In general, you will consider about 1-4 weeks. But of course, the more requests, the longer it can take. That`s not necessarily a bad thing, though — an extra week or two here could save you a big headache in the long run when a significant problem you didn`t know about gets your head up. Once the buyers` lawyers have received the contract package from us, they usually, but not always, send us any inquiries they may have regarding the property. Once we have them, we will process them, although it is impossible to say how long it will take, as this varies from case to case depending on the number of requests made, whether they are questions that can be answered immediately or whether we need to pass them on to you or third parties such as the Land Registry. an owner/management company, another lawyer, etc. The time it takes to make these requests also depends on whether buyers request a search, conduct a property survey, and whether they should wait for a mortgage offer first. Whether you want the investigations or not, when you take out a mortgage (which most of us do when buying a home), you have no choice but to allow your lawyer to do pre-contractual investigations. If you are happy to continue, a contract exchange can take place. Prior to the exchange, you must sign the contract, make a deposit of 10% of the purchase price to your attorney (except occasionally a lower deposit will be accepted upon exchange) and a completion date must be agreed with the seller. Completion usually takes between one and three or four weeks from replacement, but this is transaction-specific and there is no hard and fast rule. A more typical transaction takes between 4 and 8 weeks after the applications have been completed to complete the contract exchange.
Many take longer. Sure, you haven`t bought a house (or apartment) at all, but you`re on the right track. What you have done is agree in principle to buy a property, but this does not bind you or the seller until an « exchange of contracts » takes place (see more on this below). Besides handing over the keys, this is the most exciting part of the process. If you are buying with a mortgage, your lawyer must ensure that the property adequately meets all of your lender`s requirements because your lawyer is acting for you and for him. There may be missing information or documents that the seller can`t provide, for example, that you`d like to have a glimpse of not having, but your lender wouldn`t. This should be kept in mind if you ever get frustrated with your lawyer for not taking any risks you would be willing to take. Well, if you only look at the process from which an offer for a property was accepted, the transfer process takes about 2-3 months. There may be other requests you want your lawyer to make on your behalf, and these may be unique to your situation.
If you have any questions about inquiries, future development, the environment or anything else, you should talk to your property transfer lawyer and investigate if necessary. We apply for the registration of the property in your name and a mortgage on the property. The submission of our application usually takes place within one month of completion. The time required to complete it is entirely in the hands of the land registry, but it usually takes several months after completion before we can confirm the registration. Then, your lawyer will fully review the draft documentation and inquire with the seller`s lawyer. These requests are based on the documents provided to us and serve to clarify, request additional documents and answer other questions. The aim of these applications is to reach a position where we can comfortably confirm that the property is legally sound and compliant. Some lawyers will wait for all the research to come back before moving on to the next step, but it`s usually best (and faster in the long run) to start this process as soon as possible.
At Portner, we review documents and inquire as quickly as possible, as the back and forth between lawyers that typically takes place at this stage of the investigation can determine how long it takes to complete the exchange. The most important step of all purchases is the receipt of the draft contract from the seller`s lawyers, which usually includes the draft contract, a copy of the title deed, and questionnaires completed by the seller with the questions approved by the Law Society. Until we receive this contract package, there is usually very little we can do on your behalf, so from our point of view, any guidance we give you at the quotation stage or during your transaction will run from the moment you receive these documents. This makes it easier for you to see when a lawyer is taking too long and do something about it.