What Do Conveyancers Actually Do?

The single most important thing your conveyancer will do in a property transaction is check the legal title. This is so fundamental that it is frequently taken for granted, but it is vital to check that the person selling a property actually owns it and can sell it. If a Seller owns a property and is entitled to sell it, we say that they can give “good title”.

A conveyancer acting for a Seller checks the title to confirm who their Seller client is, and ensures they are drafting the contract correctly. The Seller’s conveyancer sends the contract and evidence of title to the Buyer’s conveyancer, who checks the Seller’s title to ensure that the Buyer will receive good title to the Property. If there is a mortgage lender, their conveyancer (usually also acting for the Buyer) checks that the Buyer will receive good title and be able to grant a mortgage to the lender.

Most residential property titles are registered at the Land Registry, so checking the title usually means obtaining copies of the Land Registry title and finding out who is named as the “registered proprietor”. Some properties that have not changed hands for many decades remain unregistered and, in those cases, the conveyancer will obtain the title deeds to the property and work out from reading them who is the “legal owner” of the property. We use the word “owner” to mean the legal owner or registered proprietor.

There are many cases in which the owner may not be the person entitled to sell. The most common case is where the owner has died. Usually, but not always, the Seller in this situation is the Executor of the person who has died, and a death certificate or Grant of Probate is either already available or pending. Sometimes a property sells quicker than anticipated and all parties have to delay the transaction until a Grant of Probate is available. This is because, until a Grant of Probate is available, an Executor cannot give good title to a property.

Another common case is where co-owners have separated and agreed that one will take over the property. That owner then wants to sell, but the agreement to “sign over” the property has not been followed up with legal documentation. Sometimes owners do not realise this is necessary; on other occasions, there is a joint mortgage and the owner staying at the property is not acceptable to the mortgage lender as a sole borrower. In this situation, both owners must engage with the sale and the conveyancer either has two clients or, if they cannot agree terms, each owner has their own Solicitor.

These are typical examples, but every case is different.

The Solicitors in the Conveyancing department at MJP Law check property titles every day. If you are considering selling your property and are unsure about the title to your property, please contact Martin Laszlo or Tracy Black in our Conveyancing department.