FAQs

Instructing a Solicitor may be one of the most crucial stages of the conveyancing process. There are several factors that need to be considered before deciding which solicitor to proceed with and different people may have different preferences. Here are our top tips to consider when choosing the right conveyancer for you:

Reviews 

The first thing people tend look at prior to using a service are reviews. Choosing a Conveyancing Solicitor should be no different. This is easiest way to obtain an honest and transparent overview of experiences that past clients have had with the firm you are looking to appoint.

Communication is key with property transactions. This ensures everyone is aware of suggested home moving dates so this can be coordinated within the chain. This is something that is often reflected in client reviews as this is an important part of the process.

Checking the reviews of a company will help you to determine whether clients have had a positive or negative experience. Platforms such as Review Solicitors are a great tool for choosing your potential conveyancer.

Is it recommended to go with the cheapest option?

The cheapest company/firm in many circumstances is often the favoured option. There are many conveyancing firms offering cheap fees which can look attractive when picking your solicitor.

In order to offer low fees, these firms have to take on high volumes of work in order to make a profit. If you are looking for excellent communication and meeting a preferred timescale, you are unlikely to find this at a firm that offers cheap fees. It is likely that your file handler will have too much work and will not have the time to communicate effectively with you, which could lead to a delay in your preferred home moving date.

Accreditations

Purchasing a property is usually the largest investment that you will make in your lifetime. Therefore, it is so important that the legal work involved in purchasing your prospective property is done properly and correctly. If not done properly, this could result in further legal costs down the line in order to correct mistakes; this can be costly and leave you out of pocket. Choosing an accredited firm can assure you that the legal work will be completed to a high standard.

A Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) accreditation is a Law Society quality mark which applies solely to residential conveyancing. By choosing a Conveyancing Solicitor that has been awarded this accreditation, you will know that you are in safe hands because they have the expertise to deliver quality residential conveyancing advice, they are compliant to the Law Society’s regulations, and they do their work to a high standard.

Beyond Conveyancing have been awarded both accreditations.

Modern Technology 

Efficiency throughout the Conveyancing process can lead to shorter wait time for clients to move home. This means clients can move home quickly and painlessly.

For example, at Beyond Conveyancing, along with Beyond Law Group’s outstanding in-house IT expertise, have introduced facial recognition technology to carry out ID checks on clients’ mobile phones. This offers clients intuitive and secure authentication as well as enhancing the overall client experience making the AML process straightforward.

Speak to the conveyancer that you are looking at using

It is always a good idea to make contact with the different conveyancers you are interested in instructed, as on first impression you may get a good feel for the firm and their attitude. You can discuss with the firm the services they offer as some may be more suited to some than others. For example, some people may want to deal with their conveyancer remotely and complete it all online. Whereas, others may prefer to meet their conveyancer in person and go through the paperwork. You should ensure that the conveyancer you are looking to instruct offer the services that will benefit you.

Conveyancing costs will differ between conveyancing firms, the costs of your transaction will also depend on different aspects of your sale.

Aspects to be considered when quoting conveyancing costs include;

• Is the property leasehold?
• Is there a mortgage to redeem?
• Are there any restrictions on the title?
• Are there any complex legal issues to be resolved?
• The sale price of a property.
• Is the property shared ownership?
• Is the property unregistered?

You may not be able to get a guaranteed fixed fee at the beginning of your transaction as there may be complex legal issues which arise throughout the conveyancing process which yourself and your solicitor may not be initially aware of.

The average cost of a sale can range anywhere from £500-£2,000 + VAT plus additional admin fees for additional complex legal issues.

The more complex your transaction, the more you are likely to pay. If your solicitor does anticipate any additional costs on top of what you were initially quoted, they should advise you of this prior to dealing with the additional work and ensure that you accept the additional charges.

Conveyancing is one of the few legal services that charge a fixed fee, usually when you instruct a solicitor you are charged based on time and would be billed on this basis.

There may be some additional disbursements which crop up during the conveyancing process, which you would be notified about. This could be an indemnity policy requested by the buyer, it is usually the seller’s responsibility to cover the cost of this. You will also pay disbursements to the estate agent for their fee, the redemption of your mortgage and land registry fees to obtain the title documents. All of this should be quoted to you and you will be made aware of the expected costs at the beginning of the transaction.

