The conveyancing process essentially involves the transfer of ownership from one party to another. The parties must both be legally able to sell or transfer before the conveyancing process begins. The process sounds simple, however there can be a lot of work involved that we, as the seller, do not see.

You will need to use a solicitor or licensed conveyor to carry out all the legal work involved with buying and selling a property. It is best to make sure that whoever you choose has experience at this type of work. You will also need to look at other factors involved in the decision process such as ;

• Cost - how much can you afford to spend on a solicitor?
• Availability and location - are they local to you or will you have to make many long journeys to stay in close contact ?
• Communication skills - will they be able to cut the deal that you require?
• Recommendation - do you know anyone else who has had to use a solicitor for this situation?
• Acceptability to the lender - does your lender approve of your choice?
• The family solicitors - is there one particular solicitors that your family always use? Are they suitable?
• Specialist conveyancers - will they have more experience?
• Agent or lender recommendation - do they have a solicitor that they work well with? Could be because they will get commission out of this!
• Solicitor's regional directory - will give recommendations for your area
• Law society public enquiry line - will also give you the name of 3 solicitors that will suit your needs

The work that your solicitor or licensed conveyer undertakes includes:

• Makes sense of all the legal issues in the title deeds. To anyone who does not understand it, making sense of this is very time consuming and confusing.
• Checking the background of your property with the local authority and title searches.
• Examining the legality of contracts and leases for leasehold properties.
• Preparation of the contract for sale, which is the main pinnacle of the legal process. The contract contains details of the property, the identity of the buyers and sellers, the price and details of anything that is included with the sale, and the date on which the transaction will take place, known as the completion date.
• The opportunity to renegotiate anything that you are not quite satisfied with about the sale.

"It is unlikely you will be able to exchange contracts until all the following have taken place:

• The survey or valuation report has been completed and accepted by both you and the lender.
• You have had a formal written mortgage offer from your lender.
• All the conveyancing work is satisfactorily complete.
• You have agreed a completion date for the sale, which is included in the contract.
• You have settled any outstanding issues with the vendor, such as obligations for the completion of work on the property, and have made appropriate written agreements "

( www.thehomemoversgiude.com )

It is possible to do your own conveyancing, however very few people do because; where a mortgage is involved they will insist on employing a solicitor to protect its interests. You will have to pay for this. Secondly, if you miss something then the consequences can be dreadful and you may end up with a property that is a hazard and you will be unable to resell it. Also the other professional people involved in the sale of your property may take a dim view on you handling your own conveyancing and estate agents may advise vendors not to take your sale in light of this.

Once the solicitor has detailed everything that is required and both parties are satisfied, the signing of the contract can take place. The contract is a legally binding document that commits all parties to the deal. There's no backing out once the exchange has taken place. If one party were to back out there would be severe financial penalties.

You should expect to pay anything from £300 to in excess of £1000. Make sure that you fix the fee before they start work, if possible.

Disbursements are expenses that the solicitor incurs on your behalf in association with the work they are performing for you. Sometimes you may find that disbursements are included in the fees.

Disbursements include:

• Local authority search fee
• Water authority search fee
• Land charges search fee
• Land registry fees

You will also have to pay stamp duty, which is set at a level fixed by the government, depending on the value of the property you are buying. If your house is less than £60,000 then you do have to pay any stamp duty. Amounts after that figure are subject to a 1% fee.

(Stamp Duty is a tax that is on all property purchases.