FAQs about Residential Conveyancing

What  is a “chain” in relation to conveyancing ?

The term chain means that there are a number of related sales and purchases which are dependent, in order to proceed, on all the separate transactions going ahead. In other words, if one seller or buyer in the linked transactions pulls out, this may well mean that none of the other sellers and buyers can go ahead, either at all, or may have to wait weeks or months for a new buyer to be found, if a buyer has pulled out somewhere in the chain.

It is consequently important :-

  1. To ask the right questions of any estate agents involved at the earliest opportunity to find out what sort of a chain may be involved regarding any purchase of interest
  2. To ensure you have a solicitor and estate agent who regularly checks with other parties in the chain what is going on and to try and co-ordinate everything and keep everyone informed

What options are there for survey for a house or flat ?

The 3 main options are :-

  • Valuation – as a buyer, your lender will require thata a valuation is carried iut and you will have to pay for this. A valuation is very basic and it’s primary purpose is not to consider in any detail the condition of the property, but instead, by using comparables for other properties sold recently of the same type in the area, whether the purchase price is about right.
  • Home Buyers Report & Valuation – this will need to be arranged by you, but can be undertaken by the same surveyor as the valuation, if you organise it through the lender, and this way, you may save some cost. This is an intermediate type of report, but not as detailed as many people imagine it will be.
  • Full Structural Survey.  Most buyers do not commission a full structural survey due to the overall cost of an entire house move, but we advise clients that this si essential for any property over 100 years old, of high value, significantly altered or where the seller does not have appropriate paperwork for gas/electricity/alterations or if there is generally anything unusual about the property.