There are legal differences when buying UK property.
As in Singapore, the process of transferring legal ownership from the seller to the buyer is known as conveyancing. You will need to find a solicitor or professional conveyancer to do the conveyancing for you. The seller and buyer each pay their own legal fees for the conveyancing.
Once a price has been agreed the seller or their estate agent will complete a memorandum of sale. This isn’t the same as an option to purchase or OTP as both buyer or seller can back out until the legal contract is exchanged. You do not have to pay a deposit now, although you might be asked to pay a reservation fee if it is a new build property.
Your solicitors will check everything including for good title and any encumbrances that might affect the property. They will then exchange contracts with the seller’s solicitor. You will need to pay a non-refundable deposit, typically 10%, now. The sale is then legally binding.
The next step is to agree on a completion date, as it is known. On the completion date, you will need to pay the balance of the purchase price and you will then receive the keys. Your solicitor will register the sale, or what is known as title, with HM Land Registry.