Residential Conveyancing & Property Solicitors

Conveyancing & property specialists ready to help across the UK

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Your trusted partner for seamless property transactions

Our team of over 50 residential conveyancing and property solicitors offers tailored expertise to a wide range of clients. Whether you're a first-time buyer or seller, seeking to invest in residential properties, or an international client with longstanding trust in our services, we're here to cater to your specific needs.

What to expect when buying a house?

While the process of buying a house can seem daunting and complicated, in a nutshell it involves:

  • Get a mortgage in principle – This will indicate what you can borrow before you start the house-hunting process.
  • Find your dream home – When you’ve found your perfect property, make an offer!
  • Apply for a mortgage – Once your offer has been accepted you can begin applying for a mortgage with your chosen lender.
  • Find and instruct a residential conveyancer or property solicitor – They can get the ball rolling with all the legal paperwork and property searches.
  • Get a house survey – Although your lender will perform a basic valuation survey to establish the property's value, you may wish to consider undertaking a more comprehensive building survey to check the property's overall condition.
  • Research removal companies – Although you’ll unlikely know a move date at this stage, it’s helpful to contact a few removal companies (if using) to obtain quotes in advance and check availability/lead times.
  • Transfer the deposit – When you’re happy with the results from the searches and surveys, you’ll need to transfer the deposit into your residential conveyancer’s account to exchange contracts.
  • Exchange contracts – Once everything is in place and both parties are happy to proceed, contracts will be exchanged between the buyer and seller. This means you’ll now have entered a legally binding contract. You may agree on a moving date (or completion date) at this stage.
  • Complete and move in – Your conveyancer will arrange to transfer the rest of the money to your seller’s solicitors, pay any stamp duty land tax on your behalf, and inform the Land Registry. And now the house is all yours, and you can pick up the keys to your new home!

We understand that buying or selling your home can be very stressful. That’s why we’re here to help and make the journey as straightforward as possible. We aim to keep communication open and alleviate any stress and confusion from our clients.

With years of experience in residential conveyancing, we understand the importance of a seamless process. With our expertise in all conveyancing transactions, we are able to pre warn you of any potential obstacles that may arise, as well as planning ahead to combat these. We will give you an estimated completion date for your conveyancing transaction as early on as possible.

Want some fast, free advice? Read our complete guide to residential conveyancing or see our residential conveyancing FAQs.

Recent Conveyancing Reviews

Efficient and a pleasure to deal with

"I received an excellent service from Mr Raza Ali at Shakespeare Martineau, on a couple of different matters he was polite, efficient and a pleasure to deal with. I will definitely recommend to others and in no doubt contact him again when needed. Thank you."

We could not have asked for better support

"We had a very difficult, drawn out sale/purchase process with multiple sales falling through and time pressures on purchasing the house we wanted, Rebecca McMorrow was excellent throughout the whole process and kept us sane until we finally sold and completed. We could not have asked for better support."

An excellent service

"Lisa Cox has been fantastic throughout our house purchase. She guided us brilliantly through the process. Lisa is very thorough and an excellent communicator. She took all of the stress out of the process. I would highly recommend Lisa. Thank you Lisa for everything."

Nothing short of incredible

"We have now used the firm twice for our residential conveyancing and both times we have used Raza Ali in Nottingham office, he has been nothing short of incredible, he is polite, friendly and very knowledgeable. Always kept us up to date with any queries/developments as well as chasing the other sides solicitors and keeping them on track too. They may be a little more expensive than other firms but, in my opinion, definitely worth it to know your being looked after and kept in the loop unlike other conveyancers where you can wait weeks for a simply answer like I have experienced before. Fantastic firm, can’t recommend enough."

A pleasure to work with

"Raza Ali dealt with our flat sale and house purchase, and was a pleasure to work with. Sorted out many tricky problems on the sale, and was always calm and assuring during a stressful process. Also dealt well with a pressing deadline to complete as a result of other parties in the chain offers expiring."

How we can help

Get a free quote for buying or selling your home.

Selling a house? Why not visit our dedicated page for sale specific information and FAQs.

