Our Unique Service Pledge
Within 4 working hours of receipt of an instruction the appointed Conveyancer will
place a Welcome Call to the Client. If unable to contact the Client in that first
call, two further attempts will be made. If unable to contact the Client within
24 hours, a file will be opened and initial documentation issued irrespective.- Within 24 hours of opening a case the appointed Conveyancer will telephone the referring
Estate Agency Branch to acknowledge the instruction, thank them for the business
and introduce the Case Handler.
- Within 24 hours of opening a case the appointed Conveyancer will issue a Terms of
Engagement letter to the Client including a full breakdown of costs and disbursements.
- The appointed Conveyancer must as soon as possible carry out Enhanced Due Diligence
under the Money Laundering Regulations 2007, where the Client is not seen and decide
how to carry this out according to the risks involved.
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On a Sale Transaction, the appointed Conveyancer will:
- Download the Home Information Pack (where URL has been supplied) within 24 hours
of being advised that a Sale has been agreed (where there is no HIP, Official Copies
will be requested within 24 hours).
- Issue a Draft Contract to the Buyer’s Conveyancer within 24 hours of the HIP being
downloaded or Official Copies being received.
- Ensure that there will be sufficient Net Proceeds of Sale to settle the referring
Estate Agency Branch Invoice. Where there are insufficient funds, the referring
Estate Agency Branch will be advised prior to Exchange of Contracts.
- Contact the referring Estate Agency Branch to advise wherever you have been instructed
not to settle the Estate Agency Branch Invoice.
- On completion, advise the Client and referring Estate Agency Branch as soon as possible
that completion has taken place and authorise key release to the branch.
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On a Purchase Transaction, the appointed Conveyancer will:
- Request the Draft Contract from the Seller’s Conveyancer within 1 working day of
being supplied with their details.
- Where the Draft Contract is not received within the first 5 working days of a transaction,
chase the Seller’s Conveyancer for the documentation and inform the referring Estate
Agent of any issues.
- Within 1 working day of receiving a Search Payment from the client, request the
relevant Searches pertaining to the Property.
- The appointed Conveyancer will update the Team Conveyancing website with transaction
updates within 1 working day of completion of each milestone task.
- All Client or referring Agents’ calls will be returned on the same business day
and all email communications within 4 working hours.
- All written communications will be responded to within 2 business days of receipt.
- Immediately following Exchange of Contracts, the appointed Conveyancer will text,
email and/or phone to advise the Client and referring Estate Agency Branch.
- If any Transaction aborts, the appointed Conveyancer will notify the Estate Agency
Branch as soon as possible if the request has not come from said Agent.
The Practice Protocol
The following protocol has been designed by Team Conveyancing to streamline and
simplify panel transactions. The protocol is based primarily on best practice to
ensure that all transactions are processed in a standard manner to enhance the service
provided to every Team Conveyancing Client.
1/ Contents of Contract Packages
Where there is a HIP, the Contract Package should consist of:
- One part Contract (in approved form), retaining one part for the Seller to sign.
- Replies to Requisitions on Title.
- All team HIPs will be available via URL links. No paper copies of the HIP will be
supplied, neither should any be requested.
- Copies of all pertinent documents referred to in the Official Copies should be obtained
and supplied to the Buyer’s Conveyancers as standard practice.
- Property Information Form.
- Fixtures and Fittings Form.
Where there is no HIP, the Contract Package should consist of:
- All the above plus:
- Official Copies and Title Plan (or Epitome of Title with cover sheet fully completed,
including any relevant Land Charges Searches).
And if Leasehold:
- Copy of the Lease.
- Leasehold Property Information Form.
- Where there is no HIP, if there is a delay in sending the Contract Package then
a plan of the Property should be sent to the Buyer’s Conveyancer to prevent delays
in requesting their Local Search.
2/ Approving the Contract and raising Additional Enquiries
Contract Approval:
The Contract should be approved and enquiries raised upon receipt of the Contract
Package (as defined above) and should not be delayed until searches have been received.
Additional Enquiries:
‘Standard’ Additional Enquiries should not be raised. All enquiries raised should
be specific to the individual Property or title. Conveyancers should only raise
enquiries on issues that are sufficiently vital to prompt further enquiry in the
face of non-committal responses.
Planning Permissions:
Those over 10 years old should not be requested from the Seller’s Conveyancer unless
there is a specific reason to do so.
Building Regulations:
- If the development is over 10 years old then production of Building Regulations
documentation should not be required unless there is a specific reason to do so.
- If production of a Certificate is necessary but not available the Seller should
be advised that an Indemnity Policy be provided at their expense.
