Residential Development Solicitors Enfield, North London and Hertforshire

The term 'Conveyancing' refers to all the legal and administrative work associated with transferring the ownership of land or buildings from one owner to another.

No. We undertake all of the work via the post, internet or over the phone. This means that we can undertake your Conveyancing Transaction no matter where you live in England or Wales. However you can still book an appointment to come into any of our offices in either Enfield, Hoddesdon or Royston. Alternatively we are happy to make appointments elsewhere, should this also be required.

Yes. If you would like to speak to someone about a quote please speak to our Conveyancing department by calling the number for each office, Call us now to speak to one of our expert advisors or Request a Call Back. If you need to speak directly to your Conveyancer please call their direct number, which will be at the bottom of any email received from your Conveyancer.

The answer to this question cannot be given until contracts have been exchanged. Prior to the exchange of contracts any party is entitled to withdraw from the transaction. The length of time taken to complete the transaction is affected by whether there is a large linked chain of buyers and sellers. If there is a large chain then it is possible that the transaction may take longer than usual as all of the parties may be at different stages of the Conveyancing process. If you are purchasing with the aid of a mortgage this may also slow the process down. However if there is no chain and it is a cash sale/ purchase then the whole transaction can be completed very quickly, sometimes within a day or so. Generally speaking however the transaction can take between 6-8 weeks and an additional 2-4 weeks if the property is Leasehold.

There are two ways in which the property can be held, either as ‘joint tenants’ or ‘tenants in common’. It is extremely important to consider the different options available to co-own a property.

When you co-own a property as joint tenants, each co-owner owns the whole of the property and neither owner has a specific or identifiable share. Under a tenancy in common, each co-owner owns a specific share in the property. Please liaise directly with a Conveyancer regarding this.

The seller's solicitors have to provide legal documents of the property. The main document is the contract. This is prepared by the sellers' solicitors and sets out the terms of what has been agreed (i.e. price, names of people involved). There are also other documents which the seller's solicitors need to send us regarding the title. Quite often we will need to raise additional questions about these prior to exchange.

Please note the maxim Caveat Emptor, i.e. ‘Let the Buyer Beware’, applies in property purchases so that you must satisfy yourself by inspection and survey that the property is sound. The property is sold as it stands and your Seller offers no warranty or guarantee as to its condition. It is for you to be satisfied that the property is in good condition and worth the asking price. This must be done before exchange of contracts as once contracts are exchanged you are legally bound to complete the purchase and indeed are liable to various penalties such as forfeiture of your deposit and damages for breach of contract if you do not do so.

We will require sight of the written confirmation that your lender will provide the funds you require, and upon what terms (mortgage offer). There are often conditions in the written offer that need to be satisfied before the funds are released and henceforth we need to check that they are dealt with. In addition, you need to be happy with the product you are being offered, and to be able to take advice on it.

This is the point at which the agreement to buy and sell becomes binding on the parties who each sign a separate copy of the contact which is then exchanged usually by solicitors acting for the parties. The exchange of contracts is done by solicitors. This is also the day when the completion date is fixed. You should only arrange removals once exchange has taken place and the completion date is fixed. If you fail to complete on the agreed date when you have exchanged, you will be in breach of contract and can be sued. Further if you are buying a property you may forfeit your deposit paid on exchange.

Once we are entirely satisfied that all queries have been answered and all conditions have been met, we will send a report to you with the contract explaining clearly and concisely as to what the title consists of. You will then need to sign the contract and associated documents and return it to us. Once we have these back from you we can move onto exchanging contracts. Once contracts are exchanged, both sides are legally committed to go ahead. We will not allow you to exchange until we have ensured that the title to the land is guaranteed and that there can be no dispute as to the ownership. Exchange is legally binding and neither party can back out without suffering loss.

When contracts are exchanged, a deposit is paid over to the seller's conveyancer as a down payment on the property. If you fail to complete the purchase on time, the seller can ultimately keep this deposit, as part compensation. The seller's conveyancer will often ask for at least 5% of the price, as a deposit.

If you are selling you should insure until completion and if you are buying you should insure from exchange.

You are able to complete on any working days.

LOn a sale, our fees, estate agents fees and the redemption of any mortgages will be paid on completion. We will send you these figures in our completion statement which you will receive prior to the completion date. On a purchase, a final completion statement will be prepared and sent to you for approval, once all the figures have agreed, including the net amount of any mortgage advance. We will then ask you to send us the balance required (if any) to complete the transaction, including the legal fees and out of pocket expenses for the work we do for you and the lender before completion and in cleared funds apart from the deposit which we will need in cleared funds before exchange of contracts.

We offer a Fixed Fee on all Conveyancing transactions, here at Curwens. This means you can budget from your move from the start of the transaction, without receiving any unexpected additional costs at the end! Your quote will be provided initially via email and a copy will be sent with a copy of our initial letter to you. If we are unable to provide you with a Fixed Fee for any reason, we will explain this in writing to you.