Jargon Buster

We aim to help you understand confusing property jargon

Below are common terms you are likely to come across - whether you are buying or selling.

Allocated Conveyancing specialist

All our conveyancers specialise in conveyancing. One of these will be allocated to be your main contact and as such this cuts down on the stress and time in a typical conveyancing transaction as that person will have day to day control of your case and it will uppermost in their mind. Their aim is to complete the transaction as quickly as possible.

Automatic and Regular updates:

As solicitors we promise that we will (with the aid of our sophisticated and advanced computerised case management software system) ensure we provide comprehensive and regular updates in your case at every agreed milestone.

Case management system

We are forward-looking solicitors practice who embrace new technologies to expedite the conveyancing process. We have a case management system which has been including in the shortlist of Law Society approved systems and has won awards for its excellence. We have spent a further 2 years to fully develop this system to what we consider to be an excellent assistance to our lawyers who already have the expertise gained through legal training to deal with your case. We have therefore invested in time and money to develop what we believe to be one of the best case management computer software systems in the Country developed to run specialist conveyancing transactions in England and Wales. As a result we aim to speed up your transaction as quickly as possible.
We aim to deal with all correspondence in on the day it is received. When comparing quotes make sure you ask how quickly incoming correspondence is dealt with. Further our quality of staff, training and case management software means that we are the first in the chain to be ready to exchange and complete which helps to avoid the risks of a break in the chain.

Consider your finances before committing to selling and buying your home:

Make sure you carry out a full budget when selling and buying your home to ensure that you have sufficient money to complete. For example when selling it is vital you take into account estate agency fees, their rate of commission, moving costs such as stamp duty and it is also wise to be conservative in your expectations as to the price your property will fetch when sold. If instructed we assist you on this by explaiing costs and disbusrements and pointing you in the right direction.

Completion Date

At Completion the buyer's solicitor sends the balance of the purchase money (less any deposit) to the sellers solicitor and once the seller reciepts this the keys are released to you and you can finally relax and move in.

Contract/Agreement

This is the agreement between seller and the buyer and sets out the terms of what has been agreed such as the property, the price and the names of the parties. It also deals with the process if something goes wrong.It is not longer necessary for the parties to meet to sign the same contract, the seller's solicitor prepares two copies of the same contract with each party signing their own copy of the contract and at exchange the contracts are literally exchanged between the solicitors at which point legally binding both buyer and seller.

Deposit

On exchange of contracts the seller usually insists on receiving from the buyer a 10% deposit of the purchase price. However as many people are not contributing as much as 10% to the purchase, reduced deposits are often agreed down the chain. If that happens then as the buyer should fail to complete the purchase through no fault of the seller the contract will provide that you still make the deposit up to the full 10%. You may also have to pay compensation to the seller if the seller loses out through your failure to complete.

Direct telephone line

You will have a direct telephone line to the person dealing with your case, not to a call centre, or to a third party who can only read the information from a tracking file. That way you talk to someone who should be familiar with your file and able to answer your questions.

What is an Energy Performance Certificate?

From 1st June 2007, each home will have to be inspected and an Energy Performance Certificate prepared, before a property is marketed for sale. The Energy Performance Certificate is similar to the certificates now provided with domestic appliances such as refrigerators and washing machines. Its purpose is to record how energy-efficient a property is as a building. The certificate will provide a rating of the property from A to G, where A is very efficient and G is very inefficient.

Exchange of Contracts

This is when a legally binding contract is made. Once we exchange you can no longer be "Gazumped". It is also at this point when you fix the day the move in-completion date take place. This is a very important date as from the minute your contract is exchanged the transaction becomes binding. From that moment on, the seller must sell and the buyer must buy at the agreed price. Until contracts are exchanged NOTHING is binding - either party can walk away from the transaction with no penalty.
Prior to exchange the seller and buyer will agree dates between themselves and then notify their respective solicitors who will try to fit in with the suggested date. If there are unforeseen delays, for example, if the buyer does not receive a search or mortgage offer in time, or any other complication then the completion date may have to be revised. For this reason you should not make any firm commitments such as giving notice on a job, arranging removals or arranging to go away without first contacting us.

