Promising to adapt and keep ahead of a fast-paced, ever changing legal landscape, Gloucestershire's long-established firm Tayntons Solicitors prides itself on its experienced and knowledgeable team.
Law Society-accredited in Conveyancing Quality and aiming to make the process as stress-free as possible, SoGlos discusses the ins and outs of the process — with essential information and advice for whether you're buying your first house or selling up to downsize.
Can you briefly explain the process of conveyancing and where solicitors come in?
So a conveyancing transaction typically takes from 10 to 16 weeks and the role of a solicitor in this process is to facilitate the legal transfer of a property between a seller and a buyer.
They will investigate and address any issues that may arise during the process, ensuring that it's carried out in accordance with the law. So, when working on this with Tayntons, we will review the contract, raise enquiries, conduct searches, review the mortgage offer, prepare a pre-contract report, exchange contracts, carry out completion and settle Stamp Duty Land Tax payments, before finally attending to post completion matters with the Land Registry when transferring the title — liaising with all parties, from estate agents to financial advisors, throughout.
What should we do or possess before approaching Tayntons for conveyancing?
Every client should prepare essential documents such as proof of address, deposit, identity and, ideally, obtaining a mortgage offer.
If you are selling, it's a good idea to collate paperwork like boiler certificates, guarantees, planning permissions and building regulations, too.
What are some of the measures or services Tayntons provides to help people through this process?
We at Tayntons are completely transparent with our fees, we've even designed an online conveyancing calculator on our website to provide our clients with an instant quote, which can give people the confidence and ability to make the most informed decision possible.
We also have our own market-leading app that clients can download from their preferred app store — just input an email address, follow the instructions and you're good to go!
The benefits of using the app are numerous; it gives you 24/7 access to your specific case details so you can view a case progression timeline with key milestones along the way, as well as offering the ability to sign forms electronically and send secure messages directly to your solicitor alongside your own personalised 'to do' list.
Can you explain some of the potential complications that can arise during a conveyancing transaction that we need to be aware of?
Conveyancing can be a complex and challenging process and there are many factors that could impact the process, ultimately causing delays.
Some of the common ones would be chain transactions, in which the sale of a property is dependent on another, and if one link in the chain falls through it can obviously lead to delays in completion — which can be frustrating!
Other issues can be legal title issues, in simple terms meaning any problems with ownership of a property, or there could be delays in obtaining a mortgage offer or problems could crop up when the home is being surveyed.
By choosing Tayntons, our clients can trust that their conveyancer has the knowledge and experience to carefully guide them through each stage of the process.
What are the steps involved when approaching the completion stage of a typical conveyancing transaction?
When selling, once a conveyancer has been instructed and the terms of business forms have been signed, we then carry out necessary identity checks and obtain title deeds and official copies of documents detailing outstanding mortgage payments.
A draft contract will then be sent to the buyer's solicitor who will raise any pre-contract enquiries and once those are settled, our client will sign the contract and transfer the deed.
On the agreed completion date — by this point both buyer and seller are now legally bound to the transaction — the buyer's solicitor will send the funds to our client account and the seller must then vacate the property.
When buying, a conveyancer is instructed once an offer has been accepted and the buyer should then arrange a survey on the property and apply for a mortgage, if required.
We then check the contract pack obtained by the seller's conveyancer, raise any enquiries and report to our client on its contents to confirm that they are happy to proceed.
Once the deed is transferred, we prepare a completion statement, carry out pre-completion searches and send completion funds to the seller's solicitor.
Then we send the stamp duty to HMRC, transfer the title deeds and register the property in the name of the buyer at the Land Registry — and the process is complete when our client receives a copy of the registered title.
Do you have any testimonials from past clients who have utilised Tayntons' conveyancing services?
Our recent survey showed that 97 per cent of our clients felt that their case was handled either very or extremely efficiently and we are always overjoyed when they take the time to reflect and comment on their experience.
In one case, a client said: 'Buying a house when it's your first time can be very daunting, especially when you factor in everything that's required in order to complete the process.
'But choosing Sarah Turnball at Tayntons made life so easy. The service provided was faultless and made our lives much easier.'
Another commented: 'Cannot thank the conveyancing team at Tayntons enough. Nicola and Chloe were fantastic, they kept me up to date on everything.
'Kate was also fantastic, very caring in what was a stressful time — a credit to the company!'
