Solicitors, House Conveyancing and Legal Terms

Completion Date.
The completion date is the date agreed by the buyer and the seller of the property by which the seller will have removed their belongings from the house and the ownership of the property will be transferred from the seller to the buyer. The completion date is also the day by which the seller finally leaves the house. There are many reasons why this agreed date may not be met by one or both of the parties concerned and it is essential that the delayed party should let the other side know about the delay and ask for a rearrangement of the date.



Contract.
This is the document that legally confirms the transfer of ownership of property from the seller to the buyer. The contract details the address of the house involved, the agreed price to be paid for it, as well as the names of the buyer and seller. The solicitor representing the house sellers writes the contract and forwards it to the solicitor representing the buyer. Contracts are exchanged only after all issues arising from previous negotiations and bargaining have been agreed between the buyer and the seller.

Deposit.
If the house buyer cannot or will not proceed any further with the property transaction, the seller is entitled to retain any deposit paid, if contracts have been signed.

Details Of Sale.
The details of sale contain basically what has been agreed by the buyer and seller, that is: the price, conditions of sale contents, buyer's name and address, name of buyer's solicitors and estimated closing date.

Easement.
This is the term for the rights a property owner may have over any property or land that adjoins the property they own. It usually refers to a right of water supply or drainage or right of way to access their property.

Freehold.
This is the legal term defining that the owner not only owns the property, but also the land that the property is built upon. This is in contrast to leasehold, which occurs when the owner of the property does not own the land the property is built on. When the term of the lease is reached, the ownership of the land returns to the freehold owner.

Mortgage Offer.
If the mortgage lender agrees to advance the mortgage, they will write a formal mortgage offer confirming this. The mortgage offer details the terms and conditions that the mortgage seeker will have to abide by for the term of the mortgage.

Requisitions.
The purchaser's solicitor raises requisitions (general questions on the title) and drafts the purchase deed. Both of these documents are sent to the seller's solicitor.

Searches.
Searches occur at the start of the legal process of buying a property and involve the buyer's solicitor checking that there are no legal reasons that have to be dealt with before contracts can be exchanged.

This article is only intended as a basic general summary and you should always seek professional advice where necessary.

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