First Time Buyer FAQs

Money Laundering

In this day and age we all have to comply with money laundering requirements. We will ask for at least two forms of identity, one of which shows your photograph, ie as Passport or Driving Licence and one which shows your address, such as a Utility Bill. We may also require a letter from your employer. Photocopies cannot be accepted unless they have been certified by another Solicitor. You must either send the original or bring them into the office and allow us to make copies. If you do send the original please make sure they are sent special delivery. We will endeavour to return them as soon as possible. Do not, as one client once did, send us their Passport and then realised they needed to go on holiday, only to find that the Passport was still in the post. The best way of complying with money laundering requirements is to bring the originals to us personally, allow us to copy them and we can then hand them back to you there and then.

How long will it all take?

There is no standard answer to this as the length of time a transaction takes to come from instructions to completion will vary from case to case. The worst cases are those where there is a long chain of say six or seven properties when everybody has to firstly agree on a completion date and all be ready to go. A normal straightforward transaction with no chain involved should take no more than four weeks. We find that the biggest delay these days are not waiting for searches but waiting for a satisfactory mortgage offer. We will always try our best to keep the transaction moving along but no Solicitor can guarantee a completion date and you should be very cautious about booking removal vans or agreeing completion dates even on new build properties. Please remember that the date is not legally binding until the Contract is exchanged.

When and where do I get the keys?

Many years ago, conveyancing transactions were conducted face to face, that is to say, on the day of completion, the Solicitors Clerk went to the other parties office armed with a cheque for the price of the property and in exchange for handing over a cheque received the Title Deeds and the keys. He then went off to find his client to give them the keys. Nowadays of course, such a procedure would be too expensive and transactions are concluded by means of telegraphic transfer. That is, the Bank sends the money from one Solicitors account to the other.

Most Contracts will have a deadline for completion which is either 1.00 pm or 2.00 pm. However, on very busy days, Banks can be particularly slow at getting money across. At Ratcliffe & Bibby we always try to transfer money first thing in the morning to make sure there are no delays but delays can occur. Normally, you would be able to collect your key in the afternoon. The keys are normally released by the Estate Agent but an Estate Agent will only release a key if the Solicitor has confirmed they have received the funds. If there is no Estate Agent then separate arrangements need to be made and normally, these will be through the Solicitor who will release the key upon receipt of the money.

Deeds and documents

In this day and age all transactions have to be registered at the Land Registry so all Deeds and documents are not as important as they were. However, they should still be preserved by you. We will send you all Deeds and documents following completion for you to look after. In very modern properties there may not in fact be any and you will simply receive confirmation from the Land Registry that your transaction has been completed. Most Banks and Building Societies want the original Mortgage that you have signed, sent back to them. We will arrange to do this for you.