- Where acting for a Buyer, an appropriate Indemnity Policy should always be accepted
unless there is a specific stated reason for not accepting it.
New Home Warranties:
Where still in force Warranties will be provided. If originals are not available
duplicates should be obtained from the Warranty provider at the Seller’s expense.
Planning Agreements:
Those over 20 years old should not be required unless there is a specific stated
reason to do so and S.38 or S.104 agreements only required in accordance with the
CML Handbook i.e. where the roads or sewers immediately serving the Property are
not adopted.
Tree Preservation Orders:
Should only be requested if the Client specifically requests identification of the
trees affected by the Order otherwise the Client should simply be advised to consult
with the local authority before carrying out any works to any trees.
3/
Contract:
The Client should be encouraged to sign at the earliest opportunity with any subsequent
amendments being covered off in correspondence.
Transfer:
Should be signed by the Buyer at reporting stage and should be sent to the Seller
to sign with the Contract.
Mortgage:
The report on the Mortgage Offer, and Mortgage Paperwork for Signature should be
sent to the Buyer at the earliest opportunity.
4/ Searches
- If not provided as part of the Home Information Pack all Searches/Land Registry
documents should be ordered at the earliest opportunity with the payment being requested
and collected over the telephone, using debit cards which should be processed immediately,
not awaiting the backup of signed authorisation.
- Where other searches are required e.g. Coal, Commons, Chancel Repair etc. these
should only be commissioned where necessary due to geographical location of the
Property working together for a smoother move
5/ Land Charges Searches
- Unless enclosed within the HIP, when acting for the Seller of an Unregistered Property,
a Land Charges Search should be commissioned against the Seller at the outset of
the transaction and provided to the Buyer’s Conveyancer with the Epitome of Title.
6/ Leasehold
- Wherever possible defective leases to be addressed by Title Repair Insurance in
preference to Deeds of Variation.
- If circumstance dictates that a Deed of Variation is necessary the Panel Conveyancer
will inform the referring Estate Agent of the details in order to manage expectations
with regard to time-scales.
7/ Indemnity Insurance
- When acting for a Seller and a specific Indemnity Insurance is required, due to
a title defect, we should recommend to the Seller that responsibility rests with
him/her to pay for the Policy.
8/ Mortgage Monies
- When acting for a Buyer, Mortgage Monies should be requested from the Lender to
arrive at least the working day prior to Completion, unless there are exceptional
circumstances.
9/ Deposits
- Deposits should be held to order if there is no chain, or if any chain consists
solely of Panel Conveyancers.
10/ Completion and Release of Keys
- On the day of Completion, the Buyer’s Conveyancer will ensure that Completion Funds
are placed in the banking system expeditiously and will notify the Seller’s Conveyancer
that this has been done.
- Immediately upon receipt of Funds, the Seller’s Conveyancer will confirm Completion
to the Buyer’s Conveyancer and will authorise the release of keys.
If a Buying Panel Conveyancer undertakes in writing to a Selling Panel Conveyancer
without a dependant purchase that Completion Monies have been irrevocably placed
into the banking system then the Seller’s Conveyancer will release keys in advance
of receipt of monies provided that the Seller has not instructed otherwise. The
undertaking should include the actual amount that has been sent.
11/ General and Compliance
- Panel Conveyancers will use email to correspond with other Panel Conveyancers whenever possible and in particular will endeavour to raise any Additional Enquiries by email and will accept replies by email.
- If, during the course of the Transaction, the buyer’s Conveyancer becomes aware of a defect which will cause a material or genuine delay (e.g. Defective Lease, evidence of a Compulsory Purchase Order) they are, subject only to Client confidentiality, to make the Instructing Agent aware as soon as possible to ensure that all expectations with regard to time-scales are managed accordingly.
- We acknowledge and accept that you must comply with Rules 7 (Publicity) and 9 (Referrals of Business) of the Solicitors’ Code of Conduct 2007; in particular:
- Disclosing to your Client the existence of any financial arrangements with us.
- The amount of any payment.
- In the independence of advice given to your Client.
- The Client’s right to question any aspect of the Transaction.
- Your maintenance of Client Confidentiality.
- We fully recognise that you must carry out Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) under the Money Laundering Regulations 2007 where you do not see the Client, and that it is for you to decide how you carry this out according to the risks involved. It is agreed that any necessary EDD will be carried out at the start of the Transaction.
- We accept that if a Suspicious Activity Report has been made to SOCA under the Money Laundering Regulations, you will have a duty of confidentiality to avoid any potential for “tipping off”. Should this occur the agreed and aforementioned service levels will not apply.
Your Terms of Engagement will allow team the authority to extract Client details to enable the completion of an independent Satisfaction Survey.
