Buying or selling a home is probably the biggest financial transaction you'll be involved in. It comes with a lot of excitement, but it is also not without its stresses. You can especially feel like the conveyancing process takes forever, mostly because you don't know exactly what goes on behind the scenes. The following paragraphs highlight some of the most important questions asked by conveyancing clients, together with tips to make the process easier and faster.

1. Why does conveyancing take so long?

Once a seller and buyer agree on purchase price, your lawyer will need to get details from the real estate agent and establish contact with the other party's lawyer. He/she will then examine both sales and purchase contracts and perform relevant searches on the property (history, damage, crimes etc.). Even if there isn't anything amiss, doing all these takes at least a few weeks, depending on how busy the involved parties are.

As a client, you can shorten your waiting time by staying in touch with your lawyer, the agent and the other party to ensure that there aren't any minor details delaying the process. You can ask to be blind-copied on all emails so that you know exactly what's going on at any time. Then, it will be easier for you to communicate with the seller or buyer on the other side of the table and come to an understanding on minor hold-ups because you know the facts.

2. Do I really need to pay for a full survey?

If you're taking a mortgage, your lender requires valuation of the property for their benefit, while a full survey can be carried out for your benefit. The latter is very necessary, given the large investment you're making, since it highlights any faults that the property may have. You want to know you're making a sound purchase decision.

You can also use findings from the survey to bargain down the price if defects are found or demand that they be repaired before completion of the sale. To speed things up, you can talk to your lender about upgrading the valuation report to the full survey so that everything is done simultaneously, saving both you and the lender valuable time and money.

3. What can I do to speed up the conveyancing process?

As a seller, ensure that you have your titles and documents relating to guarantees for work done and planning permissions on hand. Talk to your lawyer to find out exactly what you need to provide and plan to do so while the agent is looking for buyers. That way, once the buyer is found, everything can be sped up.

As a buyer, your biggest job is to have your finances in order. Get pre-approval even before you start house-hunting then ensure you have all the funds available as they will be needed. Do not only borrow money for the purchase price, because there are many more things that need to be paid for: legal fees, stamp duty, title insurance, and bank registration fees among others. Talk to a conveyancer even before you go to a bank for pre-approval, so that you know exactly how much you need to borrow. Then you can look for the house you qualify for after deducting all other charges accompanying the sale.

For more information, contact RAMSDEN LAWYERS or a similar firm.