CONVEYANCING

This is the technical term for the procedure for the transfer of heritable property that is any land whether with or without a house or other building on it and also the creation of a security or mortgage deed over the property for a lender. Clearly the most common transaction is when someone buys or sells a house and either creates or discharges a Security to a bank or building society. Similar work is involved in the purchase or sale of plots, farms, shops, hotels, factories or other commercial premises. There may also be ancillary deeds such as a Deed of Servitude whereby one proprietor is given a right of access over another proprietor's land.

However, the actual transfer deeds are only part of the process. It usually starts with a formal Offer to purchase the property followed by the exchange of various formal letters which comprise the missives until they form a contract which initiates the transaction. At one time a formal Offer usually only included the price, the date of entry, and a stipulation that the Purchaser would get a good title but nowadays Offers can be many pages long and include conditions about Planning Permission, Building Warrant, Completion Certificates, Architect's Certificates, warranties about central heating, and a multitude of other clauses designed to protect the client from unforeseen difficulties. The process of tying up the missives can take several weeks; thereafter the Purchaser's Solicitor examines the title deeds and prepares the deeds for the transfer in time for settling the transaction on the agreed date of entry.

Conveyancing is and always has been, the core of our business and it is, of course, closely linked to our Estate Agency Department.