A guide to the legal process when buying your new home

Posted on January 23rd 2025

One of the many ways that Orion Homes can make moving easy is help with the legal work in buying your new home.

It can sometimes be a confusing time for homebuyers, especially first time buyers, so having a helpful and experienced team working with you will make the whole process so much easier.

Orion Homes has a select number of Solicitors they recommend to their homebuyers for a number of reasons…

• They’re experts in conveyancing for new homes, so are well aware of how best to handle the buying process.
• They work with Orion Homes regularly, so understand our business, our processes and our developments.
• They know what is important to us and our homebuyers – meeting deadlines, keeping everyone well informed throughout and minimising any stress.
• They’re competitive on price.

The service from our recommended Solicitors includes all of the key areas of your new home purchase – from the initial paperwork and draft contracts through to the searches, your mortgage offer, the contract exchanges and the legal completion.

Even though they’re recommended to you by Orion Homes, they will always work for you as the homebuyer. They’re professional, impartial and use all the latest technology to help make the process nice and easy for you.

Here is some more information on the legal process of buying a home, just in case this is useful to you…

Choosing a Solicitor or Licenced Conveyancer

A solicitor is a qualified lawyer, with extensive training in many aspects of law, and can offer a broader range of services. This factor could be relevant to your purchase – for example, property ownership is a vital element of your will and it is useful to use a company that can provide professional conveyancing and will services under the same roof.

Licensed conveyancers are specialist property lawyers, focusing largely on residential property – they carry out conveyancing on a daily basis and this experience means that they are likely to be more efficient in processing yours, therefore costing less.

Both are fully insured and they will provide very similar conveyancing practices and procedures.

Cost quotations

We would always recommend you avoid companies that charge an hourly rate and always ask for a fully itemised quote – with no hidden costs – prior to making a decision. Ask for a full breakdown of costs (some companies bundle items together under various charges) so you can compare quotes like-for-like. This quote should include the following costs where relevant:

Conveyancer/solicitor fees

The legal fees the conveyancer or solicitor charges for their work.

Anti-money laundering checks

The legal checks that need to be carried out to verify your identity (part of anti-money laundering regulations).

Title Deeds

If you are selling your home, you will need to get a copy of the Title Deeds (documents that prove you own the property, likely to be held by the Land Registry).

Search fees

Searches gather important information about the property you’re buying and its surrounding area. The minimum searches are local, drainage and environmental. You can also request a planning search identifying any future development taking place in the area.

Property fraud fee

Lawyers and the public are increasingly subject to attempted fraud, so they may want to check that the lawyer they are sending money to is genuine.

Transferring ownership fee

A Land Registry fee for transferring your name with your buyer’s name.

Bank transfer or Telegraphic Transfer fee

Mortgage companies require funds to be transferred using a Telegraphic Transfer which guarantees that funds reach an account on a designated day.

Stamp Duty Land Tax

Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) must be paid if you buy a property or land over a certain price in England and Northern Ireland. The threshold is where SDLT starts to apply. If you buy a property for less than the threshold, there’s no SDLT to pay. The current SDLT thresholds are:

• £250,000 for residential properties
• £425,000 for first-time buyers buying a residential property worth £625,000 or less

Leasehold property fees

If you are buying a Leasehold property or home on an estate with a management company, there are likely to be additional costs such as a Deed of Covenant, a legally binding agreement regarding any obligations such as repair work.  These fees do not apply to Freehold properties.

What happens next?

Once you’ve reached a verbal agreement, your solicitor/conveyancer will send you a client information pack to complete, including documents for formal signing of instructions. On receiving these signed documents, your solicitor/conveyancer will carry out the following processes:

• Searches – gathering information about the property and its surroundings.
• Title investigation – legal titles, a check that the seller owns the land, rights of property and covenants
• Mortgage approval – they liaise with your mortgage provider to complete this.

If you are a couple buying a home as joint owners and the purchase includes a contribution towards the deposit from the parents of one partner, most solicitors will recommend protecting the deposit in favour of that partner in the event of a split or divorce. This arrangement can be formalised with help from your solicitor.

Your solicitor/conveyancer should provide regular update on progress. However, don’t be shy in contacting them if haven’t heard any news for a while.

Once these steps have been completed, your solicitor/conveyancer provides the following to sign:

• Contract document
• Transfer deed
• Mortgage deed

When these are signed, the contracts are exchanged with the seller via solicitors/conveyancers. The next step is legal completion – and it’s time to celebrate the ownership of your new home!