Lamorbey House, Sidcup

Lamorbey House, Sidcup

Close

How can we help?

Please fill in this form and we'll get back to you as soon as possible.

Please enter your name
Please enter your email address
Please enter your telephone number
Please enter a question
Please let us know how you heard about us
Please enter the verification code

We’ll only use this information to handle your enquiry and we won’t share it with any third parties. For more details see our Privacy Policy

Conveyancing Solicitors

Moving home is an exciting time, but there are so many things to do. Between  finding your new home, sprucing up your current home and sorting out all the practicalities such as new schools and address changes, you do not also want to be bogged down in the legal details. That is why you need a conveyancing solicitor you can trust to get the job done.

Our friendly, reliable conveyancing solicitors can talk you through the conveyancing process and handle all the legal details of your transaction for you.

We know that buying or selling your home can be a stressful time, so our goal is to make the experience as simple and straightforward as possible. We do this by:

  • Explaining your options in plain language so you can make the best decisions about how to move forwards.
  • Providing regular updates and always responding quickly to calls, emails and letters.
  • Being proactive and taking all possible steps to keep a transaction moving forwards.
  • Spotting potential problems before they arise and taking steps to avoid them.
  • Checking every legal detail so there is no risk to you.
  • Being upfront and honest about our fees so you stay in control of how much you spend on your conveyancing.

We are accredited by the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) for our high standards of client care and skill in conveyancing services.

We will offer a fixed fee quote for most conveyancing matters which includes all the costs for our legal work and other anticipated costs, such as the costs of registering a transaction at HM Land Registry. Check out our residential conveyancing fees for an idea of how much your transaction could cost with us, or get in touch for a quote today.

Speak to our conveyancing solicitors in Sidcup, the London Borough of Bexley, Kent

For expert advice about buying or selling your home, speak to one of our friendly, expert conveyancing solicitors now by calling 020 8300 9321, emailing enquiries@wmk-law.com or filling in our online enquiry form.

How our conveyancing solicitors can help you

We provide an all-inclusive conveyancing service that covers all your legal needs. Our team of dedicated conveyancers can handle all the legal aspects of your transaction on your behalf so you do not need to worry about a thing. Our expertise includes:

Our conveyancing fees

We believe in absolute price transparency. That means we are completely honest and upfront about how much our conveyancing services cost.

For most clients, we can offer fixed fees and will provide a quote before you instruct us so you can make an informed decision about whether to move forwards with our conveyancers.

Your quote will include third party costs (referred to as ‘anticipated disbursements’) that will arise in addition to our own fees. These costs include things like Land Registry fees for applications to register your transaction.

Once you have your quote, you can proceed with confidence. We will never exceed the quote we have provided you without speaking to you first, for example, if there is an unexpected problem that requires some extra legal work.

What other costs are involved in conveyancing

Other costs may include the cost of your independent survey (if you choose to get one) and mortgage fees which you should budget for in addition to the quote we provide. We recommend that you seek advice from an independent financial advisor if you would like some advice about budgeting for your conveyancing transaction.

For a general idea of legal costs, visit our Residential Property Fees page or get in touch for a tailored quote.

Common questions about conveyancing

How do the conveyancing process work?

The basic process of buying or selling a house or flat happens in three main stages:

  • Offer and acceptance
  • Exchange of contracts
  • Completion

When an offer is accepted on a property, the buyer and seller have agreed to enter into legal relations. However, the agreement is not yet legally binding and either party can pull out at any time. This is where gazumping can sometimes happen where the seller accepts a higher offer after they have already accepted an offer.

After acceptance but before exchange of contracts is the buyer’s opportunity to find out more about the property and decide whether to move ahead with the transaction. With the help of their solicitor, the buyer will:

  • Make enquiries with the seller
  • Undertake conveyancing searches

The buyer should also do their own survey and apply for their mortgage if they need one.

Exchange of contracts is where the buyer and seller make the agreement legally binding – the buyer pays the deposit and both sign the sale and purchase contracts which will have been prepared and reviewed by the solicitors.

Completion is when the transaction becomes official. The buyer’s solicitor transfers the full amount of the purchase monies to the seller’s solicitor (who pays off the seller’s mortgage, deducts fees and transfers the remainder to the seller) and the seller is required to leave the property so the buyer can move in. The buyer’s solicitor will also transfer any Stamp Duty and file the Stamp Duty tax return with HMRC.

What are conveyancing searches?

Conveyancing searches are one of the ways the buyer can find out more information about a property before they officially sign a contract to buy it. The buyer’s solicitor will handle the searches for the buyer. The essential searches include:

  • Local authority searches – to check for things like local planning issues or whether the property is in a conservation area
  • Water and drainage searches – to check for things like sewer and drainage access
  • Environmental searches – to check for things like contamination issues or flood risk

Depending on where the property is and the type of property, it may be a good idea to do other searches, such as coal mining searches.

Is there anything you can do you avoid gazumping?

You can never entirely avoid the risk of gazumping. As a buyer, you could ask the sellers and their estate agent to take the property off the market once your offer has been accepted. It is also possible to get home buyer protection insurance which could allow you to claim back some of your costs if the seller pulls out.

There is also a type of agreement you can enter into with a seller called a ‘lock-out agreement’ which gives you an exclusive right to buy the property within a certain timeframe. However, there is no obligation on the seller to enter into this type of agreement.

Whatever you decide to do, you should never rush a transaction just to avoid the possibility of being gazumped – better to lose a great property because you are doing all the right checks than to buy a sub-standard property because you skipped stages.

What does ‘no chain’ mean?

A property chain is when two or more property sales and purchases are relying on each other to complete, for example, because a buyer needs the equity from their current property to buy their new one. If one transaction falls through, it can delay the whole chain or even cause other transactions to fall through.

So, ‘no chain’ is when a property purchase does not rely on any other purchase/sale to be able to complete. This is usually where the property is unmortgaged and/or the buyers are first time buyers or cash buyers.

Some people prefer to look for ‘no chain’ transactions to avoid a situation where they have to wait for other transactions to complete before they can complete.

When do you need to instruct your conveyancing solicitor?

As early on as possible. When you first instruct your solicitor, they will have some admin, such as identity checks. So, it is worth lining up your solicitor in advance so they can start acting as soon as you accept an offer or find your dream home.

Still looking for answers?

Take a look at our residential property FAQs or feel free to ask our team a question.

Get in touch with our conveyancing solicitors in Sidcup

For expert conveyancing advice, get in touch with our friendly team now:

  • Pam Grewal
      • View profile