To find out Home Property Law’s conveyancing costs, click here.

When purchasing a property there is a lot of legal paperwork that needs to be completed, which can vary in itself from property to property and buyer to buyer, therefore, it’s important that you instruct a conveyancing solicitor to handle all of the legal work involved in transferring the ownership of the property to you. Choosing when to instruct a conveyancing solicitor is quite flexible and you can do it both before and after you make an offer on a property.

Once you have made your offer on the property and you have arranged your mortgage lender, you can move forward to the legal purchase of the property. Depending on the mortgage lender that you have organised, they may require you to use a conveyancer that is on their existing mortgage panel. Do some research on the firms that are in your area and get an idea on how much conveyancing fees cost. We recommend that you look at which conveyancers are available to you, read some reviews and hear what heir previous clients have to say, collect some quotes and bear in mind that expensive doesn’t always mean best.

So at what point in the property purchasing process should you instruct a solicitor? Most people will instruct a conveyancing solicitor once an offer has been accepted, meaning that everything is in order for the conveyancer to start working on your purchase straight away. On the other hand, you can choose to instruct a conveyancing solicitor to act for you as soon as you start looking for a property to purchase or put your current property up for sale. The advantage of doing this is that you will save valuable time in completing the initial paperwork and carrying out ID checks etc. This means that your conveyancer will be ready to act for you as soon as your offer is accepted. Instructing a conveyancing solicitor either before or after your offer is accepted is common and both have their advantages.

Your conveyancer will act on your behalf to complete any legal documentation and searches, such as the local authority and Environment Agency, to ensure that the property has no major problems. Once all legal paperwork is completed, you have provided your conveyancing solicitor with any documentation they require, and the deposit for the property has been arranged, the purchase contracts can exchange. It is at this point that the seller is legally required to sell the property and you are legally required to buy it.

One of our specialist conveyancing lawyers will carry out the task of conveyancing. This is the process whereby property ownership is legally transferred from the seller of the property to you. Once an offer on the property has been made, and that offer accepted, you will then instruct your lawyer to carry out the legal work for you.

As soon as you have informed your lawyer of any necessary details related to the sale of the property, they will request that you fill in paperwork forms and provide answers to a series of questions about the property. The lawyer will contact the mortgage lender and get the relevant documents from Land Registry. The next stage is the preparation of the draft contract, which the lawyer will draw up and send to the buyer’s lawyer. Once the buyer’s lawyer is happy, a completion date can be arranged. This will then lead to the exchange of contracts, and the transfer of the deposit from the buyer’s lawyer.

Conveyancing is the transfer of legal title of property from one person to another. The process is usually conducted by a solicitor or conveyancing solicitor as there is a lot of legal work to be carried out before an exchange of contracts and completion can take place.

Once you have instructed a conveyancing solicitor, the process includes handling all of the legal work involved in transferring the ownership of the property to you. Depending on the mortgage lender that you have organised, they may require you to use a conveyancer that is on their existing mortgage panel. Do some research on the firms that are in your area and get an idea on how much conveyancing fees cost. We recommend that you look at which conveyancers are available to you, read some reviews and hear what their previous clients have to say, collect some quotes and bear in mind that expensive doesn’t always mean the best.

Here at Beyond Conveyancing, our team of expert conveyancing lawyers are experienced specialists: all are legally qualified, and all have a wealth of experience in the residential property market. It is essential that you have the right conveyancing solicitors on board, as any mistakes can cause a delay in the sale chain or even worse a break which could be catastrophic both personally and financially.

Our expert team are tenacious, driven and have an unrivalled passion to deliver. We do not take no for an answer and will push boundaries to guarantee progress with your property sale.

When you purchase a property your conveyancing solicitor undertakes a series of solicitor searches, but what are they?

If you are purchasing with a mortgage, searches will be required however, they are not mandatory if you are a cash purchaser, as it is your own funds that will be at risk. We would still recommend that you obtain searches if you are a cash purchaser as they provide important information about the property. If you choose not to, speak to your conveyancer about obtaining a No Search indemnity policy which will cover any loss sustained as a result of adverse entries which would have otherwise been revealed had a search been carried out.

