Buy to Let

Buy-to-Let purchases are where you purchase a residential property for the purpose of renting out to tenants rather than living in yourself. You become the landlord of the property and although you do not live in the property, you are the owner. 

Buy-to-let properties are often used as long-term investments to benefit from financially at a later date.

You would not normally live in the property but it would be occupied by tenants. 

Buy to Let Mortgages contain different conditions to a standard mortgage. These conditions usually include that there needs to be a tenancy agreement between you and your tenant and the property must not be occupied by you or a family member.

Standard mortgages are usually owner-occupied mortgages.  

The process is mainly the same. Some further considerations are taken into account due to the property being tenanted.

Yes. If you have not yet set up the company, you will need to ensure this is done prior to obtaining the mortgage. 

Yes. 

The purchase of a newly-built property is a completely different experience to purchasing an existing property.

Jordans’ Conveyancing Team has a raft of experience in dealing with new build homes and as we also act for the house builders, we know exactly what is required when buying a new house.

Some of the additional items that need to be considered are as follows:

• Jordans will check that planning permission has been granted and that there are Building Regulations in place.
• It is important that some form of structural guarantee is offered when you purchase a new building. Without this you will not be able to secure a mortgage. The most common of these is the NHBC guarantee which lasts for 10 years and you can pass it to any future buyer of your property.
• Jordans will ensure that there are appropriate conditions in the Contract so any roads within the estate are built as intended and will be adopted by the local authority so that you will not have to pay for their upkeep. There may be occasions when the roads will remain private, and your conveyancer will ensure you are made aware of this.
• The drains and sewers should be adoptable by the local Water Authority and Jordans will check that the appropriate agreements are in place to ensure that this will happen.

On a new estate, there will always be promises that you make (known as covenants) and Jordans will advise you of these. The intention of these covenants is to ensure that the estate remains a happy, peaceful and enjoyable place to live for both you and your neighbours.

Once you have agreed purchase of a property and instructed Jordans Solicitors, you should give your estate agent our details and this will ensure that we are notified about the sale and purchase. It will be helpful if you can also notify your mortgage company so that the mortgage offer can be issued to us without delay.

We will then inform you of the next steps and what to expect as we go through the transaction process.

Conveyancing describes the legal transfer of property (from seller to buyer). How long it takes depends on several things, such as how many buyers and sellers are involved in the process, known as “the chain”, if you need to obtain a mortgage, what timescales the other parties in the chain are working towards or if the title to the property is complex.

A typical conveyancing transaction can take on average 12 to 16 weeks to complete for a freehold property, and from 14 to 18 weeks for a leasehold property. 

There are times though, when the transactions can take longer than 16/18 weeks, but this is dependent on the circumstances surrounding the sale/purchase.

For more information, see Why does conveyancing take so long?
 

The process will begin once you have instructed your solicitor to handle the sale or purchase of your property. On instruction, your solicitor will work through the many stages including:

• Drawing up and assessing contracts
• Reply to any queries raised by the buyer
• Check the title deeds and other documents
• Act on behalf of the mortgage company to ensure the property is suitable as security for their lending
• Conduct searches e.g. local authority, water and drainage, environmental
• Provide legal advice and recommendations
• Handles the exchange of cash
• Pays the stamp duty charges on your behalf
• Deals with the Land Registry

Searches will provide details about issues that could affect your new home including legal disputes, flooding, planning constraints and permissions. Jordans solicitors are able to obtain the search results usually within 2 -3 weeks, which will ensure there is no delay to your purchase.

The transaction becomes legally binding at the point of ‘exchange of contracts’.

Exchange of contracts confirms the seller and buyer’s agreement to sell and purchase the property. After exchange has taken place, you cannot your change your mind about selling or buying.

Exchange usually takes place by a simple telephone call between the seller’s and the buyer’s solicitor and the date for completion is then set. A deposit of the purchase price is paid by the buyer to the seller’s solicitors and this deposit is held by the seller’s solicitor until completion takes place.

It is important that the buyer puts in place its building insurance from the date of exchange as this is the date when the buyer will be liable for the property.

Completion takes place when the balance of the purchase money is transferred to the seller and other fees are paid. Jordans will inform your mortgage company that the property is suitable as security for their loan in a document called the “Certificate of Title”. Lenders usually require 5-7 working days from receipt of the Certificate of Title to the release of mortgage money to Jordans Solicitors for the purchase.

On completion, we will transfer the purchase price to the seller and pay other fees on your behalf.

Once the seller’s solicitor has received the purchase money, they will release the keys and the property is yours. Congratulations!

We will then prepare the tax return and make arrangements to pay the Stamp Duty Land Tax to HMRC on your behalf.

Finally, Jordans Solicitors will register your name as the owner and your mortgage lender as the lender, at Land Registry and send a copy of the registration to you.

There are a number of legal problems that can happen when buying or selling a property so it's risky to proceed without help from an experienced and skilled conveyancer.

Not only is it a very complicated and time-consuming process, but there are a number of legal documents that need to be completed.

Mortgage lenders will require a conveyancing professional to carry out the process and here at Jordans solicitors we have good relationships with mortgage companies and are proud to be on panels of approved solicitor partners.

Yes of course. The technology in place now means that much of the paperwork is carried out electronically. We send your stamp duty land tax forms and land registry applications online. The documents that you need to sign can be posted to you or if you prefer, we can e-mail these to you to allow to print and sign them at your convenience. Even if your business is located close to the office, you do not need to attend in person unless you want to. This means that you do not need to worry about taking time away from work or finding childcare to attend an appointment with us. Jordans Solicitors help individuals who are buying and selling properties nationwide.