Conveyancing and solicitors

When you’re buying your first property, it can be helpful to know how each part of the process works. In this helpful guide we look at:

  • What conveyancing is

  • Who carries it out

  • How much it costs

  • How long it might take

Simply answer questions about your mortgage goals and if you’re mortgage-ready, we can arrange for you to speak to one of our experts.

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What is conveyancing?

Conveyancing is the term for the legal administrative process required during the transfer of ownership of a property.

This can be required in a number of circumstances, such as:

  • When ownership of a property is transferred from seller to buyer

  • Transferring property ownership from joint names into one name or vice versa

  • Remortgaging onto a new mortgage with a new lender

What’s the difference between a solicitor and a conveyancer?

A solicitor can generally assist in a wide range of legal matters, whereas a licensed conveyancer only specialises in property law. You can choose to use either a conveyancing solicitor or a licensed conveyancer to assist with your property transfer in the UK, however, solicitors are often more costly.

In Scotland you may find that it’s more common to use a licensed conveyancer, whereas the rest of the UK tends to use solicitors who offer conveyancing services.

What do conveyancing solicitors do?

There are a number of elements to conveyancing work throughout the mortgage application process. These largely fall into:

  • Drafting of contracts - Conveyancers create and/or review property sale contract documentation for the transfer of title deeds from one individual to another

  • Searches - This is research carried out with local authorities, utility companies and environmental agencies to determine any issues that could impact the property value and sale. For example, risk of subsidence, or planned local developments. They will typically send you a report with the draft contract detailing their findings

  • Negotiation with other parties - Your conveyancer will raise any issues discovered during their research and work with them to resolve these before contracts are exchanged

  • Exchange of contracts - Once both parties are in agreement on the sale, conveyancers exchange contracts between them to finalise the agreement, making it legally binding

  • Financial transfers - The transfer of funds, both your deposit and the loan from the mortgage lender on completion, are passed to the seller through conveyancers

  • Post sale administration - Once the property sale is complete, conveyancers also register the change of property ownership with Land Registry and usually make any required stamp duty payments to HMRC on your behalf

How much does conveyancing cost? 

This can vary depending on the services needed, how straightforward your purchase is, and the value of your home, as well as whether you choose to use a conveyancer or solicitors. When buying a property, you can usually expect to pay over £1000 but it could be upwards of £2000 in conveyancing fees. If you also need to sell a property, you may face additional costs. You should ask your solicitor about costs to get an estimate.

There is also variation in cost between different firms, as well as the elements that are charged for and how they charge. So for example, you may pay:

  • 1.

    An hourly rate for the conveyancer

  • 2.

    A fixed conveyancing fee

  • 3.

    A fee based on a certain percentage of the property value

Who pays conveyancing fees?

Both buyers and sellers are responsible for their own fees (unless these costs are included as part of the mortgage deal). It’s usually more expensive for those who are both buying and selling a property, than for a first-time buyer who only has to pay buyer fees, or someone selling but not purchasing another property. 

Keep in mind that some mortgage deals include an incentive of elements or the entire conveyancing process for free. This can save money, but you won’t typically have a choice in which solicitor is used.

Do Mojo do conveyancing?

No. We are your broker, so we help you sort and save on the mortgage, but we don't employ conveyancers. However, we can can provide quotes for most of the things you need, such as protection insurance which we have a dedicated team of experts for, or conveyancing, which we provide through our partners, Smoove.

How long does conveyancing take?

It could be as little as two-three months, but it could also take five months or more. It's important to stay in touch with your solicitor for regular updates. The circumstances surrounding your property sale and/or purchase, as well as current market conditions all typically impact how long it takes.

Those with no chain may be able to complete in as little as 4 weeks, and if it’s simply adding or removing a name from the deeds it can be even quicker than that.

What could potentially delay the conveyancing process?

At the other end of the scale, delays can mean that the conveyancing process could take considerably longer than average. For example, the below situations tend to take longer than average:

  • Leasehold purchases

  • New build property purchases where the build is delayed

  • Properties purchased through government home ownership schemes

  • Issues found in the searches that take time to resolve

  • Probate sales and purchases

Conveyancing FAQs

It’s possible, although not all lenders are happy with this. It’s also worth considering that unless you are a qualified conveyancer yourself, it could be a risky way to save money. Particularly if you miss something that a more experienced professional would have picked up on, as this could end up costing you more in the long run.

Unfortunately yes you will usually have to pay conveyancers for the work already carried out if your sale or purchase falls through. There are firms that offer a no sale, no fee agreement. However, this won’t usually cover all costs, so be sure that you understand exactly which costs you’d need to pay if this happened. 

Searches are usually enquiries made with local authorities, utility companies such as water authorities and environmental agencies. They are looking for potential future issues or risks surrounding the property you want to buy. This could be anything from flood vulnerability to plans for a motorway behind your property.

It depends whether or not you plan to change lenders. If you’re simply doing a product transfer by remortgaging onto another deal with your existing lender, you won’t usually need one. 

However, if you’re changing lenders, the mortgage details will need to be updated on the deeds, so some form of solicitor will need to deal with this for you.

Some mortgage lenders offer free legals or fee-assisted legals, which basically means they'll cover some of the legal costs when you're remortgaging or purchasing a property.

​What’s included?

The lender will typically appoint a solicitor or conveyancer to handle the legal aspects of your case. They will help with:

  • Checking the property title

  • Paying off your existing mortgage (if remortgaging)

  • Registering your new mortgage with the Land Registry

​Free legals generally cover the basics, but there could be extra costs for:

  • Leasehold properties (such as checking ground rent or service charges)

  • Transfer of equity (adding or removing someone from the mortgage)

  • Handling more complex or non-standard situations

  • Additional searches or checks required by your lender

Free legals can be a simple and cost-effective option, especially for straightforward cases. It's worth keeping in mind, though, that since the lender typically chooses the solicitor, you might not have as much flexibility in selecting who handles your case.

Signing the solicitor’s documents is typically a step in the legal process to finalise your mortgage, but it doesn’t necessarily lock you into the rate or application. Here’s what to consider:

Mortgage offer terms Once your mortgage offer is issued, your rate is usually locked in for a specific period (usually around three to six months). Signing the documents with your solicitor doesn’t typically alter this; it simply moves the process forward.

Legal commitments Signing documents with your solicitor may confirm your agreement to proceed with the mortgage, but the final commitment happens at completion, when funds are released to purchase or refinance the property.

Flexibility to change If you’re reconsidering your rate or application, you may still have time to make changes. It’s important to communicate with your solicitor and mortgage advisor as soon as possible to understand your options before completion.

If you have any doubts, it’s a good idea to check directly with your solicitor or lender to clarify what signing the documents means in your specific case. They’ll provide guidance tailored to your situation.