Residential Property
Your FAQs

A. An average conveyancing transaction takes anywhere between 12 to 16 weeks to complete. We have sold and purchased properties in the past within a much shorter timescale (even 48 hours of receipt of instructions!).

If there are no problems and no chain, exchange is about 2 – 3 weeks from the buyer’s solicitor receiving the contract. Completion is usually about 2 weeks after exchange. Please bear in mind that if you are part of a chain of transactions, the chain will only move at the speed of the slowest link. This could prolong the process.

A. In the majority of circumstances it is not necessary for us to see you in person. All issues can be dealt with by correspondence either by letter, email or by telephone. The distance between you and us is of no relevance in relation to your property transaction.

We like to meet our clients whenever we can… so you’re more than welcome to visit our offices in Hertford, Ware and Loughton.

A. The Attwaters Residential Property Team prides itself on being available for you to speak to during normal working hours. The response time for returning calls in relation to messages left is swift. You will have many points of contact available to you.

A. Yes is the simple answer. If you are buying with the assistance of a mortgage, the mortgage company will carry out a valuation. This will not be very detailed, and you may not even see it. It is for the benefit of the mortgage company only and you will not be able to rely on it. A Home Buyer’s Report or a building survey is advisable. Some people do not have a survey but the principle “buyer beware” applies, and if you buy a house with a problem, it will be difficult to hold the seller responsible.

If you require either type of private survey, please contact us and we can recommend RICS local surveyors to assist you.

A. In short, leasehold conveyancing transactions usually involve more work than freehold conveyancing transactions. This includes lease investigation, liaising with the landlord about serving appropriate notices, obtaining up-to-date service charge and management information, obtaining the landlord’s consents and reviewing management accounts.

The obligations on both the landlord and the tenant in the lease need to be studied by the buyer’s conveyancing team and read from start to finish – no matter how many different owners have owned the lease since it was first granted. Mortgage company requirements in relation to matters such as ground rent provisions change frequently and what previously may have been acceptable may no longer be so.

A. Regulations 27 and 28 of The Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds Regulations 2017 require solicitors to carry out sufficient due diligence on verifying the identity of clients and verifying the source of their funding for their proposed purchase of property. Essentially, we are looking to prevent criminals from using our firm’s client bank account to launder money.
Under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, law firms are under an obligation to report any suspicion of money laundering to the National Crime Agency.

We will require evidence of the funds being in your account, as well as confirmation and supporting evidence of how the funds have accrued. This allows us to verify that the funds have come from a legitimate source, such as your salary, an inheritance, or the sale of an asset, for example.