Conveyancing Glossary
- Easement
- A term used often in conveyancing an easement is a legal right to use a piece of land or property often for a particular purpose only that is not owned by the party with the benefit of the right. Easements include rights of way and rights to enter upon adjoining properties to effect repairs and maintenance. Easements are often also referred to as rights. Easements are very important in conveyancing and often purchaser’s conveyancing solicitors will carefully check for required easements as part of the conveyancing process.
- Encroachment
- In conveyancing practise this is a term used to describe a boundary that has often gradually been moved to encroach onto another property or land that is not included in the title to the property. If a purchaser’s conveyancing solicitor becomes aware of an encroachment during the conveyancing investigations it can lead to delays in the conveyancing process.
- Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)
- An Energy Performance Certificate or EPC is a document prepared by a Domestic Energy Assessor or DEA following a visit to the property and must be included in the Home Information Pack. This can be carried out prior to commencement of the conveyancing process when the property is placed on the market. It is produced in a coloured graph form and sets out the energy efficiency of the property and provides recommendations for improving the overall energy rating of the property. Not used within the conveyancing process, the EPC is useful to the conveyancing client in providing energy use information about the purchase property.
- Enquiries
- Used in conveyancing to describe a list of questions usually sent to a seller’s conveyancing solicitors by a purchaser’ conveyancing solicitors after the conveyancing solicitor has carefully checked the documentation provided with the draft contract. Enquiries can include requests for copies of title documents and plans requests for copies of planning documents and requests for further information. They will usually be sent on by the seller’s conveyancing solicitors to the seller’s for their responses as part of the conveyancing process and will then be answered by the seller’s conveyancing solicitors and forwarded to the buyer’s conveyancing solicitors for checking. In some cases conveyancing enquiries can be very lengthy and in order to try and cut down the number of enquiries conveyancing solicitors raise during the conveyancing process the law society has designed a series of forms which have recently been amended in order to keep pace with the changes to the conveyancing process brought about by HIPs. In spite of such measures some conveyancing solicitors and conveyancing firms insist their own standard forms of conveyancing enquiries are completed and replied to by the seller’s conveyancing solicitors. These forms are completed by the sellers of a property and forwarded to their conveyancing solicitors for passing to a buyer’s conveyancing solicitors along with a draft contract. The most common forms seen in the conveyancing process include the Seller’s Property Information form and Fittings and Contents form.
- Environment Agency
- This is a government agency which looks after environmental issues in the main being flooding, waste and pollution. The Environment Agency set the law is relation to drainage issues in rural areas where the property cannot be connected to main drainage services and the public sewerage system and may have a cesspit or septic tank in order to provide drainage. The Environment Agency can also provide detailed information in relation to flood risks. In the instance where an environmental search carried out by a conveyancing solicitor reveals a potential flood risk a purchasing conveyancing client can contact the environment agency in order to obtain further information in relation to any flood risk. The purchaser’s conveyancing solicitors will also make appropriate enquiries of the seller via the seller’s conveyancing solicitors during the course of the conveyancing process.
- Environmental Search
- This is a conveyancing search carried out as part of the conveyancing process by the purchaser’s conveyancing solicitors revealing the previous land use of the property and covers contaminated land entries flood plains former mining and mineral extraction areas amongst many other things. In conveyancing transactions where mortgage finance is being used to assist with the purchase of a property an environmental search should be undertaken. Conveyancing solicitors also recommend a conveyancing client when purchasing for cash also has an environmental search carried out. The results of an environmental search will be provided to a potential purchaser by their conveyancing solicitors who will investigate with the seller’s conveyancing solicitors any contaminated land entries. Conveyancing clients purchasing a property should always ensure a copy of the environmental search is provided to their surveyor for any comments they may have in relation to the results. In the event where contaminated land entries are revealed that cannot be fully investigated a conveyancing solicitor may need to refer the result to a mortgage lender for instructions on how to proceed.
- Epitome Of Title
- An Epitome of Title is used in the conveyancing process when dealing with unregistered land. An Epitome of Title is prepared by a seller’s conveyancing solicitors at the beginning of the conveyancing process from information contained with the title deeds and sent along with the draft conveyancing contract to a purchaser’s conveyancing solicitors when dealing with an unregistered property. It is essentially a list of deeds and documents proving title to a property when the property has yet to be registered with the land registry.
- Equity
- Equity is difference between the open market value of the property less any mortgages or secured loans secured against the property. If your property is worth £100,000 and the outstanding mortgage is £80,000, the equity in your property would be £20,000. When a property is worth less than the amount owed under any mortgages or secured loans the property is said to be in “negative equity”.
- Estate Agent
- An estate agent is a person or company who specialises in the marketing for sale of property. An estate agent will usually employ a valuer or surveyor who will visit the property and give an estimated market value and market the property for sale. Conveyancing solicitors are used to working alongside estate agents in conveyancing practise and often liaise throughout the duration of the conveyancing to bring the conveyancing matter to completion.
- Estate Agents Fees
- This is the estate agents bill that will be required to be paid on completion of a sale usually by the seller’s conveyancing solicitors. Conveyancing solicitors will supply a copy of the estate agents account to the selling conveyancing client for checking prior to completion and pay the fees from the proceeds of sale on the completion date as part of the conveyancing process.
- Estate Agents Particulars
- Estate Agents Particulars are sent out by the estate agents to the sellers buyers seller’s conveyancing solicitors and purchaser’s conveyancing solicitors setting out the agreement for sale of the property. Estate agents particulars will usually set out the names and addresses of the sellers and buyers the names and addresses of the seller’s conveyancing solicitors and purchaser’s conveyancing solicitors and the agreed price plus occasionally any particular requirements in relation to the transaction such as deadlines for exchange of contracts etc. On receipt of the estate agents particulars the seller’s conveyancing solicitors will confirm instructions for the selling conveyancing client with the purchaser’s conveyancing solicitors and forward a draft conveyancing contract to the purchaser’s conveyancing solicitors.
- Exchange Of Contracts
- In a conveyancing transaction exchange of contracts is when the conveyancing contract or agreement signed by both the sellers and buyers are formally exchanged by way of a telephone call between the buyer’s conveyancing solicitors and the seller’s conveyancing solicitors. In days gone by the sellers conveyancing solicitors and the purchasers conveyancing solicitors would have attended each others offices and literally swapped their conveyancing clients signed part contract hence the word exchange. These days of course there are far too may conveyancing transactions for such a system to function and the law society sets out a formula to which all conveyancing contracts for sale and purchase of property other than by way of auction can be formally and safely exchanged by conveyancing solicitors. Exchange of contracts is when the terms of the conveyancing contract becomes legally binding on all parties and when the deposit is payable by the purchaser through their conveyancing solicitors. If a seller or buyer fails to comply with the terms of the conveyancing contract remedies exist within the terms of the contract to deal with breaches.
Conveyancing Quotes
Evolved Conveyancing, from abt Law LLP, specialist
Conveyancing Solicitors
- Quality Online Conveyancing Service
- Low Cost Conveyancing Fees
- Governed by the Law Society
- Regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority
- Nationwide Conveyancing Service
- Approved by Mortgage Lenders
Get a budget Conveyancing Quote for your conveyancing transaction enter your property details in our Conveyancing Quotes Calculator
Choose a Conveyancing Service