Fixed fees

The delivery of highly competitive fixed fees is what you are quoted for and is what you pay. We set this out fully in writing so you can compare if you wish with other quotes before you make your decision. We do not claim to beat every other quotation but we do not risk quality being compromised or cut any corners - our promise is that once you complete your transaction you will be 100% assured that the legal work has been done correctly. For example if you are buying then if you ever want to sell in the future you will have confidence that you will have no defects or problems with your title- we as lawyers will have sorted that out first on your behalf. Also as solicitors who are members of and regulated by the Law Society we have an obligation to maintain £1 million pounds worth of insurance cover for you. We maintain a high quality service without economizing on the conveyancing process and offer an excellent value for money service.

Fixtures, Fittings and Contents Form

This is a list of the items at the property which the seller must are either included or excluded from the agreed price. This form is completed at an early stage by the seller and sent to the buyer, so that both parties understand what is included in the selling price. If you are the seller, when you let us have the form we will send you a copy back so that you know what you have agreed on it. If you are the buyer we send you a copy of the form as soon as it is received by ourselves from the sellers solicitors so that any difficulties can be resolved at an early stage.

Freehold

This describes how the land is owned. Land is either freehold (usually houses) or leasehold (usually flats).

Gazumping

Where you are a buyer and another buyer outbids you or increases their offer and is accepted pre exchange of contract. You will have lost the purchase to that other party. The government currently does not prevent this.

What Are Home Information Packs (HIPs)?

Home Information Packs (HIPs) are designed to speed up the home buying process by making sure the seller has information about their property ready before starting to market the property for sale. This means that under Part 5 of the Housing Act 2004 a legal responsibility will fall on the person selling the property (the vendor) or their marketing agent to ensure all relevant documents are ready to present to prospective buyers on request. Full details are set out in Home Information Pack Regulations 2006 and The Home Information Pack Regulations 2006 Procedural Guidance or contact us for more guidance.

Indemnity Contribution

Indemnity insurance is taken out by all Solicitors to cover losses to clients arising from errors or fraud in dealing with their matters. We are required by the Law Society to pay for this insurance in respect of every transaction, and some solicitors recover the premium from their clients.

Land Registry

This is the Central Government organisation in England and Wales which retains records of who owns every piece of land, and under what conditions.
This was set up in 1925, to simplify the conveyancing process and register all land. Whilst the majority of land is now registered to date not all land in England and Wales is registered today and this is partly due to the fact that land can only be registered following certain "triggering events". The Land Registry has their own website which provides useful information. See our Useful Links page for a link to this site.

The Law Society

We are solicitors and we give you peace of mind that we are regulated by the Law Society and agree to adhere to strict code of practice giving you the added peace of mind that you are dealing with solicitors who owe you a strict duty of care and are bonded by the ethics and professional code of the Law Society and knowing that if you are unsatisfied you have the peace of mind of knowing that you can refer such matters should they ever arise to the Law Society. Rest assured that you will not need to do this.

Leasehold

Temporary ownership of the property. When the lease expires ownership of the property belongs to the freeholder. This normally applies to flats.

Legal Fee

This is a cost of the time that we spend on a normal conveyancing transaction. If you take out the no move no fee guarantee and through no fault of your own the sale or purchase does not complete then we will not charge you any legal fees, but limit our fees to the guarantee cost of £49 plus vat and of course you will be liable for third party disbursements you have incurred such as local authority and other searches. See our tems of business for full details. There are no additional charges for photocopying, postage or any travel costs because swe treat these disbursements as part of the fee for our service and we do make a separate charge for these.

Local Authority Search

This is a document which the buyer solicitor prepares and sends to the seller's local authority and which raises questions regarding the property. It covers such items such as, whether the road serving the property should be maintained by the council (i.e. adopted by them rather than the buyer having to contribute privately), whether there have been any planning applications on the property, and a number of other things. The search is against the property only and does not cover the surrounding area. A word of warning - the search will not show any Planning Permissions or matters affecting land or buildings outside the boundaries of the property. You must therefore let us know at the start of the transaction if you require information on any particular point or if you wish us to ask any particular questions of the local authority.

Money Laundering Regulations

The Government has introduced stringent money laundering regulations in the UK with the aim to prevent the risk of terrorism and illegal activity within the UK. The burden of identity and tracing the source of money is strict and these apply in all UK conveyancing transactions as these involve the use of money to purchase property. We, as solicitors, have to carry out the checks required by the Government and we will aim to pass these to you as smoothly as possible so you can comply with the conditions required by the Government. We make you aware at an early stage in your transaction what is needed from you so can prepare as soon as possible.

