One of the best ways to find a good conveyancer is to ask for recommendations from family and friends. Your financial advisor might also recommend a good property solicitor that they work with, and estate agents will often have a selection of panel solicitors that they work with.

It’s important to note that you do not have to go with the solicitor suggested to you by your estate agent. Quite often estate agents work in partnership with solicitor firms, meaning that they will get a referral fee for suggesting you use them to handle your property transaction. This could therefore end up costing you more.

Read online reviews from past clients on the firm’s website, Trustpilot or Google reviews. This will give you a well-rounded idea of what their service is really like.

It is important to understand a solicitor’s fee structure before instructing them. We recommend you look for firms which offer fixed fee, no completion no fee conveyancing services. This means that should the transaction break down for whatever reason, you do not need to pay legal fees – just the cost of third party disbursements already incurred.

Solicitors charge using different fee structures including:

• Fixed fee
• Hourly rate
• A percentage of the property price

Conveyancing solicitors should display their fees on their website or provide an online conveyancing calculator to give you an estimated cost based on the price of the home you are buying or selling. All fees should be broken down and displayed to show the cost of:

• Legal Fees.
• Searches.
• Disbursements.
• Land Registry fees.
• Bank transfer fees.
• Stamp Duty Land Tax – on properties valued over £125,000.

Make sure that you fully understand and have read the terms of service from the property solicitor or conveyancer before you instruct them to act for you. It is important to know:

• What their fee structure is.
• What their policy is if the transaction breaks down – i.e. will you still be required to pay for their services if the vendor pulls out of the sale.
• What their working hours are and how easily they can be contacted – i.e. can you contact them via email, phone, post and face to face.

Evidence of accreditations, such as the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme, will provide you with peace of mind that your chosen firm will provide a reputable service.

Check that your solicitor is on your mortgage lender’s approved panel of solicitors. Some mortgage lenders may insist that you choose a solicitor from their panel.  Before you instruct a solicitor check with them that they are on your mortgage lender’s panel before going any further.

True Solicitors are on the panel for all major high street lenders, including but not limited to:

• Halifax
• RBS
• Barclays
• Santander
• TSB
• HSBC
• Virgin
• NatWest
• Nationwide Building Society
• Newcastle Building Society
• Leeds Building Society