Once a conveyancing solicitor has been instructed to carry out the conveyancing process on your property, they need to conduct a series of necessary searches which highlight issues that you need to be aware of before you own your new home. So, how many searches are there and what do these searches consist of?

Your conveyancing solicitor has six searches to conduct when you buy a property: Local authority searches, land registry searches, environmental searches, water authority searches, location specific searches, and chancel repair searches.

Local authority searches tend to be one of the first searches you’re your conveyancing solicitor will conduct. Your solicitor will look at the information held by the local authority regarding your property, including information surrounding any permissions or restrictions surrounding the property. Whilst local authority searches can take up to six weeks, they are exceptionally beneficial in learning the responsibilities you may have in maintaining the roads and paths adjoining the property.

Land registry searches prove that the seller of the property is in fact the legal owner of the property that that they have the right to sell it. your conveyancing solicitor will do this by checking both the ‘title register’ and ‘title plan’ at the Land Registry.

Environmental searches are conducted to establish whether the property you are buying was built in a safe way and in a safe space. Searches may find that the property you are looking to buy was built on or near contaminated land, or on an old landfill site; both of these come with many issues and may prevent you from wishing to purchase the property. You may find that your mortgage lender may insist that this search is done before they offer you a mortgage.

Water authority searches establish the water source for the property, and if there are any public drains on the property. The reason why it is important that a water authority search is conducted is because if it does find that there is a public drain on the property, it may prohibit or prevent any future developmental work from being done on the property.

Location specific searches, as the name suggests, are location specific. Depending on the property’s location, your conveyancing solicitor may suggest that you conduct a location specific search. For example, If you are purchasing a property in an area formerly used for mining, your conveyancing solicitor may suggest that you complete a specific mining search.

Chancel repair searches are necessary to highlight if purchasing your new home makes you liable for the cost of repairs to a parish church. You can read more about Chancel Repair Liability here.

Depending on the results of the searches and how quickly third party bodies respond to your conveyancing solicitor’s requests, the whole process can take a few weeks to complete. One of the searches may come back with information you and your conveyancer aren’t happy with, which may lead to further searches and extend the search period.

1. Return paperwork promptly – your conveyancer will need your initial paperwork and verified ID documents before they can begin work on your file so it’s important to get these back as soon as you can. If your conveyancer sends any documentation which requires your signature, try to review and sign as soon as possible as they will be unable to exchange contracts and complete the purchase without these
2. Respond to enquiries from your conveyancer promptly and ensure you have any paperwork to hand such as warranties, gas safety certificates, installation certificates and ground rent receipts. If you realise during the process, you no longer have the paperwork, be honest and let us know so that we can assist you accordingly and look at other options
3. Always keep in touch with estate agents and your conveyancer. Communication really is key during the conveyancing process and at Beyond we ensure that we are in regular contact with clients, agents and other solicitors
4. Have your funds and proof thereof ready. We appreciate being asked where your money has come from is a sensitive question, but this information is paramount. Your conveyancer is under a legal duty to verify the source of your funds and this part of the process can take time so it’s helpful to your conveyancer if you provide the documents such as bank statements from the outset. If you are receiving a monetary gift from a family member or friend your conveyancer will also need to verify this and will need ID from the person providing the gift.

Conveyancing is the transfer of legal title of property from one person to another and is actually very complex. There is a lot of legal work to be carried out before an exchange of contracts and completion can take place. At Beyond Conveyancing, we pride ourselves on being both thorough and precise with our legal checks, ensuring our clients have all the necessary information concerning the property, ultimately making sure the process runs as smoothly as possible and reducing the time scales.

One of the questions we are frequently asked is ‘why does buying and/or selling a house take so long?’, and there are many factors that contribute to how long the conveyancing process takes. Every sale and purchase is different, and until we have received the details, it can be difficult to provide a definitive timescale. However, as a general guide, the sale or purchase of a freehold property with no chain and no delays would normally take 12-16 weeks.

Factors that may delay the conveyancing process include; long chains; a delayed local authority search, dependent on how busy your local authority is; enquiries related to building work or title difficulties; the type of property, leasehold flats and shared ownership properties can take longer; and high caseloads, depending on the time of year.