From Stamp Duty to Conveyancing – How House Buying is Changing

Constant changes to the property market and tax regulations make buying and selling property a complicated business. The experts from My Home Move Conveyancing explain some of the mysteries

  • How will changes to Stamp Duty affect buyers in 2025?

Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT or Stamp Duty) rates are changing from 31st March 2025, when the temporary increases to the thresholds that were put in place in September 2022, are due to come to an end. Whilst this change will impact everyone planning to move, it’s first-time buyers who will be the most affected.

Currently first-time buyers pay no stamp duty when buying a home worth £425,000. This threshold will drop to £300,000, meaning they would go from paying nothing to paying £6,250 on stamp duty.

However, there is a lot more to the changes than that. Our article on how the changes will impact all home movers goes into a lot more detail.

  • What is the process of buying a house?

Whether it’s your first home, or you’re moving onto something new, buying a house can feel like a daunting experience – especially if you’re a first-time buyer, or you haven’t moved in a while. However, with a little bit of planning, buying a house can be relatively straight forward.

In most cases, you can follow a 10-point plan. This starts with getting a mortgage in principle, and then making your offer. Once accepted, you need to instruct your conveyancer, arrange a survey, and get your searches organised. Once that’s done, finalise your mortgage, pay the deposit, and agree moving dates with the rest of the chain. You can then exchange contracts, complete your transaction, and move into your new home!

There’s obviously a lot more to it than that, so we’ve published a ‘Buying a house’ article on our website where we explore the process in a lot more detail.

  • Can the same solicitor act for both buyer and seller?

This is one question we get asked all the time, with many movers questioning whether they can share a conveyancer with the other party and save both sides some time and money.

In short, yes, most of the time both buyer and seller can use the same conveyancer or solicitor – provided that certain criteria are met and there’s no conflict of interest. These criteria are set to protect both parties from any potential risks associated with using the same conveyancer.

If there’s a high likelihood of a conflict of interest between you and the other party, then you won’t be able to have the same firm act for buyer and seller. But if the solicitor can find a way to minimise the risk of a conflict of interest, then it should be possible for both parties to use the same conveyancing firm.

  • What does exchange of contracts actually mean?

This is another question we get asked a lot.

In essence, exchange of contracts is one of the last steps when buying a house. It’s when all the necessary property searches have been carried out, the paperwork and finance are in place and all parties are happy to make the deal binding. The contracts are then signed and swapped between the buyer and seller of a property and means the sale has been legally agreed.

Before the exchange, there’s no legal obligation to complete and it’s possible for either party to withdraw from the deal without legal penalty. Once you exchange, you’ve formally committed to transfer legal ownership of the property.

  • What exactly is conveyancing?

Another very common question!

Put simply, conveyancing is the branch of law specifically relating to the legal side of moving home. When you buy or sell a house, you will need a conveyancer or solicitor to complete the conveyancing process, so that legal ownership is transferred from one person to another.

Your conveyancer will carry out a number of legal tasks, such as checking title deeds, decide on which property searches are most appropriate, and organise the transfer of monies on completion, followed by informing the Land Registry of the new ownership.

A good conveyancer will keep on top of the whole process, and keep you fully informed of progress.

  • How long does conveyancing take?

A very good question! Unfortunately, there is no definitive answer, as circumstances vary from case to case as well as various other factors.

As a rough guide:

  • Freehold transactions typically take 12-20 weeks.
  • Leasehold transactions require 16-24 weeks – as they involve more paperwork and checks which could lead to delays.

However, the process can be more time consuming if you’re involved in a long and complex chain. If there’s an issue with one transaction, it can slow down everyone.

You can help move the process along by sorting out all your documentation early, and by acting fast once you’ve made your offer – instruct your conveyancer and get your mortgage application in. Then make sure you’re available for your conveyancer and estate agent, and able to answer their queries quickly.

While you can’t do anything about the other party in the transaction, if you’re on top of your process, then you’re doing all you can to speed the purchase along.

  • What is transfer of equity?

A transfer of equity changes the ownership of a property. You have to complete a transfer of equity when a property’s owner adds or removes a person (or people) to or from the title of their home, altering the ‘ownership’ of the property from a legal perspective.

There are any number of reasons why you might want to transfer equity in your home, such as changing from joint to single ownership, or the reverse, changing from single to joint ownership. However, these are just two of the many different types of equity transfer.

To go through a transfer of equity, you will need a conveyancer to complete the various legal elements of the process. Our article on transfer of equity provides a full breakdown of what needs to happen, and how much it can cost.

  • How can My Home Move Conveyancing help me move home?

Our purpose is to help transform people’s home move dreams into a reality. We know people find moving home stressful and confusing, so we try to keep things simple by guiding you through the whole process.

As well as giving you a personalised conveyancing quote and placing you with the best conveyancer for your case, we can help in other ways too. We work with a hand-picked selection of other services, so we can help you with sorting out a survey, getting your home and contents insurance in place, even finding a removals service. We can even help with all those frustrating change of address updates.

Our team of Move Specialists are always on hand to offer help and guidance, so you’ll always have someone to talk to, about any aspect of your case.

  • What’s the story behind My Home Move Conveyancing?

My Home Move Conveyancing are part of Simplify, the UK’s largest independent conveyancing and property services group. Our mission is to provide all home movers with the help they need to move home successfully, from providing conveyancing services, to help with surveys, home insurance, removals van hire and more.

We work with expert conveyancing firms, some of which of part of the Simplify group, and all are either regulated by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers or the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

We find out what’s important to you, the home mover, and place your case with the most appropriate conveyancer for you. That way, when you move with us, you can be assured that you conveyancer has the experience, expertise and knowledge needed to take care of your move.

  • Where can I find out more about My Home Move Conveyancing?

We have a wealth of information on our website https://myhomemoveconveyancing.co.uk/. We have super helpful articles for first-time buyers, seasoned movers and investors, as well as for sellers, and indeed homeowners looking to downsize, or release equity in their homes.

We also have a team of Move Specialists on hand, ready to answer any questions on the home moving process.

And of course we have a full online conveyancing quote capability. You can get a quote from us at any time day or night and instruct your case with us at a time that suits you and your lifestyle. And once your case is up and running, you can track it in your own time too, all online through our eWay portal.

 

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