In law, conveyancing is the transfer of legal title of real property from one person to another, or the granting of an encumbrance such as a mortgage or a lien.
[3] In many civil law countries, the real estate transfers are usually supervised by notaries who, after a due diligence verification, execute the deed of sale and send it to the Public Registers.
The involvement of civil law notaries, qualified legal experts delegated by the State (they must have a University Degree in Law), represents - besides an assistance for the involved parties in the property transfer process - also a gatekeeping for the soundness of the economic system and the protection of vulnerable parties.
This is no longer the case, with many conveyancers and solicitors conducting transactions from a distance using email and online technology.
[10] However, the Law Society warns solicitors to be wary of clients instructing their firm with no geographic connection to them for risk of money laundering.
The normal practice is for the buyer to negotiate an agreed price with the seller then organise a survey and have the solicitor (or conveyancer) carry out their searches and pre-contract enquiries.
These are designed to uncover factors the estate agent or surveyor may not know about, which could impact the buyer's enjoyment of the property.
The conveyancer’s role is to carry out due diligence by submitting queries – known as searches[15] – about the transacted property.
These are designed to uncover factors that the estate agent or surveyor may not know about, which could impact the buyer’s enjoyment of the property.
Conveyancing searches include: Local authority searches, according to the Law Society, are a ‘vital part of the conveyancing process and give buyers important information about matters affecting a property that is registered or recorded with the local authority.
One example is the use of Land Registry's National Spatial Dataset[20] to display boundary maps on-screen using a live data link to help validate property locations.
Normally the contract is conditional upon matters such as the sellers being able, before completion of the transaction, to prove that they have good title to the property and to exhibit clear searches from the land registers and the local authority.
[24] Having said that, there is no legal requirement in Scotland to use the services of a solicitor, advocate or licensed conveyancing practitioner to transfer property ownership/land title.
Most firms offer fixed price services which normally include costs for searches, legal advice and other outlays.
Due to the three level system of government (federal, state and local), it must be made sure that the vendor is entitled to all rights and title.
Requirements, searches and costs can vary between jurisdictions, depending on local property legislation and regulations.
In many others those functions are conducted by licensed escrow agents who often are affiliated with or even employed by a title insurance company.
Once the conditions have been met (or waived), the buyer has "equitable title" and conveyancing proceeds or may be compelled by court order.
There may also be side agreements (e.g., holdover tenants, delivery contracts, payment holdback for unacceptable repairs), seller's right of first refusal for resale, declaration of trust, or other entity formation or consolidation (incorporation, limited partnership investors, etc.).