Buying a house is likely to be the biggest investment you will make in your lifetime. Whether you’re buying your first home, relocating, or adding a house to your property portfolio, we’re here to support you every step of the way.

Trust us to navigate the complexities, ensuring your transaction progresses smoothly from start to finish.

How the conveyancing process works

  1. The first stage is to complete our enquiry form – you will then be assigned to one of our conveyancing specialists.

  2. You’ll then receive a free 15-minute consultation within 24 hours via Zoom or telephone to discuss your requirements in detail.

  3. You are then provided with a transparent breakdown of our costs and, if you would like to proceed, we send you a pack of onboarding documents.

  4. Following this, we will begin the conveyancing process, guiding you through every step of the way.

Get a free quote for buying or selling your home.

Simply fill in your details and we will send you a tailored quote.

Selling a house? Why not visit our dedicated page for sale specific information and FAQs.

Buying a house is likely to be the biggest investment you will make in your lifetime. Whether you’re buying your first home, relocating, or adding a house to your property portfolio, we’re here to support you every step of the way.

Trust us to navigate the complexities, ensuring your transaction progresses smoothly from start to finish.

How the conveyancing process works

  1. The first stage is to complete our conveyancing quote – you will then be assigned to one of our conveyancing specialists.

  2. You’ll then receive a free 15-minute consultation within 24 hours via Zoom or telephone to discuss your requirements in detail.

  3. You are then provided with a transparent breakdown of our costs and, if you would like to proceed, we send you a pack of onboarding documents.

  4. Following this, we will begin the conveyancing process, guiding you through every step of the way.

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Residential Conveyancing Frequently Asked Questions

Our Residential Conveyancing Team

Richard Hill

Partner & Head of Bristol

Helen Walczak

Chartered Legal Executive

Harvinder Mann

Licensed Conveyancer

Vidhya Panchal

Chartered Legal Executive

Amit Patel

Residential Conveyancing Operations Manager

Free Guide

What are the top ten things people look for when buying a house?

  1. Location – this doesn’t just include the neighbourhood. You should consider whether there’s access to local amenities such as shops and restaurants, are there good schools in the area (if applicable), and what are the public transport links like?

  2. Parking – is there off-road parking (such as a garage or driveway), or will you need to park on the road? If the property is in an area where parking permits are in operation, are there enough permits for the number of vehicles that will be kept at the property?

  3. The floor plan – don’t just focus on the number and size of the rooms. Consider how you want to live in your home, for example, would it be a hassle to walk from your kitchen, through your living room, to get to a dining room? Or would you prefer one big kitchen/diner. Some older properties may also have the only bathroom downstairs. If you’d rather this was upstairs you’ll need to consider the cost (and sacrifices you may need to make) of moving this.

  4. Number of bedrooms – it’s likely you’ll have an idea of how many bedrooms you’d like, but will these all be used as sleeping space. For example, with more people having the opportunity to now work from home, do you plan to turn one of them into office space? If so, you may have to look at properties that advertise themselves as having an additional room to what you require.

  5. The kitchen and bathroom – the most expensive rooms to replace in a house are kitchens and bathrooms. Consider the current condition of these rooms and whether it’s likely you’ll want to replace them in the near future. If so, do some basic research ahead of making an offer on the property, so you know what money you may need to keep aside for home improvements.

  6. Storage space – while the floor plan may seem reasonable with regards to the size and number of rooms, one factor that is sometimes overlooked is the availability of storage space. This may include built-in wardrobes or cupboards, or simply space to keep your belongings.

  7. Windows – are the windows in good condition? If not and they’ll need replacing, you may be able to use this to negotiate a lower offer than the asking price.

  8. Curb appeal – the interior of a property can be changed more easily (and usually cheaper) than the exterior of the property. So it’s important that your new home should reflect your design preference.

  9. The finishing touches – technology such as a security systems or smart thermostats could add value to the property.

  10. Value for money – with easy access to historic property sale data, and free valuations, you need to assess whether the asking price for the house is a true reflection of what it’s worth.