House Solicitor

If you are buying or selling a property, you need an experienced house solicitor or conveyancing solicitor to represent you.

At Lockings Solicitors, we handle house sales and purchases and are independently accredited by the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme.

We always work to complete a property sale or purchase as soon as possible, and if you ask us to represent you, we will make sure that you have regular updates on the progress of your transaction.

We know that property law can be complex, and your house solicitor will be available as needed to explain the conveyancing process to you and discuss any concerns.

We offer a FREE initial chat so that you can ask us any questions you may have about buying or selling a property. Call us on 01482 300 200, email us at welcome@lockings.co.uk or fill in our Free Online Enquiry and we will call you back promptly. We have offices in Beverley, Hull and York and represent clients locally and across the country in freehold sales and purchases. We also deal with leasehold sales and purchases and newbuild purchases for local properties.

Solicitors for buying a house

When you buy a house or flat, your solicitor will carry out extensive work to check the legal title, ensure that any legal restrictions have been adhered to, request searches and check your mortgage offer, if you are taking out a loan.

If you would like us to represent you, you can contact us as soon as you like, even if you have not yet had an offer accepted, and we can talk you through the first steps. We have a secure online portal that you can use to provide us with the information we will need, including your identity documentation.

Once you have found somewhere to buy, give our details to the estate agent, and they will pass these on to the seller’s solicitor. As soon as we receive the contract papers from the seller’s solicitor, we will go through the information provided and return to them with a list of questions. We will also apply for any necessary searches.

You should also give our details to your mortgage lender, if you have one, and they will then be able to issue your mortgage offer to us.

We will report to you on the title of the property and search results, and obtain your signature on the contract and mortgage deed.

The next step is to exchange contracts. We will need a cleared deposit from you, usually of 10% of the purchase price. Alternatively, if you have a related sale, we will use the deposit from that transaction.

We will discuss possible completion dates with you and the other parties, and once a date is agreed upon and everyone is ready to go ahead, contracts will be exchanged. The completion date is set at this point, and the contract becomes legally binding.

Your mortgage advance will be ordered, and you will need to let us have the balance of money. On the day of completion, we will ring you as soon as the seller’s solicitor receives the money from us, so that you can arrange to collect the keys to your new house from the estate agent.

Solicitors for selling a house

If you are selling a property and you would like us to represent you, call us now and we will let you have the forms you will need to fill in. There is often an advantage to dealing with these early on, as you may need to find paperwork to accompany them, such as guarantees and planning consents. By tackling this before you have a buyer, we can be ready to send out the contract package as soon as you accept an offer. This can often reduce the time taken to reach the exchange of contracts.

Why choose Lockings as your house solicitors?

Many of our clients return to us over the years each time they move house, as well as recommending us to their friends and families. The main reasons we are chosen are:

We move you quickly – we always keep in touch with the other parties to ensure your transaction is moving forwards. We are highly experienced and, should difficulties arise, we have the expertise to resolve them promptly and avoid hold-ups.

Excellent client service – we provide regular updates and always take the time to talk through issues as needed. We try to make sure we’re available to speak to you if you call us, and if not, we will call you back straightaway.

Approved by all major high street lenders – if you are buying with a mortgage, you need to use a solicitor who is on your lender’s panel of approved conveyancers. At Lockings Solicitors, we are approved by all major high street mortgage lenders. This means we can represent you and them in your purchase. If you were to use a conveyancer who is not approved by your mortgage lender, you would likely have to pay for the mortgage lender to engage their own legal team.

Independently accredited – we hold the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme accreditation. This is awarded to law firms that meet the society’s criteria for the provision of high-quality legal advice, client care and risk management.

Excellent rating – we are rated as Excellent by our clients and hold over 800 Google reviews.

Diversity and equality – we continue to make improvements in our diversity and equality.

Clear advice – property law can be confusing, and we are committed to providing clear and jargon-free advice and guidance, so that you have the understanding you need to make informed decisions.

Great value for money – our services are provided by highly experienced conveyancing solicitors and represent excellent value for money. If you would like a quote for conveyancing costs, call us today and we will let you have a list of the figures, to include any extras such as search fees and Stamp Duty.

Free initial chat – we offer a free initial conversation so that you can raise any questions you may have and talk through the first steps in getting your transaction underway.

How long does conveyancing take?

The length of time for conveyancing depends on a range of factors, including the size of any chain. All parties with related transactions need to be ready to go ahead before contracts are exchanged, so if there are several sales and purchases to be coordinated, the process can take longer if one party is waiting for something.

Issues which can delay exchange of contracts include:

• Waiting for search results
• Waiting for a survey
• The survey reveals problems and quotes for work are needed
• Legal problems with the title to a property
• Waiting for a mortgage offer

Using experienced solicitors and starting work as soon as possible can reduce the risk of delays.

Contact our expert house solicitors for conveyancing

If you are buying or selling a property and you would like an experienced house solicitor to represent you, please get in touch.

You can ring us for a FREE initial chat on 01482 300 200, email us at welcome@lockings.co.uk or fill in our Free Online Enquiry and we will call you back promptly. We have offices in Beverley, Hull and York and represent clients across the East Yorkshire and York area and beyond.