Residential Conveyancing Solicitors

For most people, buying a new home, or the selling your existing home can be one of the most stressful times of your life. Apparently only divorce comes higher.

Our residential property team understands this. They also understand the importance of communicating with everyone involved in the process, acting quickly so there are no delays and, most importantly, in providing a value for money service.

Usually, a house purchase (or sale) involves a chain of transactions which extends beyond your immediate control. Timing, negotiation and often a sense of humour all play a vital part in achieving a successful outcome for you.

Our residential property team offers a high-quality property service which is responsive and competitively priced. The team have many years of experience and knowledge which helps to ensure transactions proceed as smoothly and quickly as possible.

Within the firm we have a sophisticated case management system to manage the routine day-to-day paperwork, leaving our solicitors free to deal with you, your estate agent and anyone else involved in the transaction.

Our goal is to take the stress out of residential property transactions, helping you to achieve your property plans quickly and cost-effectively, while giving you complete peace of mind.

Looking for practical ideas to help de-stress the process of moving home? You might want to print out and keep this list of our tips on moving house.

To arrange a quote or find out more about our residential property services, please get in touch with our conveyancing solicitors in Blackheath, Croydon, Medway and Guildford now.

Our conveyancing expertise

We are accredited by the Law Society for Conveyancing Quality. We have extensive experience with all types of conveyancing transactions, including:

Buying residential property
Selling residential property
Buying & selling leaseholds
Lease renewals
Leasehold enfranchisement
Remortgaging
Equity release
Transfer of equity

Our clients include everyone from first-time buyers to High New Worth (HNW) individuals, investors and lenders, including buyers in foreign jurisdictions.

We regularly handle all types of residential property, including:

New-build homes
Help-to-Buy properties
Development plots
Listed buildings
Homes in Conservation Areas
Properties covered by Article 4 directives
High value property

Our conveyancing fees

We offer fixed-fee conveyancing with transparent upfront quotes, so you will know from the outset exactly how much your conveyancing will cost.

Our quotes provide a clear breakdown of all of the costs involved in conveyancing, including our fees and the fees we pay to third-parties on your behalf (known as ‘disbursements’).

These disbursements cover the cost of the essential checks and searches needed to identify any potential problems with the property that could affect you after the sale is complete.

The conveyancing process explained

There are various steps involved in the conveyancing process. Exactly what is required will depend on the type of property and type of transaction, but the following is intended as a general guide to what you can expect when buying a property.

Instructing your conveyancer – We strongly recommend choosing a conveyancer before making an offer on a property as this means the process can get going straightaway once an offer is made and accepted.

Reviewing the contract pack – The seller’s solicitor will send the contract pack to your solicitor for review. This will include the contracts of sale, setting out exactly what will be included in the sale. Your conveyancer will go through this with you, raise any potential issues and then negotiate with the seller’s solicitor to resolve these issues if required.

Checks and searches – Your conveyancer will make sure any relevant checks and searches are carried out, including local authority searches and investigating the title of the property. This ensures that any potential problems, such as questions over the ownership of the property or plans for new developments in the area can be identified and addressed.

Exchange of contracts – Once the details of the sale are agreed, your solicitor and the seller’s solicitor will confirm that both have identical copies of the contract and get both parties to sign their respective copies. They will then exchange the copies and get both parties to sign the other copy. At this point the sale becomes legally binding on both buyer and seller.

Setting a completion date – Included in the contract of sale will be a final ‘completion date’. This is the date when the outstanding balance of the sale price will need to be transferred from buyer to seller and the sale will be complete.

Paying the deposit – Once contracts are exchanged, your conveyancing solicitor will arrange transfer of the deposit to the seller’s solicitor.

Completion – In the agreed completion date, your conveyancer will transfer the remaining funds to the seller’s solicitor. The seller will hand over the keys and your conveyancer will register the change of ownership with The Land Registry.

Paying Stamp Duty Land Tax – Your solicitor will take care of paying any Stamp Duty due on the property.

Get a fast conveyancing quote today

To see how much your conveyancing might cost, please use our simple online conveyancing quote form.

Alternatively, you can speak to one of our conveyancing solicitors now by contacting your local Atkins Hope office in Blackheath, Croydon, Medway or Guildford.