When asking for a quote for conveyancing services you should remember to get a full breakdown of the things you need to pay, as there might be a few firms and independent solicitors who may have hidden charges in their disbursements. This could pose a big risk to your budget and might affect the transaction you are involved in.
What's great at present is that most conveyancing firms are very transparent with their fixed-price services and are able to cover all the work required to complete your transaction. You might be charged a few additional costs along the way but they should be explained clearly to you - as they could be some tasks that a third party could do as commissioned by your solicitor. You should actually not be worried about any hidden charges now as itemised quotes are readily available now - complete with a list of upfront charges/disbursements.
But what services should generally be covered if you're looking to hire a conveyancing solicitor on a fixed-price basis?
Selling The Property
Although this generally takes less work than making an offer to purchase, dealing with a property sale should be included in the package of services offered by your conveyancing solicitor on a fixed fee.
Sellers Property Information Form (SPIF)
These are documents that are usually sent out once the solicitor takes charge on dealing with a sale. These documents usually contain questionnaires for the seller to answer and fill out - it involves everything about the property, from fixtures and fittings, contents, declaration of adult occupiers, and request forms for other important paperwork.
Drawing Up The Contract Of Sale
This task has to be done at the beginning of the conveyancing process itself just to get ahead of the other tasks that should come along as soon as the draft has been received by the buyer's conveyancer. The contract should include details about the property, the buyer and the seller's information, agreed price, and standard & special conditions of the transaction.
Addressing Queries
As soon as the buyer gets a hold of the contract and the SPIF, queries will be raised in order for them to learn more important information about the property. These may be details as requested by the buyer themselves, or their mortgage lender. Most of these questions pertain to legalities so the seller's solicitor should be well versed with such.
Being In Charge Of The Deposit
Upon exchanging the contracts, the seller's solicitor is in charge of receiving and safekeeping the buyer's deposit. They money will be released to the seller's account as soon as the transaction is complete, or if the buyer fails to push through with the purchase.
Purchase
As a buyer, your conveyancing solicitor should act on your behalf on all the legal aspects of the transaction and take care of the paperwork. A buyer's solicitor usually holds more responsibility than that of the seller's.
Set Of Instructions
This is usually a chunk of paperwork for you to fill out. They contain forms such as the Land Transaction Return which is a requirement before paying the Stamp Duty Land Tax. There will also be a questionnaire for you to answer regarding how the purchase will be financed, including the names of people or parties contributing funds to the purchase.
Documents and Title Deeds
Together with the contract, your conveyancing solicitor will be send other documents like the copy of the title deeds, building regulations and energy performance certificates, planning permissions, the property's plan, and the SPIF. Before your conveyancer receives it, your seller's solicitor should have already scrutinised them for accuracy and ensure there are no errors in the title.
Contract Enquiries
As a buyer, you may have questions about the property that may have not been thoroughly covered; it is your conveyancer's responsibility to relay these enquiries to the other party, especially if it involves legal matters.
Property Searches
Mortgage lenders require searches to be done on property purchases to make sure there are no issues surrounding the property. These tasks are done by third parties and the costs are not included in the legal fees. However, your conveyancing solicitor should be responsible for filing the necessary application to conduct these searches, including but not limited to drainage, water, and local authority searches.
Mortgage Offer
The mortgage lender's offer should be sent directly to your conveyancer and make sure that all mortgage terms are met.
Transfer Deed
Your conveyancing solicitor is responsible to draw up the transfer deed and forward it to the seller. They should then be in charge of transferring the funds for the purchase as soon as the contracts are exchanged.