Mortgages

Ensure that you have planned sufficiently to make payments towards your mortgage and that you have sufficient cover in place should your circimstances change. As we specialise in conveyancing we do not provide financial advice. We recommend you always seek independent financial advice from an independent financial advisor before you embark on this. You can contact the IFA for an independent financial advisor.

Mortgage offer

This is a loan taken out and charged against your property to assist you in buying your property. You cannot sell the property without paying the mortgage off. For the buyer contracts should not be exchanged until an acceptable written mortgage offer has been received and approved by the buyer. A verbal confirmation of a mortgage offer will leave you at risk. If you are selling, we will contact your mortgage lender for a redemption figure to ask how much it will cost to pay off your mortgage - we will send you a the initial copy of this figure. A final redemption figure is then released by the lender prior to completion and the lender will then evidence the discharge of the mortgage by endorsing the formal receipt in the form of an END or DS1. Also you should consider whether your existing mortgage has any penalties on completion.

Mortgage Deed

The legal charge of the property to the mortgage lender.

Mortgagee fees

These fees are separate fees normally charged for acting on behalf of your bank or building society if you have or are taking out an mortgage.

No meetings needed

All work is done by post and telephone as appropriate. Some people think that not using a local firm will hold up the conveyancing process, this is quite the opposite and much more efficient as, for instance, you do not need to take the afternoon off work to sign a document which you could easily do at home!

No Move - No Fee

We offer a No Move - No Fee guarantee. See our terms of business.

Property Information Form

This is a questionnaire about the seller's property which the sellers are duty bound to complete which we will then send to the buyer's solicitor. It covers such items as guarantees, neighbour disputes and boundaries, planning permissions, occupation and other matters. Failure to disclose information may give rise to the risk for the buyer to take action against you. To help speed up the transaction we send you these out at an early stage in the transaction. This will speed up our ability to send out an early contract.

Quality Assurance

To maintain the best possible quality we review our cases, Our team and our systems to ensure our client is given the best possible service. In addition we are solicitors and members of the Law Society. We are regulated by the law society and maintain the highest professional and ethical standards set by them.

Stamp Duty

This is government tax, and only affects you if you are buying a property for more than ��60,000 (and if the property is in an exempt area if it is valued under £150,000. we will check this as our buyer clients). Unless an exemption applies if you buy for exactly ��60,000 you pay nothing in stamp duty; If you pay from £60,001 to £250,000 stamp duty is charged at 1% on the whole of the purchase price. If the purchase price is between £250,001 to £500,000 it is charged at 3%, and above £500,000 it is charged at 4%.

Survey

This is a report carried out by a surveyor on the physical state of the property you are buying. This is different from a mortgage valuation if you are obtaining a mortgage. As the valuation merely satisfies the lender that the property is of a sufficient value to protect their interest. However we believe the buyer should invest in the best survey by a qualified surveyor that they can afford as in law when buying a property it is always "sold as seen". It is for you, as the buyer, to discover any physical defects by inspecting the property and via a survey. At the very least we believe a RICS Homebuyer's Report should be commissioned in the first instance.
You have some safeguards if the survey reveals a problem which requires further investigation as pre exchange you are not bound to purchase the property and you can decide whether to continue with your purchase at all.

Title Deeds

Our policy is to speed up your transaction and we request these at a very early stage as they are required as they are the documents which evidence that selling actually owns their property. Further it sets out any rights or obligations that affect the property. Both of these will be required to issue a contract on your behalf and both are required by the buyer before they proceed further. If we act as your seller's solicitors our policy is to ask you at a very early stage (so that we can save valuable time) for your title deeds. If you have a mortgage then your bank or building society will normally be holding your title deeds. We will need to know your mortgage account number and the name and address of the lender.

Transfer deed

As the buyer's solicitors this is a document which we prepare and send to the seller. If we are the seller's solicitor we ensure that the transfer deed has been properly prepared by the buyer. This is a vital document as it passes the ownership of the property from the seller to the buyer. It is dated with the completion date and will be sent to the Land Registry after completion. The Land Registry will use this Transfer deed to change their records, and show the buyer as the new owner of the property.