Residential Conveyancing

Buying a new home can be an extremely stressful experience, especially as it is likely to be one of the biggest purchases that you will ever make.

Braddon and Snow has a large and extremely experienced conveyancing team, who will be able to make the process as straightforward as possible, whether it is your first step on the property ladder or you are buying your dream home. 

Our Conveyancing department can assist you whether the property involved is a flat, house or mansion. We endeavour to provide you with a fixed price quotation before we start. Our conveyancing services include:

Shared ownership properties and the specific legal complexities surrounding these properties are an area of special interest for our Conveyancing team. Please contact our offices to discuss the specialist advice which we can offer in these cases.

Why trust our residential conveyancing solicitors with your home?

The quality of our residential conveyancing service is illustrated by the amount of returning business we receive from satisfied clients and from those to whom we have been recommended.

We are well known for our expertise and experience in residential property transactions. Our clients include private individuals, trustees, companies, builders and landowners who all have a common need for specialist yet cost effective advice.

Our team is independently accredited by the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) in recognition of the high standards of our residential property services.

Speak to our residential conveyancing solicitors in Hoddesdon or Broxbourne

For a free, no obligation conveyancing quote or to find out more about how we can help you, please get in touch:

How we can help with your residential conveyancing

Buying residential property

We can guide you through the whole legal process of buying a property, whether it’s your first home, you’re moving in, or your buying as an investment.

Our residential conveyancing solicitors can assist with matters including:

  • Reviewing contracts of sale & Home Information Packs (HIPs)
  • Raising queries with the seller’s solicitors
  • Negotiating amends to the terms of the sale
  • Carrying out conveyancing checks
  • Handling exchange of contracts
  • Transferring the deposit to the seller’s solicitors
  • Transferring the outstanding balance to the seller’s solicitors on completion
  • Handling payment of Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT)
  • Registering the change of ownership with the Land Registry

Find out more about how we can help with sale and purchase conveyancing.

Selling residential property

When selling a property, there are various key legal steps you need to go through to ensure a smooth sale and keep yourself protected.

Our residential conveyancers can assist with matters including:

  • Requesting a redemption statement from your mortgage lender
  • Drafting contracts of sale
  • Putting together Home Information Packs (HIPs)
  • Answering queries raised by the buyer’s solicitors
  • Negotiating any required amends to the contracts of sale
  • Handling exchange of contracts
  • Taking receipt of the buyer’s deposit
  • Taking receipt of the balance of payment on completion
  • Using the funds received to pay off your existing mortgage and transferring any remaining balance to you
  • Paying any applicable taxes (such as Capital Gains Tax when selling a rental property)

Find out more about how we can help with sale and purchase conveyancing.

Transfer of equity

Transfer of equity allows you to add or remove someone from the title of a property and your mortgage. It is usually carried out in situations such as where a couple are getting married and one spouse needs to be added to the ownership of a property or where a couple are getting divorced and one spouse needs to be removed from the ownership of a property.

Our Residential Conveyancing Team can help with every stage of a transfer of equity, including:

  • Dealing with your mortgage lender
  • Registering the change of ownership with the Land Registry
  • Creating a declaration of trust to clarify what portion of a jointly owned property each person is entitled to

Our Wills & Probate Team can also assist with updating your Will to reflect the change in your circumstances where required.

Find out more about how we can help with transfers of equity.

Remortgaging

Remortgaging can allow you to cut your monthly repayments, borrow more or rent out your old home. Our team can help you get the right terms for your new mortgage and keep the remortgaging process as straightforward and smooth as possible.

We can guide you through every stage of remortgaging, including:

  • Requesting a redemption statement from your current lender (showing how much you need to repay and any fees for early repayment)
  • Reviewing the terms of your new mortgage
  • Handling transfer of funds from your new lender to your old lender
  • Registering the change of lender with the Land Registry

Find out more about how we can help with remortgages.

Lease extensions

As a leaseholder, extending your lease can significantly increase the value of your home, as well as making it more desirable to potential buyers.

Our team can help with all types of lease extensions and related issues, including:

  • Statutory lease extensions
  • Private lease extensions by voluntary agreement with the freeholder
  • Buying the freehold on a leasehold property

Find out more about how we can help with lease extensions.

Our residential conveyancing fees

We typically offer fixed fee conveyancing, where we agree a price in advance to complete every stage of your transaction. This price will include our fees and the costs we pay to third parties (known as ‘disbursements’) for things like property searches.

This approach means you will know exactly how much your conveyancing should cost from the outset, so you can budget accordingly.

In the unlikely event that any unexpected complexities or other issues arise during the course of your transaction, or there is a change to your instructions, we will agree any resultant change in fees with you in advance.

To see how much your conveyancing might cost, you can request a conveyancing quote.

Find out more about our residential conveyancing pricing.

Residential conveyancing FAQs

How long does conveyancing take?

This will depend on the type of transaction and the issues involved. Buying or selling a property and lease extensions can typically be completed in around 4-12 weeks, unless there are any major unexpected issues to deal with. Remortgaging and transfer of equity can often be completed faster, but again, it depends on the issues involved.

How much does conveyancing cost?

This will depend on various factors, including the value of the property, what types of conveyancing searches need to be carried out and any specific issues that need to be dealt with.

To see how much your conveyancing might cost, you can request a conveyancing quote.

What conveyancing searches do you need?

The main conveyancing searches you will need to have carried out when buying a property are:

Local Authority Searches – checking for issues such as whether the building is listed, if it’s in a conversation area and whether there are any new property developments or roads planned in the area.

Water and Draining Searches – checking who is responsible for the property’s water supply and sewerage and for issues such as whether there are any public sewers running under the property.

Environmental Searches – checking for any issues connected to previous use of the land or other environmental risks, such as the potential for landslides and subsidence, contamination of the land and risk of flooding.

