Buying
Buying a home? Here's what your conveyancing solicitor actually checks.
Every purchase comes down to the same question before exchange: can you buy this property safely, on these terms, with nothing left unresolved? Here's what that checking actually involves, and where the buyer-specific decisions sit.
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What the solicitor checks on the title before you can exchange.
Your solicitor's job before exchange is to confirm the seller can actually sell what you've agreed to buy, on the terms you think you've agreed. That starts with the HM Land Registry title: the proprietorship register (who legally owns it) and the charges register (any mortgages, restrictions or rights that sit against it, and that need clearing or accounting for on completion).
From there, the checks widen out. Restrictive covenants that limit what can be built or how the property can be used. Rights of way or easements that cross the boundary. Whether any extension, conservatory or loft conversion has the planning permission and building regulations sign-off it needed at the time. Where paperwork is missing for older works, an indemnity policy is sometimes used to cover the risk rather than delay the purchase chasing documents that may not exist any more.
Anything that raises a genuine question goes back to the seller's solicitor as a formal enquiry, and exchange doesn't happen until the answers are in and satisfactory — that's the whole point of doing this before you're legally committed, not after.
Timing
Why your position in the chain matters.
Exchange is simultaneous up and down a chain: every solicitor in it exchanges at the same moment, because no one wants to be legally committed to sell without also being committed to buy. That means a date only gets fixed once everyone in the chain — not just you and your seller — is genuinely ready.
If you're at the bottom of a chain with no purchase above you, your timing mostly depends on your own file and your seller's. If you're in the middle, or your seller is themselves relying on someone else's purchase completing, delays elsewhere in the chain reach you even when your own paperwork is finished. It isn't a sign anything has gone wrong on your matter specifically — it's how the structure works.
This is also why regular chain updates matter as much as the legal work itself. We check in with the other solicitors in the chain as things move, so you know roughly where things stand rather than only hearing from us when there's a decision for you to make.
Two Different Things
Mortgage valuation vs a survey — they're not the same check.
The mortgage valuation
Arranged by your lender, for your lender. It confirms the property is worth at least what they're being asked to lend against. It isn't a report on the property's condition, and it isn't written for you — you may only see a brief summary of it, if anything at all.
The survey
Commissioned separately by you, for you. It actually inspects the property — damp, roof condition, structural movement, and similar — and gives you something to act on before exchange, whether that's a repair estimate, a renegotiation, or simply peace of mind.
Having both matters because they answer different questions. A clean valuation tells you the lender is satisfied with the number; it says nothing about whether the roof needs replacing in two years. Skipping the survey because the valuation came back fine is one of the more common ways buyers end up finding out about a property's condition after they already own it.
Buying Differently
Buying with someone else, a gifted deposit, or through a company — what changes.
01
Buying with someone else
Buying jointly raises a decision about how you hold the property — as joint tenants, with equal shares that pass automatically to the survivor, or as tenants in common, which allows unequal shares reflecting unequal contributions. We'll explain the mechanics as part of your purchase, but this is a decision worth thinking through in advance, especially where contributions differ, and isn't a substitute for independent advice on your wider circumstances.
02
A gifted deposit
If part of your deposit is a gift rather than your own money, both your lender and your solicitor need to see where it came from and confirm, usually with a signed gift letter, that it's genuinely a gift and not a loan that creates a claim over the property. This is a Money Laundering Regulations requirement as much as a lender one, which is why our quote includes a small additional fee — £150 — to cover the extra source-of-funds checks involved.
03
Buying through a limited company or SPV
Buying via a company adds company-level searches and identity checks on every director, and if the lender requires a personal guarantee from directors, that's a separate piece of work again. Our quote reflects this directly: £100 for a limited company purchase, plus £150 per director where a guarantee is needed. Stamp Duty is also charged at standard rates regardless of buyer type — 0% up to £125,000, 2% up to £250,000, 5% up to £925,000, 10% up to £1.5 million and 12% above that, as a general guide, since company purchases don't qualify for individual reliefs like the first-time buyer rate.
Your Quote
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in minutes.
A few quick questions get you a complete, itemised quote for your purchase: legal fees, disbursements and government fees, each shown separately.
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Your Quote
Professional fees, incl. VAT
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Disbursements
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Government fees
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Total: — Disbursements and government fees are estimates and will be finalised before exchange; for leasehold properties the landlord's own Lessor's Registration Fee is not included, as it is set at the landlord's discretion.
Important information
This quote is based on the information you have given us. If something material changes or additional information comes to light during the transaction, we will tell you and agree any change with you before it applies. To comply with Money Laundering Regulations we verify the identity of all clients, including through an online ID verification service.
Almost done
Where should we send it?
Your solicitor raises it as an enquiry before exchange rather than letting it surface after you've committed. Depending on what it is, the seller's solicitor may resolve it directly, an indemnity insurance policy may be used to cover the risk, or in rarer cases it can delay exchange until it's sorted out. You're kept informed at each step rather than finding out on completion day.
It can. Exchange happens simultaneously up and down a chain, so a date only gets fixed once every solicitor in it, and every buyer and seller, is ready. Being in the middle of a longer chain means your timing depends on parts of the transaction your own solicitor isn't handling directly, which is why regular updates from us matter as much as the work on your own file.
They serve different purposes. A mortgage valuation confirms to the lender that the property is worth what they're lending against; it isn't a report on the property's condition, and you often won't see the full detail of it yourself. A separate survey, commissioned by you, actually inspects the property and flags issues like damp, structural movement, or roof condition — the kind of thing a valuation isn't designed to catch.
Yes, and it's worth thinking about early. Buying as joint tenants means you own the property equally and it passes automatically to the survivor; buying as tenants in common lets you hold unequal shares, which matters if you're contributing different amounts. Your conveyancing solicitor can explain the mechanics, but for anything involving your will, tax position, or a formal agreement between you, that's a conversation for a solicitor advising you personally rather than something covered by the conveyancing itself.
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