When you instruct us, you'll be supported by an experienced lawyer/conveyancer or residential property buyer who will:

• Talk you through each stage from the outset, answer any questions with clarity, provide you with a timeline of events and ensure you are clear on what to expect;
• Provide complete cost transparency, ensuring no hidden fees or surprises so that you can plan effectively; and
• Personally manage your transaction through to completion, delivering continuity and the best possible outcome - as quickly and smoothly as possible.

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.

Residential property legal services

We are experts in all aspects of residential property law, including:

• Buying a house
• Selling a house
• Helping first-time buyers
• Help to Buy 
• Buying or selling a freehold or leasehold property including checking the legal title
• Negotiating the terms of the contract and commissioning searches
• Selling a freehold or leasehold property from the acceptance of an offer through to completion
• Buying through Right to Buy (RTB) or Right to Acquire (RTA) schemes
• Transferring equity to add or remove owners
• Transferring a property after a divorce
• Mortgaging, including checking title details and obtaining the necessary searches to satisfy your lender
• Buying investment properties for buy-to-let portfolios

Due to recent legislation surrounding Building and Fire Safety, we regret that we are currently unable to act on sales or purchases of leasehold flats in blocks which exceed 5 storeys or 11 metres in height. The new legislation has resulted in highly complex regulations and mortgage lender requirements, therefore we are pausing our work in this area whilst we await clarity from the government and mortgage lenders as to a way forward. Any fees estimate that we provide is given on the assumption that the property you are selling or buying does not fall within this category.

Understanding the buying and selling process

The current UK average residential property transaction takes around 8-12 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

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.

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.”

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.

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; and
• Corporate matters;

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.

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.

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