Conveyancing London – Three Exchange of Contracts - All in a Day’s Work!

Simon Seaton of our Conveyancing in London Team was instructed at approximately eleven o’clock in the morning.  Mr Blanks had only recently introduced himself as a client to Mr Seaton and advised him that he needed him to attend a seller’s property solicitors’ offices to view the legal paperwork on three leasehold properties and effect exchange of contracts. 

Conveyancing in London is never easy but to purchase three leasehold properties in one day is a tall order.  The seller was prepared to accept Mr Blank’s offer on the three leasehold properties but only on the basis that exchange of contracts took place that day. 

The leasehold properties, based in central London were to be sold subject to three tenancy agreements which would need to be considered.  Once Mr Seaton had checked with his assistant that the existing conveyancing files would adequately be looked after he then immediately phoned Mr Blanks back to confirm that he was on his way to the seller’s property solicitors’ office. 

As the properties were sold subject to the existing tenancies, Home Information Packs were not applicable  to this particular conveyancing transaction and in any event it preceded the requirement.  The seller’s property solicitors’ office was in London so it only took half an hour to arrive. 

Three sets of conveyancing documents were waiting to be reviewed.  Despite the fact that all three leasehold flats were in the same block it would have been dangerous to assume that all three flats had the same leases.  Mr Seaton therefore had to review all three leases as well as the tenancy agreements, management information, Sellers Property Information Forms, Fixtures and Fittings Forms, and Land Registry documentation. 

There were no Local Authority Searches and as Mr Blanks was rushing to the seller’s property solicitors’ office to join Mr Seaton he was advised that it would be sensible to include a contractual provision to state that completion would be conditional upon satisfactory searches arriving prior to completion. The seller’s property solicitors agreed to the clause with Mr Seaton and drafted that particular clause together. 

There was also a missing management information and insurance documentation and again this was dealt with by a contractual provision stating that satisfactory information had to be produced prior to completion.  A contractual obligation was also drafted to state that on completion the seller would provide Mr Blanks with the rent authority letter advising that all future rents needed to be paid to Mr Blanks.  This document is known as a “rent authority letter”. 

Mr Blanks was a sophisticated property investor who had a number of years’ experience in buying and selling properties including buy-to-let properties.  He understood fully the risks of proceeding without a mortgage offer but it made sure that there was adequate time in between exchange and completion for him to get the mortgage offers in place.  Certainly, he was confident that the properties would be valued up for mortgage purposes.  Having received the instructions to proceed to review the paperwork at approximately 11.00am that morning contracts were exchanged on 5.00pm with completion set for six weeks later.

For more information about ”attended exchanges” for purchase conveyancing in London please speak to our conveyancing London team.