What’s included in the Welcome Pack

Once you have chosen to instruct with us to act on your behalf for your property purchase, sale, purchase and sale or re-mortgage, the first thing we do is send you a Welcome Pack. In this pack, there will be forms for you to complete which are regulatory requirements. The information you provide will allow us to set up your file correctly to ensure speed and accuracy. To help you get to grips with the Welcome Pack we have provided a detailed list of everything you can expect to see and the forms you will need to fill in.

Initial Payment Details

Your pack will contain information about the initial fee that needs to be paid when you return your Welcome Pack, this initial payment goes towards your legal fees and is deducted from your final bill. The payment is used to cover money laundering checks and to order searches. These fees can be paid by cheque, BACs transfer or over the phone. Full terms and conditions are included in the Welcome Pack

The sale/purchase/re-mortgage questionnaire

This form is primarily to get to know you, e.g. your personal and contact details, along with basic information about your transaction, e.g. property address, sale or purchase price, if there is a mortgage. The form will also ask questions that will help your solicitor to advise you correctly on how to proceed.

Confirmation of your identity

As conveyancers regulated by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers we have a responsibility to comply with the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, Terrorism Act 2000 and Money Laundering Act 2017. To enable us to do the searches to comply with the acts we require two forms of identification from you; the confirmation of your identity form will explain our requirements.

Source of funds

This form is primarily for purchases; however, Money Laundering Regulations state that we need to be able to trace any monies supplied to us over and above our fees and third party fees e.g. landlord, management company fees and searches costs.

Stamp duty declaration (SDIT- England) or land transaction tax (lTT - Wales)

Here we ask a small number of questions that allows us to calculate your Stamp Duty correctly where applicable. As of 1st April 2018 the stamp duty calculation differs in England and Wales.

Gifted deposit form (only applicable on purchases and sometimes re-mortgages and Transfer of Equity). If you are fortunate enough to benefit from a gift of money towards the purchase of the property, we need to be made aware of it.  A gift is generally not an issue however; we do have an obligation to your lender to inform them of the details.

Joint ownership form for purchases and transfer of equity

When a property is purchased in more than one name you need to choose if you would prefer the property to be held as Joint Tenants or Tenants in Common. The form provided will help explain the difference between both options to ensure you choose the option best suited for your circumstances.

Cybercrime

This is an advisory sheet suggesting ways you safeguard yourself whilst transferring money.

GDPR

As of May 2018, new, stricter rules are being implemented in the storage and use of personal data held by us as a firm, this form advises you of your rights as well as our requirements.

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Disclaimer

The materials on this website do not constitute legal advice and are provided for general information only. Whether express or implied, no warranty is given concerning such materials. We shall not be liable for any technical, editorial, typographical, or other errors or omissions within the information provided on this website, nor shall we be responsible for the content of any web images or information linked to this website.

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The information contained in this article does not constitute financial advice or recommendation and should not be considered as such. Arrow conveyancing does not offer financial advice and is not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the authors of this article are not financial advisors and are therefore not authorised to offer financial advice.

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