Conveyancing

Jefferies is an independent firm of solicitors, we are not linked to any other firm or estate agents and we therefore act solely in the best interests of our client.

By instructing Jefferies to act for you whether you are selling or buying, we will facilitate easy access to the conveyancer involved in your transaction throughout the process.

We will keep you informed and updated throughout the transaction and contact you through your preferred method of communication.

This is not necessarily the case and you are entitled to use whichever firm you decide.

A firm recommended by an estate agent may not necessarily be the best firm, they may recommend their own conveyancing firm who are based remotely. In this instance you may not have contact with your representative and due to the lack of continuity in the transaction, it may be difficult to obtain progress reports or updates.

At Jefferies you will receive a personalised service from an expert who will see the transaction through from start to finish.

Yes, you may be able to but it’s important to highlight that there may be hidden extras to the quoted cost. This could actually increase the overall conveyancing cost to a lot more than you initially expected. At Jefferies, there are no hidden extras, the fee quoted is the actual cost which includes all of the work required to see the transaction through from beginning to end.

Please see our indicative fee table above. This is indicative only and there may be some factors that could increase the cost of our services, for example:
the title is defective
the property is unregistered,
if building regulations or planning permission has not been obtained
if crucial documents that have been requested from the client have not been provided
if the property is leasehold and the lease is defective or needs a lease extension or deed of variation

There are also disbursements payable in addition to our fees and these are set out separately in the Disbursements indicative fee table.

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as search fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.
The disbursements which we anticipate will apply are set out separately above but the list is not exhaustive and other disbursements may apply depending on the title documents received from the seller’s solicitors. We will update you on the specific fees upon receipt and review of the title documentation from the seller’s solicitors.

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. Government surveys suggest that a conveyancing transaction from start to finish takes 12 weeks but on average we find it can take 6-8 weeks to exchange of contracts.

It can be quicker or slower depending on the parties in the chain. For example if you are a first time buyer purchasing a new build property with a mortgage in principle you may have to exchange within 4 weeks and completion would be on notice. However, if you are buying a leasehold property that requires an extension of the lease, this can take significantly longer between 3 and 6 months. In such, a situation additional charges would apply.

The work we carry out will depend on the nature of the transaction involved. By way of examples we have set out some basic details on the work we would expect to carry out on a sale of purchase below:

– Checking that the sale price covers any charges on the property

– Checking the contract is fair to you as well as the seller

– Making sure that you are fully protected under the terms of the contract should the worst happen and something go wrong prior to completion

– Ensuring the contract covers any issues that are important to you and any issues highlighted during the transaction

– Checking that the road the property is built on is maintained by the Council and is not a private road (also called “local search”)

– Checking to see if the property is connected to the mains water supply and the public sewer (also called “water search”)

– We carry out searches of the property with the local authority and water company to check that the property has the necessary consent for any extension/s

– Raising any questions with the seller’s solicitors that are raised by your surveyor or yourself to ensure that everything has been answered

– Sorting out the money side of things with the mortgage company and ensure that all the monies are to us in time for completion (moving day).

– Paying the stamp duty to HM Revenue & Customs

– After completion we ensure the property is registered at the Land Registry in your name.

We would recommend that you have a survey carried out in respect of the property you are purchasing. There are three types of survey available.

The first is a valuation carried out on behalf of a proposed lender to ascertain the value of the property, to ensure that it is adequate security for a mortgage loan. In this instance the valuer will be acting only on behalf of the lender and you will have no recourse against him should he fail to mention some relevant information in his report. We would not recommend you rely on a valuation as a result.

The second type is usually called a “Homebuyer’s Report”. It costs a little more than a lender’s valuation, but it is more detailed and the valuer will be acting on your behalf as well as on behalf of the lender and you will, therefore, have the right to sue him if it transpires that he has been negligent in the preparation of his report.

Finally, the third option is a full structural survey, which is more detailed and costly. If you require any further clarification or assistance in this regard, please do not hesitate to contact us.

You will need to pay if purchasing:

– Monies on account to us so that we can carry out searches of the property

– The deposit (which is usually 10% of the purchase price) so that we can exchange contracts although if selling we will normally be able to use the deposit on your sale

– Any balance of monies due from you to purchase the Property together with the monies payable for the disbursements (stamp duty and land registry fees) will be needed in cleared funds a day or so before the completion (moving day)

On the day of completion we will send all the monies (including any mortgage advance) to the seller’s solicitors as soon as we are able to by bank transfer. The timing is all down to the banking system and usually takes up to 1 hour for the monies to be received by the seller’s solicitors who will then phone us to confirm receipt. We will contact you immediately to confirm your purchase has completed and that you can pick up the keys.

Yes Jefferies not only offers other conveyancing services including re-mortgaging, buy-to-let, transfer of equity ownership, equity release and tenancy agreements but we also specialise in leasehold properties and can act for you in relation to lease extensions, buying the freehold, service charge disputes, right to manage and advising generally in relation to the leases.

As a firm we carry out a lot of work to ensure that we are satisfied the property you are buying and that we report to you on any potential problems with the property which may affect the value or your ability to sell the property in future.

We appreciate the huge financial commitment you are taking on and we try to make a stressful process as pain free as possible for you. The work will include the following:

– Checking the contract and ensuring the contract covers any issues that are important to you and any issues highlighted by our investigation into the property and the title to the property during the transaction.

– Checking the legal title to the property and advising you on any defects or issues revealed.

– Carrying out and checking over the usual conveyancing searches for the property and reporting to you on the information revealed in the search results.

For example:

– Checking the local search results show that the road the property is built on is maintained by the Council and is not a private road.

– Checking the water and drainage search to see if the property is connected to the mains water supply and the public sewer.

– Raising questions (known as “pre-contract enquiries”) with the seller’s solicitors on the property and the legal title to the property. These include any specific questions revealed by our checks and those which may be raised by your surveyor or yourself.

– Keeping you updated on progress and any issues with progressing the transaction.

– Advising you on potential solutions to any issues which may arise on the transaction and helping you reach a decision on such matters.

– Working with you and other parties involved in the transaction to set dates for exchange of contracts and completion.

– Acting for you in “exchanging” contracts on your behalf which means the contract to buy or sell the property in question becomes legally binding on the Seller and you and the date for completion is set to allow you to make your moving arrangements.

– Organising the money side of things with the mortgage company and yourself in a timely manner to ensure that all the monies are to us in time for completion (moving day).

– Paying the stamp duty to HM Revenue & Customs.

– After completion we ensure the property is registered at the Land Registry in your name.

As a firm we will work with you and endeavour to make the sale process as simple and stress free as possible for you. The work will include the following:

– Preparing the sale contract and ensuring the contract covers any issues that are important to you.

– Advising you on potential solutions to any defects or issues revealed with the Property you are selling.

– Assisting you to answer questions (known as “pre-contract enquiries”) which may be raised by the Buyer’s solicitors on the property and the legal title to the property.

– Keeping you updated on progress and any issues with progressing the transaction.

– Working with you and other parties involved in the transaction to set dates for exchange of contracts and completion.

– Acting for you in “exchanging” contracts on your behalf which means the contract to buy or sell the property in question becomes legally binding on both the Buyer and yourself and the date for completion is set to allow you to make your moving arrangements.

– Collecting the money paid to purchase the property on completion and distributing the same on completion including (in so far as the amount collected is sufficient) paying off the mortgage company to discharge any charges, paying third parties such as the estate agents and paying you any balance held.