Buying and Selling Property

 In reply to the question “when’s the best time to get in touch with a solicitor when you’re buying or selling a house?”  The answer is ‘as soon as you possibly can’.  We deal with hundreds of conveyances and are therefore well placed to guide you on all aspects.

Why you should consult a solicitor

Contact us at the outset.  The road to house purchase is riddled with pitfalls and you need someone qualified and experienced to steer you safely through them.  As our advice is completely independent, we can make very helpful suggestions when it comes to choice of mortgage, building society, insurance policy or bank.  Always remember that your home is at risk if you do not keep up payments on a mortgage or other loan which is secured on it.

Supporting our Service

We pride ourselves on personal service.  We have up to date technology to streamline the production of legal documents giving us more time for our clients.

CONVEYANCING CHECK LIST

House Purchase

Find out how much you can borrow on mortgage and what the monthly repayments will be;

If you are in the slightest doubt about the soundness of the property, ask for an independent survey or structural survey;

Find out what fixtures and fittings are included in the sale.  Get a list;

Visit the house more than once – at different times of the day.  If you only call once or twice, you might not notice occasional nuisances;

Look for gates, fences or worn pathways running across the garden of the property.  This could be a tell tale sign of rights of way that will need further investigation.

House Sale

Get a professional valuation of your property, don’t guess;

Instruct a reputable Estate Agent, preferably one known or recommended to you;

Be honest with would-be buyers.  If your property has a serious defect, it will probably show up sooner or later and your disappointed buyers may lose interest.

Find out about your prospective buyers’ circumstances and give preference to those who appear to be reliable and not involved in long chains;

Once you’ve agreed to sell to someone stick with it, as long as you believe them to be bona fide.  Sending out multiple sale contracts to more than one purchaser is expensive;

Have your EPC prepared as a first step before the property is marketed.

 LAW SOCIETY’S NEW QUALITY MARK

 We are pleased to announce that in August 2011, we have secured membership to the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme – the mark of excellence for the home buying process.

Hugh-Jones LLP underwent rigorous assessment by the Law Society in order to secure CQS status, which marks the firm out as meeting high standards in the residential conveyancing process.

Law Society President John Wotton said that the Law Society introduced CQS to promote high standards in the home buying process.

“CQS improves efficiency with common, consistent standards and service levels and enables consumers to recognise practices that provide a quality residential conveyancing service.”

“The overall beneficiaries will be clients who use Hugh-Jones LLP when buying a home. They will receive a reliable, efficient service as recognised by the CQS standard.” 

The scheme requires practices to undergo a strict assessment, compulsory training, self reporting, random audits and annual reviews in order to maintain CQS status. It is open only to members of the Law Society who meet the demanding standards set by the scheme and has the support of the Council of Mortgage Lenders, the Building Societies Association, Legal Ombudsman and the Association of British Insurers.

Please see the Conveyancing Quality Scheme Charter for further information.

You can also view our Client Care Policy by clicking this link.