Conveyancing guides
Plain English explanations and checklists for every stage of buying, selling, remortgaging and commercial property. Stuck on a word? The jargon buster and the questions and answers explain it.
Getting started
The conveyancing process: from accepted offer to keys
What happens between an accepted offer and moving day, what your conveyancer does at each stage, what you need to do and how long it commonly takes.
3-minute readCan you do your own conveyancing? What it involves and where it goes wrong
Doing your own conveyancing is allowed in England and Wales, but mortgage lenders insist on a conveyancer. What the work involves and where it goes wrong.
4-minute readHow long does conveyancing take? Timescales and how to keep things moving
How long buying or selling a home usually takes, where the weeks go, what slows a move down and what you can do to keep yours on track.
5-minute readHow to choose a property solicitor or conveyancer
What to check before you instruct a conveyancer: regulation, lender panels, relevant experience, communication, clear pricing and protection from fraud.
4-minute readProperty chains explained: how they work and how to keep yours moving
What a property chain is, why everyone in it exchanges and completes on the same day, what happens when one link breaks, and what you can do to keep your own part moving.
Buying
Buying a home with Islamic finance
How Sharia-compliant home finance works for a purchase: Ijara, Diminishing Musharaka and Murabaha, the provider's documents, who owns the home, property tax and what the conveyancing costs.
6-minute readBuying a new build home: the legal steps
Reservation deadlines, the developer's contract pack, warranties, longstop dates, snagging, estate charges and mortgage timing for new build buyers.
6-minute readBuying property at auction: the legal side
What to check in the legal pack, what happens when the hammer falls, deposits and fees, finance timing and how the modern method of auction differs.
6-minute readBuying property through a limited company
Why landlords buy through a company, how property tax and lending differ, the Companies House checks and the documents your conveyancer needs.
6-minute readExchange and completion day: what happens and when
What exchange of contracts means, how the deposit and completion date work, what happens hour by hour on completion day and how to avoid payment fraud.
3-minute readGazumping and gazundering: what they are and how to protect yourself
Why an accepted offer on a home is not binding until contracts are exchanged, what gazumping and gazundering mean, and what buyers and sellers can do to protect themselves.
4-minute readIdentity and source of funds checks: what your conveyancer asks for, and why
Why every conveyancer must check who you are and where your money comes from before it can act for you, what to have ready, and how to keep your money safe from fraud on the way.
3-minute readJoint tenants or tenants in common: owning a home with someone else
When you buy a home with someone else, you choose how you own it together. What joint tenants and tenants in common mean, which suits whom, how to record unequal shares and how to change your choice later.
7-minute readProperty searches explained: what they show and why they matter
What local authority, drainage, environmental and location-specific searches reveal, why lenders need them and what happens if one shows a problem.
4-minute readProperty surveys explained: which survey you need before you buy
What a survey tells you that the legal work does not, the three levels of RICS Home Survey and which suits which home, why a mortgage valuation is not a survey, and what to do if the surveyor finds a problem.
Selling
Selling a property as an executor: probate property sales
How executors and administrators sell a home after a death: the grant, signing, tax, empty property insurance, clearing the home and timescales.
7-minute readSelling your home: the legal steps from offer to completion
The legal side of selling, from ID checks and property forms to buyer enquiries, your mortgage, exchange and completion, and how to avoid delays.
Leasehold
Lease extensions explained: routes, costs and the 2024 reforms
Why lease length matters, the statutory and informal routes to extend, how the premium is worked out, typical costs and where the 2024 reforms stand.
6-minute readLeasehold explained: buying and selling with a lease
How leases work, why the years left matter, what ground rent and service charges cover, and the extra checks a leasehold sale or purchase needs.
7-minute readShared ownership explained: buying, staircasing and selling
How shared ownership works in England, including rent, service charges, stamp duty options, mortgages, buying more shares and selling your home.
Finance
Bridging finance: the legal work, costs and risks
How bridging loans work: regulated and unregulated lending, the lender's solicitors, valuations, exit strategies, the legal costs you pay and the risks.
7-minute readGifted deposits, Lifetime ISAs and Help to Buy ISAs
How gifted deposits and ISA savings work when you buy a home: the checks, the paperwork and the timing that gets the money there when it is needed.
4-minute readGifting a property to family: tax, mortgages and the legal steps
Giving a home, or a share of one, to a relative: lender consent, Stamp Duty, Capital Gains Tax, the seven-year rule for Inheritance Tax and the transfer itself.
5-minute readRemortgaging explained: the legal steps and your options
Why people remortgage, product transfers versus switching lender, what the conveyancer does, timescales, leasehold points and free legal offers.
5-minute readRepaying a Help to Buy equity loan when you sell or remortgage
How a Help to Buy equity loan is repaid when you sell or remortgage: the valuation, the £200 fee, what your conveyancer does and how long it takes.
5-minute readTransfer of equity explained: adding or removing an owner
Lender consent, the transfer deed (TR1), identity checks, stamp duty on a share of the mortgage with a worked example, separation and HM Land Registry.
Costs and tax
How much does conveyancing cost? Fees for buying, selling and remortgaging
What conveyancing usually costs in England and Wales: the law firm's fee, searches, HM Land Registry fees, VAT and the other costs on a quote, with the figures to expect and how to keep the total down.
6-minute readStamp duty and property tax: SDLT and LTT
How property tax is worked out in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with worked examples, reliefs, surcharges and filing deadlines.
6-minute readUnderstanding a conveyancing quote, line by line
What each part of a conveyancing quote means, from the legal fee and VAT to searches and HM Land Registry fees, and how to compare quotes like for like.
Commercial
Buying commercial property: the legal steps explained
The buying entity, searches, the standard pre-contract enquiries (CPSE), tenants, VAT and going concern transfers, capital allowances, property tax and completion on a commercial purchase.
6-minute readCommercial leases explained for tenants and landlords
Heads of terms, breaks, rent reviews, repairs, service charges, security of tenure and Stamp Duty Land Tax: what to understand before you sign a business lease.
7-minute readRenewing a commercial lease in England and Wales
How business lease renewals work under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954: notices, court deadlines, grounds for opposing, interim rent and new terms.
6-minute readVAT on commercial property explained
When VAT is charged on commercial property, how the option to tax and going concern rules work, and how VAT affects your cash and property tax.