Other searches that may be required depending on where the property is include:

Mining Searches – if the property is in an area where mining activity was previous carried out, this type of search can determine whether there is any risk of the ground under the property being unstable as a result.

Chancel Repair Liability Searches – where a property is within the parish of a church, there is the potential that the property owner could be liable to contribute towards the cost of maintaining that church. Checking with the Land Registry allows you to see whether this applies to your property.

Why do you need a lawyer to do conveyancing for you?

Technically, no, you could handle the process yourself. But there are a number of good reasons why you really should get an expert to do your conveyancing for you:

  1. Professional expertise – a good conveyancer will know all of the details that need to be taken care of and make sure nothing is missed that could hold up your conveyancing or end up costing you more.
  2. Liability insurance – law firms are required to have substantial liability insurance policies in place. This means if they do make a mistake that costs you money, you’ll be covered. If you do your own conveyancing, you won’t be.
  3. Speed – your conveyancer will be doing these types of transactions all the time, so they will be able to get right on with it. If you do it yourself, you’ll have to figure the whole process out yourself, which is likely to take much longer.
  4. Cost-effectiveness – While it might seem cheaper to do your own conveyancing, it’s usually a false economy. There are various reasons for this, including the amount of time it takes, which often requires people to take time out of work, and the risk of making mistakes or running into avoidable issues that end up costing you more.
  5. Less stress – conveyancing can be very stressful if you don’t know what you’re doing. Letting a professional handle the process for you makes things much easier and can allow you to focus on the other things you need to take care of.

Speak to our residential conveyancing solicitors in Hoddesdon or Broxbourne

For a free, no obligation conveyancing quote or to find out more about how we can help you, please get in touch:

What our clients say

  • "No improvement to service needed. Alison was the epitome of professional calm in going over options and maintaining patience, and indeed advised against a path that certainly would have achieved higher fees for her, but the correct call in retrospect. So I feel her advice was professional and unbiased. She was attentive in keeping me appraised of news, and maintained a polite and stress free approach which kept me calm and optimistic a final result in my favour would occur. Would recommend her, and the firm, to others." Anon
  • “Dealt with Alison primarily for Power of Attorney, very helpful and polite.” Anon
  • “I cannot think of any way that we could have had better service!!!” Anon
  • "Our solicitor has been extremely conscientious at all times, always available to advise and above all has always been very supportive and empathetic to my case. He really did make a stressful situation a lot easier for myself and my family" Mrs T
  • "We used this wonderful firm for a recent home sale and purchase, their service was outstanding. Everything was carried out with the utmost care and attention and all the staff including a senior Partner were so friendly and helpful. Absolutely top notch." Anon
  • "Over the past 8 years Teresa Braddon and her team have created my Will and have done numerous conveyancing transactions for myself and my family.  I have found Teresa and her Team most helpful and efficient. Everything was carried out with care and attention. All the staff including Teresa, a senior Partner, were friendly and helpful. I would recommend Braddon and Snow and their services." Tony Stavrou
  • "I would highly recommend Braddon & Snow to anybody, very professional and efficient service. They treat you like a person rather than just a number. I am mentally disabled and sometimes I do not get respect or understanding shown to me. Braddon & Snow couldn’t of been more kind and they always took the time to explain all the legal terminology to me so I understood. I would especially like to thank Emily Morten and Jane Blackett as they really went above and beyond what they had to. Value for money and excellent staff. Use this company."  Mr M Brooke
  • "Thank you all so very much for all your help and kindest attention over the years.   In every conceivable way you go out of your way, above and beyond any expectations. You are incredible, and all your team are unbelievably pleasant. I hope these few lines go a little way to thank you so very much."  Mr M Ledger
  • "May I say that Laya has been fantastic.  She has been an absolute delight to speak with, always giving clear and positive instructions and pacifying when necessary.  Please be assured we will definitely recommend your company and hopefully be in a position to use your services again and again." L Page
  • "We found dealing with Braddon & Snow very pleasant and relaxed.  We had a few problems dealing with the seller's leaseholder solicitors which needed a lot of patience and Teresa and Laya were very helpful at all times and very easy to communicate with." R & J Keith
  • It’s been an absolute delight and superb to work your Conveyance Team of Jane Blackett and Emily, providing first class services. Dedicated and smart resolutions to most difficult queries. Our sincerest and dearest appreciation for their magnificent services and friendly communication throughout
  • I appreciate the efficiency of your team (Louise, Sara, Elle, Melanie, Alex, Lauren etc) during this crisis. You were always easy to get and had a great phone forwarding system with access to the details on transactions. Everybody was very helpful, responsive and friendly. You can be proud of the company you work for. 
  • I cannot speak highly enough of the service given to me in the sale and purchase of my properties last week by Jane Blackett and Ken Sheppard at the Broxbourne office. They dealt with my matters promptly and with care and commitment. Nothing was too much trouble and they were always there to speak to me when needed. Everything was done with professionalism and courtesy. They ensured that everything was covered and I felt very confident in their dealings with all matters concerned. I recommend them without hesitation to give their clients a smooth and excellent service.
  • The best thing throughout this process was the professionalism shown by the Conveyancing Team at Braddon and Snow Solicitors, our case was handled by Melanie and her very able assistant Roksana.  Although we were frustrated and sometimes very ratty, they kept very calm and dealt with all of our enquiries and problems as they came along, most of all they kept us advised and up to date.  We in all honesty could not have asked for or been supported any better by these two Ladies. Towards the end, we were calling Roksana on a regular daily basis, and were delighted to hear her positive and cheerful friendly voice.  I would highly recommend these Ladies to anyone, unlike the Firm that they were dealing with, who would not even respond to their calls.