Advertisements
About me
Obviously every transaction is different, but this article gives you an idea of what your conveyancing solicitor has to check to protect you and the mortgage lender;-
1. That the sellers are the legal owners of the property and as such, they have the right to sell it to you. If for any reason the sellers’ details are different in the contract supplied by the sellers’ solicitors from those contained in the actual deeds to the property, then your conveyancing solicitor will need to see proof that the sellers are actually entitled to sell it to you. For example, if the owner registered in the deeds is now deceased and the Personal Representatives of the Estate (i.e. the deceased person’s Executors under the terms of the Will or if no Will was written, the family member entitled to inherit the Estate) are the persons selling the property, then a copy of the Grant of Probate (where there is a Will) or Letters of Administration (where there is no Will) must be produced to your conveyancing solicitor. If this is not already in place, then it can be a very time consuming process.
2. You may have certain rights or obligations (”covenants”) to which you will be bound because they are attached to the property by means of the contents of the deeds and these rights or obligations will be explained by your conveyancing solicitor. The solicitor will check that rights, such as of way or access exist where necessary. Any defect in the title will have to be put right before you proceed and the seller is usually the one who must pay for this.
3. The Land Registry do not usually define the precise boundaries of the property on the plan which they provide and in all cases, your conveyancing solicitor should provide you with a copy of the plan so that you can visit the property and check as far as you are able, that the plan supplied corresponds with the land that you believe you are buying as part of the transaction. If it does not, then you must let your conveyancing solicitor know straight away so that he can take this up with the seller’s solicitor.
5 Responses to “Buying a house – Title Deeds – What your solicitor checks”
Leave a Reply
March 15th, 2009 at 12:00 am
Hello
Could you tell me if it’s best to get a different solicitor to the seller. We seem to have the same solicitor. Don’t feel comfortable with it though the solicitors say it’s fine.
Thanks
March 22nd, 2009 at 9:35 pm
Many thanks for your enquiry Tricia.
There are certain circumstances in which a solicitor is not allowed to act for both parties. They can only do so if ;-
the conditions set out in 3.10 below are satisfied and one of the following applies:
(a)
both parties are established clients;
(b)
the consideration is £10,000 or less and the transaction is not the grant of a lease; or
(c)
seller and buyer are represented by two separate offices in different localities.
In order to act for seller and buyer under 3.09 above, the following conditions must be met:
(a)
the written consent of both parties must be obtained;
(b)
no conflict of interests must exist or arise;
(c)
the seller must not be selling or leasing as a builder or developer; and
(d)
when the seller and buyer are represented by two separate offices in different localities:
(i)
different individuals (either solicitors or RELs qualified to do conveyancing under regulation 12 of the European Communities (Lawyer’s Practice) Regulations 2000 (SI 2000/1119) who normally work at each office, conduct or supervise the transaction for seller and buyer; and
(ii)
no office of the firm (or an associated firm) referred either client to the office conducting the transactions.
I do not know if all these conditions have been met in your particular case, but if not, then the solicitor should not be acting on behalf of both of you any way. I have however seen firms in my own area flout these rules.
Therefore, I feel it is usually better for clients to have separate representation. You can find more information about the requirements for acting on behalf of both parties at;-http://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/code-of-conduct/213.article#r3-07
April 15th, 2009 at 8:20 am
great tips. I enjoyed reading this
June 18th, 2009 at 3:04 pm
What constitutes a conflict of interest?
July 16th, 2009 at 8:23 pm
The Solicitors Regulation Authority, Rule 3.01, states that a Conflict of Interest is defined as follows;-
” (1) You must not act if there is a conflict of interests (except in the limited circumstances dealt with in 3.02).
(2) There is a conflict of interests if:
(a) you owe, or your firm owes, separate duties to act in the best interests of two or more clients in relation to the same or related matters, and those duties conflict, or there is a significant risk that those duties may conflict; or
(b) your duty to act in the best interests of any client in relation to a matter conflicts, or there is a significant risk that it may conflict, with your own interests in relation to that or a related matter.
(3) For the purpose of 3.01(2), a related matter will always include any other matter which involves the same asset or liability.”
Hope this clarifies the point!
Gemma