer a higher price or accept that they have lost that home and continue looking.

The problem is that until contracts have been exchanged the sale agreement is not legally binding. Once your offer has been accepted, either you or the seller can pull out at any time until the exchange of contracts. Unfortunately agents are legally obliged to inform sellers of all offers made on their property, even after one offer has been accepted. But during this period between the acceptance of your offer and exchange, you as the buyer spend a considerable amount of money on surveys, solicitor's fees, and confirmation of your mortgage offer. If the sale falls through you do not get this money back, and have to pay out all over again next time round. If you are part of a chain of sales, you could even be affected by this problem as someone else in the chain has been gazumped.

How can I avoid being gazumped?

If it does happen there is little you can do, but there are some ways in which you can minimise the risk of problems occuring. Help speed up the sale - the faster it is, the less opportunity there is for the seller to pull out.

Choose a seller whose agent has a policy on gazumping, if at all possible. Some agents insist that the seller signs an agreement to turn down any offers after one has been accepted.

Keep in regular contact with the seller's agent - tell them when you have completed the survey and received a formal mortgage offer. This way they can be sure that you have provided as much information as possible and they can be assured that the sale is progressing without any problems and are less likely to be tempted to consider any other offers.

You could also ask us to draw up an exclusivity agreement for you with the seller after your offer has been accepted. In return for a fee, this gives you exclusive rights to the house as long as contracts are exchanged within a certain period. Few people make such an agreement as it involves hiring a solicitor, but it is worth considering to avoid this problem.

Take out insurance cover to protect you if your deal falls through. This is yet another expense, but you might be glad of it if problems arise.

Insist that the house be taken off the market once your offer has been accepted. Check that the board outside the house has a 'Sold' sign on it, and contact the agent if it does not.

Other Potential Problems To Look Out For

There are a few other situations which you may find yourself involved in which it is worth thinking about as you may need to take extra care.

The Chain

This is where there is a whole chain of buyers and sellers. For example, you are buying a house but you can't complete the purchase until your own house is sold. In turn, the buyer of your house can't buy until they have sold their own house; and so on and so forth. If you are part of a chain, your own purchase may be affected if someone a few links down the line pulls out of their sale or purchase, or if someone else is gazumped. If you are not part of a chain, this could encourage a seller to accept your offer over someone else's as there is less risk of the sale being delayed.

Contract Races

If there are two or more potential buyers for a house, the seller may send out contracts to more than one set of buyers. The buyers then have to race each other to send a deposit and the signed contract gets the home. Its a case of who is fastest to the finishing post. Solicitors are legally obliged to pass this information onto any buyers involved that they are in a contract race. Contract races normally only happen when there is a shortage of houses or rising prices. Be careful - you may win, but if not you could lose a lot of money from all costs you have in the period before exchange of contracts, so only get involved if you have a very good chance of winning.