UPDATE - Due to the way in which the property market developed a pace, following the publication of this article, as a result of the Government's announcement regarding the Stamp Duty holiday, Holmes & Hills' No Sale, No Fee Promise will not be being applied to conveyancing services until further notice. Where a client was quoted with the No Sale, No Fee Promise applied and this is referenced in the terms of the quotation, this will be honoured.
The best way to ensure a stress-free home move is to instruct the right solicitor to undertake your conveyancing. A Conveyancing lawyer is a legal professional that specialises in property law. Your conveyancer will provide you with expert advice and offer guidance throughout your transaction, ensuring the legalities of the process are duly completed and your interests protected.
When selecting your conveyancing lawyer, you should consider their likely approach to the factors discussed in this article.
Something to ask yourself when making initial phone calls to solicitors for quotes is; how easy was it to speak to someone? Did you have a conversation with someone who could answer all your questions straight away or did you fill in your details online and receive an email a few days later without actually speaking to a member of staff about personal needs and requirements. You should consider the conveyancing solicitors approach to your initial enquiry as an indication of the service you are likely to receive.
One the most important factors for clients when picking a conveyancing lawyer is communication. It is crucial your chosen conveyancer keeps you up to date with progress throughout the transaction, and that when you have a query, you can speak with your conveyancer when you need to. Not all conveyancing lawyers will provide good communication as part of their service.
With today’s modern technology many conveyancing firms are now able to work on a national basis. However, do be aware that larger firms will also handle extremely high case loads and therefore employ more staff, many not qualified to the same extent as a local conveyancing solicitor, to deal with these volumes. Using a national conveyancing service, you may find yourself being assigned to a conveyancing “team”, none of whom you will ever meet. They may not even be aware of your transaction when you call, relying only on computer records to identify you and your property. IT is important to ask yourself whether this is the type of service you want and expect when dealing with a valuable asset such as a property.
Always make sure that every avenue of communication is available to you so that you always have up to date information during the course of the transaction. Some firms may enrol you on their online case tracker system so that you can check what’s going on with your matter without even having to speak to someone, but these are often reliant upon non-legal support staff keeping these systems up to date and there hope is that this will mean you call to speak to your conveyancing solicitor less often.
At Holmes & Hills, our conveyancing solicitors believe it is much easier for you to call your conveyancing lawyer and have a conversation and ask any questions directly. We believe this helps to keep you informed and most importantly, minimise stress!
Make sure that once you have received all your expected quotes that you take the time to read through them thoroughly, including any small print or terms and conditions. Lots of firms often start with cheap legal fees and then pile on the additional extras to trick clients into thinking they are getting a great deal. Extra costs that many conveyancing solicitors try and hide in their quotes, either as disbursements, or in small print, include:
Holmes & Hills Solicitors include all of the above as part of its fixed fee conveyancing quote. With conveyancing from Holmes & Hills, there really are no hidden extras.
It is recommended you conveyancing solicitor offers a no sale, no fee promise. This means that should your property transaction fall-through (go abortive) you will not have to pay your conveyancing solicitor any legal fees. This is important as a survey undertaken by the consumer group Which? in 2016 reported that on average 28% of transactions go abortive.
If your conveyancing solicitor does not provide services on a no sale, no fee basis then if your transaction goes abortive, you are likely to be liable to pay your conveyancing solicitor all or part of the original legal fee they quoted.
You'll be pleased to hear that Holmes & Hills' conveyancing services include a no sale, no fee promise as standard*.
Call 01376 320456 to get a fixed-fee conveyancing quote from Holmes & Hills Solicitors. Alternatively, complete this online conveyancing form
*Holmes & Hills’ No Sale, No Fee Promise covers a maximum of one abortive transaction or two related abortive transactions in any given 6 month period, per client. No sale, no fee does not apply to auction sales or purchases; new build transactions where a discounted fee has been agreed with the developer; third party disbursements already paid (e.g. searches); additional work agreed (e.g. Declaration of Trust). Holmes & Hills reserves the right to refuse to offer the No Sale, No Fee Promise at the point of receiving an instruction.
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