During the conveyancing process you will probably come across lots of words or phrases your solicitor uses on a daily basis but which don't mean much to you. Hopefully this glossary will help you interpret what they mean!
Additional Enquiries
These are questions raised by the buyer's solicitors about the documentation provided by the seller's solicitors. These questions can range from legal issues such as covenants affecting the property to things you may need to know, such as whether the seller is leaving the dishwasher.
Brine Search
A brine search is carried out in areas where there is a history of brine extraction. It will show whether there was any old mining which could cause subsidence. This search is common for properties in parts of Cheshire.
Chancel Search
This search is carried out to see whether or not the property may be affected by a potential “Chancel Repair” obligation to the parish church. Such obligations stem from mediaeval times where land had been sold with a repairing obligation attached to that land. This obligation may not be evident from the title deeds, and the current owner of the land may be unaware of the obligation. The penalty is financial in that it involves having to pay for the upkeep and repair of the local mediaeval parish church.
Coal Search
A coal search is carried out in areas where there is a history of previous or current coal mining. It will show whether there was past mining which could cause subsidence and any proposed future workings.
Completion
The day on which the ownership of the property passes from the seller to the buyer, and the day on which the buyer gets the keys to the property.
Contract
This is the document which forms the agreement for the sale and purchase of a property. The seller's solicitor prepares the contract and sends it to the buyer's solicitors to approve, together with the Office Copies and the Property Information Forms. Until there is an Exchange of Contracts the contract is not binding and either the seller or the buyer can pull out of the transaction.
Covenants
These are restrictions which may have been imposed on a property by a previous owner. Some covenants “run with the land” and so the owner must not breach the covenants even if they were imposed on the land years before.
Environmental Search
This is a search which will indicate whether the property is likely to be classed as “contaminated land”. Where land is found to be contaminated Local Authorities can issue remediation notices requiring the clean-up of the land. The liability to carry out this work and comply with the remediation notice could fall on the owner of the land even though the owner may not have been responsible for causing the contamination. Compliance can be extremely costly and could potentially result in you having to incur expenditure which could even exceed the value of the property. The “contaminated land regime” applies to all land no matter what its use and just because a property may have been in existence for many years does not mean that the land itself is not contaminated.
Exchange of Contracts
This is the moment when the Contract becomes binding on the seller and the buyer. As with any contract, a party to the contract can breach the contract, for example by delaying or withdrawing from the transaction. Fortunately it does not happen often and there are financial penalties for doing so.
Indemnity Insurance
This is an insurance policy which can be taken out for a one-off premium to offer some protection against possible defects in the title to the property, for example where there are missing or unknown covenants affecting the title. Although Indemnity Insurance can be a quick and easy solution to some problems, it is not always the answer, and each time the question of Indemnity Insurance arises the individual circumstances have to be considered.
Land Registry
This is the government body which registers the title to all property in England and Wales and records dealings with those titles, such as the transfer of ownership of a property following a sale. All transactions have to be registered at the Land Registry.
Land Registry Fee
This is the fee the Land Registry charge for registering the transaction. The fees are set by the Land Registry and are on a scale depending on the value of the transaction.
Local Authority Search
This is a search about the property made at the local authority. It covers a whole range of matters, including whether the road on which the property is situate is adopted and maintained at the public expense and the planning history of the property (but not surrounding properties).
Mortgage offer
This is a formal offer of mortgage from a mortgage lender. A certificate or promise of a mortgage is not the same thing and your solicitor will need the formal mortgage offer before you can proceed with your purchase or remortgage
Mortgage Deed
This is the deed you will sign to secure the borrowing offered to you in the Mortgage offer . The mortgage will be registered at the Land Registry and so the mortgage is secured against the property.
Office copies
These are official copies of a person's title to their property and are provided by the Land Registry .
Preliminary Searches
There are a range of searches which should be carried out against a property. Some searches are carried out against every property, but others may only needed when a property is within a certain area of the country. The most common searches are Local Authority Search, Water/Drainage Search, Environmental Search, Chancel Liability Search, Coal Search and Brine Search . Even if you do not want certain searches to be carried out, your mortgage lender may insist that they are – at your expense!
Property Information Forms
These are forms completed by the seller dealing with various matters including what items are included in or excluded from the sale, the history and use of the property and who is responsible for maintaining the boundaries of the property
Stamp Duty Land Tax Click Here
Title Deeds
These are basically the evidence that you own your property, although where the property is registered at the Land Registry the real proof is the Land Registry records. The deeds may also contain lots of useful information and documents, even if these are not needed to prove your ownership, and you should therefore take great care of them
Telegraphic Transfer
This is a means of transferring money electronically between accounts and is the usual way money is transferred on Completion.
Transfer
This is the deed which will on completion of a sale and purchase transfer ownership of the property from the seller to the buyer. This deed is prepared by the buyer's solicitors.
Water/Drainage Search
This is a search of the relevant water company to show whether the property has the benefit of mains water and drainage. It will also show the location of the nearest public drains and sewers (but not private drains and sewers) |
