Buy-to-let conveyancing
Investing in a buy-to-let property is exciting but can also be stressful. Understanding the legal side of things can help make landing the keys to your property much more simple.
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Using an experienced, trustworthy conveyancer or solicitor to carry out the legal work on your purchase is essential, and understanding what’s going on throughout the process should help make things less stressful.
Conveyancing for buy-to-let properties
Conveyancing for buy-to-let property transactions works in much the same way as it does for a residential purchase – so if you’re already a homeowner, you’ll probably know what to expect.
There are three main stages to conveyancing when you’re buying a property that you intend to rent out:
1. Appointing a solicitor
Once you’ve found your perfect buy-to-let investment pad and had an offer accepted, the first step is to find solicitor or licensed conveyancer to carry out the legal work on your purchase.
Conveyancers – as their name suggests – specialise in conveyancing. They’re fully trained in property law (and sometimes probate) but aren’t qualified to help with other legal matters. Solicitors offer a wider range of legal services and so can sometimes cost a little more. If you use a solicitor, make sure they have plenty of experience in property law.
- Find out more about the difference between solicitors and conveyancers, as well as what to look for in a good one, in our guide to finding a solicitor.
2. Prepare to exchange
Once you’ve chosen a solicitor or conveyancer, they’ll set to work carrying out all the relevant checks needed to formalise the purchase. This includes arranging property searches to find out about issues such as flood risk and planning restrictions which could affect the property and its value.
Preparing to exchange contracts is usually the longest part of the process, and things often go a bit quiet while all the checks are being carried out. Understanding what’s happening during this time can help to make things a bit less stressful.
While your solicitor or conveyancer does their bit, you’ll need to arrange a survey on the property you’re buying to find out about its condition. If any significant issues are uncovered, you can attempt to negotiate the price with your seller or ask them to get the problems fixed.
Your solicitor will review all of the information collected through the various checks, searches and your survey to draw up a contract of sale, ready to exchange with your buyer’s solicitor.
- Learn more about what’s involved in preparing to exchange contracts
3. Exchange and completion
When the terms of the sale have been finalised and everyone’s happy to go ahead, you and your seller will sign matching contracts and give these to your solicitors to exchange. At this point, you’ll need to pay a deposit – normally 10% of the sale price.
Once contracts have been exchanged, you and your seller are legally bound to complete the sale on the agreed completion date – usually between one and four weeks after you’ve exchanged.
On completion day, your solicitor will send the remaining balance to your seller’s solicitor. When they’ve confirmed receipt, your seller will vacate the property and drop the keys off to their estate agent, ready for you to collect.
- Find out more about what to expect in the final stages of conveyancing in our guide to exchange and completion
Conveyancing fees
Conveyancing fees typically cost between £500 and £1,500, depending on which firm you go for and the type and location of the property you’re buying.
Some solicitors charge a flat fee, while others will charge you a percentage of the property’s price.
If the property you’re buying is a leasehold, there’s a little more work involved and you’ll usually have to pay a leasehold supplement to cover this.
- To find out more and get a full breakdown of the costs involved in conveyancing, see our guide to conveyancing fees
Related FAQs View all FAQS >
Conveyancing is the legal process you have to go through if you’re buying, selling, remortgaging or extending a lease.
Typically, a sale or purchase in England or Wales will take around 8-12 weeks from the moment an offer is accepted to the point of completion.
However, the conveyancing process varies from case to case and it can take longer depending on the complexity of the transaction, the number of people in the chain (if applicable), and how quickly you can respond to queries from your conveyancer.
When you buy or sell a property, conveyancing typically costs between £500 and £1,500. But fees can vary depending on a number of factors including the firm you choose, the type and price of the property in question, and where it’s situated.
See our guide to conveyancing fees to find out more about the costs involved, or use our cost calculator to get a personalised quote with a cost breakdown.
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