Our Conveyancing service

We provide a service which is designed to safeguard your interests at each stage of the transaction.

Although there are many reasons why delays can occur in the conveyancing process (problems on survey, the wait for Local Authority searches, broken housing chains etc ), it is failure to communicate these which causes frustration and confusion.

Our conveyancing staff are fully aware of the need to keep in touch with clients at each stage of the transaction. We endeavour to do our best to ensure that delays are minimized and that the sale or purchase goes through as smoothly as possible.

Selling your house

The legal processes involved in selling a house are relatively straight forward. We will:

• Obtain the Deeds from your mortgage lender (if you have one)
  
  
• Prepare and send a draft contract to the buyers solicitor and answer enquiries raised.
  
  
• Obtain an upto date redemption figure for your mortgage.
  
  
• Redeem the mortgage and send the net proceeds of sale to you ( or utilize them towards the purchase of your new home).

Buying your house

This is more complicated, because here we will be seeking to ensure that the house you buy does not involve you in unforeseen disputes over rights of way, boundaries, fences, restrictive covenants, road charges or other legal entanglements.

We begin the process by requesting a search from the Local Authority.It is important to understand that this only establishes whether there are to be any public works affecting the property (such as road schemes) and whether there are any planning restrictions.

The information obtained relates only to the property being purchased and not to the neighbourhood in general. After receiving the contract from the sellers solicitors we check through the documentation and raise any specific queries. The next steps are :-

Surveyors Report

The Building Society valuation report is simply that. It is not a full structural survey and it is not certain to uncover defects in the property. If the house you are buying is not newly constructed, we would recommend that you appoint a surveyor to prepare a full report.

If significant defects are found, it may be possible to negotiate a lower price with the seller.

Receipt of mortgage offer

Written confirmation of the mortgage advance will be received from your Bank or Building Society.

Exchange of contracts

This takes place after the full deposit ( usually 10% of the selling price) is paid. Once contracts have been exchanged, the purchase is legally binding.

Receipt of Mortgage funds

We received the funds from your Bank or Building Society.

Completion

The full purchase price is settled and ownership is transferred to you.

After completion

We continue to act on your behalf- ensuring that stamp duty is paid and that the title to the property is properly registered at the Land Registry. After this, thedeeds will be sent to your mortgage lender or, where there is no mortgage, we will store these on your behalf.

The majority of house purchases proceed without complications, but we have the expertise necessary to advise you if problems arise.We will tell you of any unusual circumstances which may affect your ownership of the property.

How much does the service cost?

Seeing a Solicitor is not always an expensive exercise but it is important for clients to know how much any service is likely to cost. We will be happy to give you a written quotation including the cost of disbursements such as Land Registry fees, search fees and Stamp Duty.

It is our aim to provide quality legal services to our clients at fees which are both fair and reasonable.