Residential Property

When you instruct us, you get an experienced lawyer/conveyancer or residential property buyer who:

• At the outset will talk you through all the stages, answer any questions you may have, provide you with a timeline of events and ensure you are clear on what to expect;
• Will provide complete transparency: fully brief you on all costs so that you can plan effectively and have no hidden surprises; and
• Will personally drive your transaction through to its ultimate completion, thereby ensuring continuity of approach and the best, and quickest, possible outcome

More than residential property 

Our team have the expertise to deal with transactions of all values and sizes – in the Midlands as well as the rest of the UK, and have specific expertise in high value residential property transactions. 

Our experience allows us to anticipate and deal with issues that may arise – often before they happen. All of this experience saves you time and money, ensuring a far smoother transaction for all parties involved.

Assured quality

Due to our high standard of working practices, we have achieved accreditation to the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) which is a standard introduced by the Law Society to promote high standards in the home buying service.

Former Law Society President John Wotton, "CQS improves efficiency with common, consistent standards and service levels and enables consumers to recognise practices that provide a quality residential conveyancing service.”

Dealing with your whole life – looking beyond property

As a full-service law firm you can also benefit from highly experienced lawyers in associated areas related to and those that interact with property transactions. For example, we have experts in:

• Wills and tax planning;
• Family matters;
• Banking and finance;
• Agricultural law;
• Corporate matters; and
• Environmental law.

Our dedicated Private Client team can assist in ensuring that your wealth and family matters continue to be protected no matter what life changes may happen.

Our service pledge to you

We pride ourselves on our clients receiving the highest possible standards of service and we treat each transaction as if it were our own. In the unlikely event that you should not be happy with our service, you will be provided with the contact details for the head of the conveyancing team who will discuss your issue, ensure that you receive a satisfactory resolution and that the transaction continues to move forward as anticipated. You will receive a service that:

• Will treat you with integrity, honesty and respect at all times;
• Is transparent and delivers what it says it will, when it says it will;
• Communicates openly and effectively, whether that is by phone, email or in person. If you contact us, we will endeavour to respond to your question within one working day of receiving the question;
• Offers a single point of contact who will provide you with a timeline of key dates and events and always be available to support you at all stages of the process; and
• A service that will communicate with you in a way that you prefer – be that remote platforms such as Teams or Zoom, email, phone call or in person at our offices.
  
  

Our team

Given the size of our team of specialist property lawyers, we will always have the expertise to handle whatever a transaction throws at us.  Whilst you will be provided with a single point of contact, we do operate as a team and we regularly support each other as required to ensure that transactions run to time and are dealt with in the optimal fashion – thereby saving you time and money.

Understanding the buying and selling process

The current UK average residential property transaction takes around 12-15 weeks.  We do all we can to move forward at the pace you wish but this can be longer if there are delays in obtaining key information, or when dealing with third parties.

More information about the buying and selling process can be accessed from the following independent UK Government guides:

• Buying and selling your home
• Home-buying process: steps to buying a new house or flat in England, Wales and Northern Ireland
• Leasehold property  
• Affordable home ownership schemes
• Owning and renting a property
  
  

Typical stages of the process

The precise stages involved in the home buying / selling process can vary, and there are many factors that can impact the timescales for each stage including other members of the chain, mortgage applications or results of surveys that require further investigations.

As a general guide the following steps are included as part of our service for a typical conveyancing transaction:

• Taking instructions and giving initial advice
• Drafting or receiving and advising on contract documents
• Carrying out searches and obtaining planning documentation if required
• Raising or answering enquiries on title documents and searches
• Reporting on title and obtaining a mortgage offer (if appropriate)
• Obtaining authority to exchange and agree the completion date
• Agreeing pre-completion documents and obtaining pre-completion searches
• Providing a financial statement
• Completing the sale/purchase
• Dealing with the payment of Stamp Duty/Land Tax and submitting the application for registration at the Land Registry

Pricing transparency

Quality assured: Wright Hassall’s conveyancing team is CQS accredited, the Law Society’s quality standard for residential conveyancing, and is also a member of the Lender Exchange, a secure portal enabling law firms to exchange information with lenders designed to reduce risk and combat fraud. The firm is also Lexcel accredited, the Law Society’s legal practice quality mark for practice management and client care.

Most conveyancing costs will fall within the fee scale indicated below. However, there are a number of elements that will influence the cost of conveyancing such as the location of the property (for instance, the proximity of old coal workings or other topographical features); whether or not the building is listed and / or within a conservation area; its valuation; or if it is a new lease in a development. Therefore, it is our standard practice to give you an individual estimate depending on the circumstances of your sale or purchase.

Whilst our pricing will not be as cheap as bulk conveyancers or smaller high street firms, what you get is experience, quality and a breadth of expertise that is hard to rival.  If peace of mind is important to you, we ensure that we will provide this in all our dealings with you at what is a very competitive cost.

Indicative fee scale

The example prices above are provided on a fixed-fee basis, and do not take into account any costs payable to a third party, including Land Registry fees and Stamp Duty Land Tax. For a guide to the amount of stamp duty due, please see this link for an accurate calculation of Stamp Duty.

We have provided average timescales based on previous experiences. However, please note that how long it will take from your offer being accepted until you can move in to your house will depend on a number of factors. It may be quicker or slower, depending on the parties in the chain.

For example, a first-time buyer, purchasing a new build property with a mortgage in principle, is likely to be significantly quicker than if you are buying a leasehold property that requires an extension of the lease.

In such situations additional charges may apply. Additional costs are incurred through the completion of searches on the property. Searches tell buyers practical information about a property. We have listed the most common searches below and use online providers to reduce the cost to you wherever possible.      

• Title information - England & Wales: £4.50 + £3 per document or plan. 
• Local authority searches to show council plans affecting the property - £90-£400
• Highways & access - £24-£180
• Drainage and water connection information - £60-£100
• Flood risk – £25-£48
• Environmental contamination history – £50-£100
• Mining & ground stability - £54-£110
• Landlord or developer’s pack containing some or all of the information above instead of the searches - £300-£1000
• Searches of agricultural property, if required, are determined by each property (bespoke) and more expensive.

We will obtain quotations and inform you of the cost. We may recommend further searches depending on risks revealed or local issues e.g. HS2 route or energy equipment; we will confirm as soon as we know if we need to do any further searches.

Exclusions

• If the legal title is not correctly registered
• If the property is not registered at Land Registry
• If there is an issue with the title to the property, and indemnity insurance is required or the defect in the titles requires remedying
• If a Deed of Variation or Lease Extension is required
• If there is more than one lender involved or there are Charging Orders that need to be dealt with
• If one of the people involved is represented by someone else
• If the property is a Listed Building
• If building regulations or planning permission have not been complied with in the past
• If there is a dispute with a neighbour or family member
• If there is to be a gift from a family member or friend
• If there is additional land with your home
• If there is a delay in receiving key information from third parties such as accounts from a landlord
• Should your property tax situation be complex.