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Sale and Purchase of Freehold and Leasehold Residential Property

Our property lawyers will guide you, your co-directors/trustees and all other key stakeholders through every stage of the transaction, advising you in respect of the legal issues during the purchase or sale of property. We deal with residential property of varying sizes and complexities ranging from flats to holiday homes and large country houses with agricultural land and forestry. You will receive our friendly and personal service, with back-up as required from the rest of our property team to ensure your matter is dealt with promptly and efficiently.

We take pride in being the first law firm in Buckinghamshire and one of the first law firm’s in England to be accepted as members of the Law Society Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS). This accolade proves that we maintain the highest standards of residential conveyancing.

We provide our clients with a breadth of advice in connection with their sale or purchase, such areas include:

Purchase

  • Identifying searches required against the property to detect any legal issues such as breaches of planning permission, whether the property is subject to chancel repair liability, or if the property is at risk of flooding.
     
  • Reviewing the title documentation to assess whether the property is subject to any easements (rights of way), restrictive covenants (restrictions on the use of the property) or mortgages that need to be discharged by the seller on completion.
     
  • Negotiate the terms of the contract to ensure your interests are protected: for example, if you require access to the property between exchange and completion or if an indemnity policy has been agreed as a result of a defect in the title.
     
  • Reviewing the standard protocol forms completed by the seller (Property Information Forms and Fittings and Contents Forms) and raising tailored enquiries to investigate the title and issues detected by our search results.
     
  • We routinely liaise with surveyors, engineers, lenders, insurers, accountants and other third parties to enable a transaction to flow smoothly and resolve any issues promptly.
     
  • Negotiating with the seller’s lawyers and agents with a view to resolving any issues identified.
     
  • Drafting the transfer deed and any ancillary documents as are required in your transaction, for example, a notice of assignment/transfer to a landlord or a deed of covenant.
     
  • Liaising with the seller’s lawyers and management company in respect of any service or management charges which the property is responsible for.
     
  • Arranging for the transfer of shares in a management company, if required.
     
  • If you are buying the property with a mortgage, we liaise with your lender and mortgage broker, review the mortgage documentation and report to you on the terms of the same.
     
  • Producing a detailed report on title for you and ensuring that you understand all the legal aspects of the property you are purchasing.
     
  • Advise you on the amount of Stamp Duty Land Tax (“SDLT”) payable. In addition, our service also includes filing SDLT returns with HMRC and ensuring that the strict time limits for doing so are adhered to.
     
  • Carrying out pre-completion searches to protect your interests in the property and completing the registration of the transfer at the Land Registry, together with registering your Mortgage at the Land Registry and Companies House.

Sale

  • Drafting a contract and downloading title documentation from the Land Registry and obtaining any other documents as are required to produce the contract package.
     
  • Assisting you in completing the standard protocol forms (Property Information Form, Fittings and Contents Form and Overriding Interests Questionnaire).
     
  • Dealing with additional enquiries raised by the buyer’s lawyers and liaising with you to provide solutions to any issues encountered.
     
  • Liaising with your estate agent, insurer, surveyor to ensure that any issues are resolved promptly.
     
  • Reviewing and negotiating the provisions of the transfer deed.
     
  • Drafting any ancillary documentation as is required in your transaction, such as share transfer forms.
     
  • Liaising with your mortgage provider to ascertain redemption statements/settlement figures to discharge your existing mortgage(s) at the Land Registry and Companies House.