Once an offer on a house has been accepted, one of the first practical steps is to instruct a solicitor for conveyancing. Most people know that they need one, but far fewer know what the solicitor actually does between accepting instructions and the day the keys are handed over. This article sets out the stages of a residential purchase in Northern Ireland, explains the work involved at each point, and describes how the process differs when you are the seller.
To speak to our experts please call us on 028 2766 6698 or Make An Online Enquiry.
What is conveyancing and why is a solicitor required?
Conveyancing is the legal process of transferring ownership of land or property from one person to another. In Northern Ireland it is carried out almost exclusively by solicitors, who are regulated by the Law Society of Northern Ireland and who must comply with the Society’s Home Charter Scheme when acting in a residential transaction.
The reason a solicitor is required is that the transaction involves a number of steps that carry legal consequences, including examining the seller’s title, drafting and exchanging a binding contract, dealing with the mortgage lender, transferring a large sum of money, paying Stamp Duty Land Tax, and registering the new owner at the Land Registry. If any of these is mishandled, the buyer may find that they do not have good title to the property, that the lender’s security is defective, or that there is another problem with the property.
What happens when you first instruct a solicitor?
At the outset, your solicitor will send you a client care letter confirming the basis on which the firm is acting, an estimate of the fees and outlays, and the name of the person responsible for your matter. You will be asked to provide identification documents and, on a purchase, evidence of the source of your deposit and any other funds, as the firm is legally obliged to carry out these checks.
The solicitor will then contact the estate agent and the seller’s solicitor to confirm the terms of the sale. If you are obtaining a mortgage, the lender will usually instruct the same solicitor to act on its behalf, and your solicitor will receive the mortgage offer and its conditions in due course.
How does a solicitor for conveyancing investigate the title?
The seller’s solicitor sends a draft contract together with the evidence of title to the solicitor acting for the buyer. For most property in Northern Ireland, this consists of a copy of the Land Registry folio and map, which record the registered owner, the boundaries, any charges and any rights or burdens affecting the land. Where the property is still unregistered, the title is proved by a chain of deeds recorded in the Registry of Deeds, and your solicitor for conveyancing will need to examine those deeds to satisfy themselves that the seller has the right to sell.
The solicitor checks that the seller is the registered owner, that the boundaries shown on the map match the property being sold, that any existing mortgage will be discharged on completion and that any rights of way, restrictive covenants or ground rents are identified and acceptable. Any concerns are raised with the seller’s solicitor as requisitions on title.
What searches and enquiries are carried out in Northern Ireland?
The Home Charter Scheme provides a standard set of pre-contract enquiries which your solicitor sends to the seller’s solicitor. These cover matters such as boundaries, disputes with neighbours, planning permission and building control approval for any alterations, services to the property, and the fixtures and fittings included in the sale.
Separately, your solicitor obtains a property certificate from the local council, which reports on planning and building control matters affecting the property, and a property certificate from the Department for Infrastructure, which confirms whether the roads serving the property are adopted and whether any road schemes are proposed. Searches are also carried out in the Statutory Charges Register, which records certain public charges and notices, and in the Enforcement of Judgments Office against the seller. Depending on the property, enquiries may be made of Northern Ireland Water and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency, particularly where drainage is by septic tank.
Once the replies and certificates are received, your solicitor will report to you in writing on the title and the results of the enquiries, and will explain anything that affects your decision to proceed.
When does the contract become legally binding?
In Northern Ireland, the usual practice is for the buyer to sign the contract first and to pay the deposit. Before you sign, your solicitor will make sure that the mortgage offer is in place, that the enquiries have been satisfactorily answered and that a completion date has been agreed.
The signed contract and deposit are sent to the seller’s solicitor, who arranges for the seller to sign. When the seller’s signed part is returned, contracts have been exchanged and both parties are legally bound to complete on the agreed date. Until that point either side may withdraw, which is why your solicitor will not ask you to sign until the necessary information has been gathered.
What happens on the day of completion?
In the days before completion, your solicitor requests the mortgage funds from the lender, prepares a completion statement showing the balance you need to provide, and carries out final searches. On the completion date the purchase money is transferred to the seller’s solicitor, who confirms receipt and authorises the release of the keys, usually through the estate agent. The seller’s solicitor uses the proceeds to redeem any existing mortgage and provides your solicitor with the signed transfer deed and any other documents required for registration.
What does the solicitor do after completion?
Two important tasks remain following completion. The first is the Stamp Duty Land Tax return, which must be submitted to HM Revenue and Customs and any tax paid within fourteen days, even where no tax is due. The second is registration. Your solicitor lodges the transfer with the Land Registry of Northern Ireland so that you are recorded as the owner and, where there is a mortgage, the lender’s charge is registered against the folio. If the property was previously unregistered, this transaction will trigger compulsory first registration. Once registration is complete, your solicitor will confirm this to you and to the lender.
How does the process differ when selling?
When you are the seller, your solicitor’s work begins with obtaining your title documents, either from the Land Registry or from the lender holding your deeds, and preparing the draft contract. Your solicitor will ask you to complete the Home Charter enquiry forms and will reply to the buyer’s requisitions on your behalf. On completion, your solicitor receives the purchase price, redeems your mortgage, settles the estate agent’s account if instructed to do so, and pays the balance to you.
How can LMK Law assist?
LMK Law acts for buyers and sellers of residential property in Ballymoney, across County Antrim and throughout Northern Ireland. If you need a solicitor for conveyancing and would like an estimate of costs or a discussion of your particular transaction contact us.
Get In Touch
To speak to our experts please call us on 028 2766 6698 or Make An Online Enquiry.