We provide a legal service for transferring the ownership of residential freehold and leasehold flats and houses from sellers to buyers. We also act for banks and building societies providing mortgages loans to buyers and we are on the panel of all major UK lenders. This legal service is known as 'conveyancing'.
Conveyancing is all we do and we are available from 9.00am - 8.00pm on week days and 9.30am - 4.30pm at weekends. We close or vary these times only on Bank Holidays.
We will always be honest with you, keep you informed and if there are problems we will give you clear options and advice. We aim to explain complex or unfamiliar things in a straightforward way without jargon so that you understand exactly what's going on. We will also make it clear what is expected from you in terms of providing information, reviewing and returning documentation and paying deposits. The average time scale for completing a transaction in the UK is 10-12 weeks but this can be longer if there is a chain of transactions, title complications or the property is leasehold.
The basic steps are described in the attached handbook (PDF). Some of the process is outside our control but we are pro-active and are prepared to chase others who may not be. There will be a team of people looking after you, who may include Solicitors, Licenced Conveyancers, Chartered Legal Executives or Lawyers whose experience in conveyancing qualifies them to do the work. We are one of the top three volume conveyancing firms in the UK, our conveyancing teams have completed thousands of transactions in every part of England and Wales and specialise in conveyancing. We will always give you the name, contact details and any relevant qualification of a lawyer with the skills appropriate to your requirements and the technicalities of the transaction. Overall supervision of the conveyancing work is carried out by a team of regulated lawyers.
All our lawyers are rewarded on customer service and pro-activity and we encourage you to ask questions and seek information. Even if nothing seems to be happening we will keep in touch. We will tell you quickly if there is a problem and will find a practical solution.
Our service is accessible to all, regardless of location, personal circumstances or disabilities. We are happy to talk to you by phone, email or through an online portal. By prior appointment during office hours, all offices are open if you would prefer to go through the paperwork face to face. We are transparent about fees and disbursements. You will always receive a full quote based on the information you have provided as well as details of various additional services (PDF) which may be charged depending on the circumstances. Examples of some typical fees (PDF).
These fees are based on the property being a freehold house sold to the value of £225,000. A further charge of £250 plus VAT will be required if the property you are buying or selling is leasehold.
We don't charge extra if the matter becomes complicated and the nominal withdrawal fee (on a purchase) or payment on account which you are asked to pay upfront will protect you from any further abortive charges.
If you instruct us directly through this website no referral fee will be paid but we work with our estate agency and financial consultant colleagues at Countrywide and if they introduce you to our service we pay them an average referral fee of £436.55 so that we may introduce our service to you. This does not affect the fee that you pay to us. We work hard to make sure everything goes to plan but if it doesn't we will try hard to put it right. We hope you won't have to, but we make it easy for you to complain. We are confident in our service and we publish our customer satisfaction scores on the Feefo customer review website.
If you make a valid claim against us for a loss arising out of work for which we are legally responsible and we are unable to meet our liability in full, you may be entitled to claim from the Compensation Fund administered by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (from whom details can be obtained).
