What is conveyancing?
So you’re looking to buy or sell a home - and now’s the time to choose a solicitor or conveyancer to help make it happen. But what do conveyancers actually do?
When you’re buying a home, they’ll find out everything you need to know about your prospective home and keep a keen eye out for any surprises.
They’ll run local searches, check boundaries, negotiate the key dates and get the contract ready to sign. Finally, they’ll transfer ownership of the home to you.
When you’re selling a home, they’ll tackle the complicated legal side of the selling process. This includes preparing the legal contracts and working with your buyer’s solicitor. They’ll get important documents like title deeds, then transfer them to your buyer, and identify any certificates (gas, electric, boiler etc.) you might need.
Then there’s the other important stuff like settling your mortgage, paying your estate agents’ fees and finally transferring any remaining money over to you.
Then there’s the other important stuff like settling your mortgage, paying your estate agents’ fees and finally transferring any remaining money over to you.
The difference between a conveyancer and a solicitor
Both provide advice on the legal side of buying and selling a property. The main difference is that conveyancers are specialist property lawyers, focusing on buying and selling residential properties.
Solicitors are qualified lawyers, but they offer a range of expertise and legal services beyond just property. So it could be necessary to check they know their stuff if property isn’t their specialist area.
Here's the great news: With the Zoopla panel, you can rest assured that you'll get expert service and advice, whether you choose a conveyancer or a solicitor.
Do I really need a conveyancer or solicitor?
Yes, you should use a professional who has expertise in property law as it is a complex area.
There are a lot of risks attempting the do-it-yourself approach, as you won’t have a full understanding of a complicated legal area.
On top of that, it takes a huge amount of time and effort to manage the whole process.
Any mistakes can be catastrophic. At best, it just costs you money. At worst, it could cause a purchase to fall through, costing you even more money.
Conveyancers are also covered by negligence insurance, so you're not held personally liable for any mistakes in the conveyancing process.
So you might be thinking you’re saving some money, but you might be in for a rude awakening if things go wrong.
In short, it’s simply not worth the risk. So it’s important to choose a trusted, reliable conveyancer or solicitor to handle one of life’s biggest transactions.
Get a quoteWhy use the Zoopla conveyancing solicitor panel?
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Trusted experts that are on your side - Zoopla only work with the best conveyancing solicitors, who will meet its high service standards
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Our panel saves you precious time - All the solicitors use efficient local authority searches, which can save 26 days on average when compared to typical lead times. That means you can get to your dream home faster
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Conveyancing quotes in minutes - Zoopla's useful tool provides speedy and transparent conveyancing quotes while helping you understand fees for easy solicitor comparisons. Remember, 'cheap' doesn't always mean good
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Genuine reviews for peace of mind - Zoopla displays Trustpilot scores for all of its solicitors and conveyancers. This lets you see other people’s experiences and gives you the confidence to make an informed decision
Who is Zoopla?
Confused.com has partnered with Zoopla, and its trusted network of accredited conveyancers, to provide seamless and worry-free home buying or selling.
Zoopla works with conveyancers, mortgage brokers, surveyors and lenders to ensure transactions go smoothly. Zoopla aims to remove the stress, anxiety and excess costs of the buying and selling process.
So you know you’re in the right hands.
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Page last reviewed: 14 December 2023
Reviewed by: Claire Flynn
Confused.com's Conveyancing solution is provided by Zoopla Limited. Registered office; The Cooperage, 5 Copper Row, London, England, SE1 2LH (Company Number 06074771).
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