Conveyancing & Property Law Solicitors

Moving house can be one of the most stressful situations that people go through during their lifetime. In fact, research suggests that moving house for some people can almost be as stressful as dealing with a family bereavement or going through a divorce. Hiring a good conveyancing solicitor should go a long way to making the process as smooth and stress-free as possible.

Although not essential, if you are buying or selling a house, you are most likely going to hire the services of a firm of conveyancing solicitors. In many cases, your estate agent may encourage you to use a particular firm of solicitors. But you should always take this recommendation with a pinch of salt, as your estate agent is almost certainly earning a referral fee for each client they pass on to this solicitor. So with that in mind, it is always wise to do your research before deciding which conveyancing solicitor to hire.

At LocalSolicitors.com, we have profiles on conveyancing and property law solicitors in towns and cities throughout the UK. So whether you are buying a house in London, selling a property in Norwich or have a property dispute in Sunderland, we can help you find and compare the best conveyancing solicitors local to you.

What does a conveyancing solicitor do?

A conveyancing or property law solicitor will take care of all the legal aspects of buying or selling a property. This can be broken down into three broad sections:

• Searches - A conveyancing solicitor will perform a number of different searches to gather information about the property being purchased and the surrounding area. Amongst other things, these searches will help to highlight if the property is prone to flooding, is subject to any ongoing legal disputes or has any planning restraints imposed upon it. The searches should also highlight if there are any local planning applications that could have an impact on the property, such as a new housing development being built nearby or a new motorway.
• Contracts - As part of the conveyancing process, a solicitor will also deal with the contracts required to complete a legal sale or purchase of the property. This will include details of what is included in the sale of the property, such as fixtures and fittings. When all of the details are finalised, the solicitor will then make arrangements to exchange contracts and agree on a completion date. Once contracts have been exchanged, a legally binding contract has been created between the buyer and seller of the property.
• Completion - Once all of the searches have been completed and the contracts have been exchanged, the conveyancing solicitor will then make the necessary arrangements for completion. This includes transferring the money to the seller, paying any stamp duty on the purchase and registering the new owner of the property with the Land Registry.