The completion date is the day when the balance of the
purchase price passes between the buyer and the seller, and is
often the day when you move into the property (or take possession
of your commercial unit)
The completion date will usually be agreed between both sides'
solicitors before exchange of contracts to give you time to make
arrangements for moving in.
In some circumstances exchange and completion can take place on
the same day.
The Land Registry holds a register of property ownership,
when you purchase property your details will be entered on the
register.
This means that you no longer have to store a bundle of title
deeds as the entry on the register is sufficient to prove that
you own the property. If there is any dispute an official copy
of the register can be obtained to prove your ownership.
If your property was last bought before the system of
registering land was established, ownership of land can only be
proved if you have a deed showing that the land had been sold
to you by a previous valid owner. Often these deeds are stored
by your solicitors or a bank.
Many properties in the UK are still unregistered and when you
come to sell your house these title deeds will need to be produced.
After the sale the details of the new owner will be registered
and the title deeds will only be of historical interest.
If two or more people own property together as joint
tenants this means that when they die their share of the property
automatically passes to the other owner(s).
This can be useful, for example if a husband dies the property
will automatically pass to his wife.
Joint tenants also means that you can not leave your share of
the property to anyone except the other owners. If you think you
would want to leave the property to someone else then ask us for
advise on owning the property as Tenants in common.
If two or more people own property as tenants in common
this means that you each own a separate interest in the same piece
of land.
If you die you can leave your interest in the property to someone
else, for example a husband could leave his share to his children
so that they owned the property with his wife after his death.
Owning as Tenants in common can also reflect your contribution
to the purchase price as the share can be split unequally between
the owners.
When you sell the property you will receive a proportion of the
sale price in line with the size of the share you own.
If you hold property as tenants in common it is important to have
a will to decide what will happen to the property when you die.
Your share will not automatically go to the co owners so it is
a good idea to ensure you are leaving it to the people you want
to inherit the property. See the Wills trusts and probate section
for more information on wills.
Leasehold means that you are buying the right to use
a property for a certain amount of time. This can be relatively
short, for example renting a flat for 10 years, or for a long
time, a lease on a house for 999 years.
At the end of the lease ownership of the property will go back
to the Landlord, but if you buy a long leasehold on a property
the chances are that you will have moved again by the time that
situation arises.
Freehold means that there is no time limit on your ownership of
the property.
On some transactions you will have to pay Stamp Duty
Land Tax. The amount payable depends on the value of the property
and the location, certain postcodes, often in developing areas
are exempt from Stamp Duty Land Tax.
