From offer to keys, step by step
A typical freehold purchase runs eight to twelve weeks. Here's what happens at each stage.
An itemised quote the same working day. Accept online, do ID checks from your phone, and your solicitor opens the file.
We request the contract pack, order the local authority, drainage and environmental searches, and start work on the title.
We raise enquiries on anything the searches or title throw up and chase weekly until they're answered, then send you a plain-English report.
You sign, your deposit is paid, and we exchange. The deal is now legally binding and your completion date is set.
Funds move, keys are released, and you're in. We then file your Stamp Duty return and register you at the Land Registry.
We send a milestone update at every stage, and your solicitor's direct line is on every email.
One fixed fee, agreed before we start
Your quote itemises our legal fee and every disbursement. The number we quote is the number you pay.
Leasehold, new build and auction work is priced up front too.
Quote MOVE150 for £150 off buying fees, SELL100 for £100 off selling fees, or DUO250 for £250 off a combined sale and purchase. Mention the code in your enquiry and we'll apply it to your quote.
Get my discounted quote → Fixed fee · Itemised · Same working dayWhat we charge
We publish fee ranges for this work under the SRA Transparency Rules. Every figure — what each price covers, what it excludes, and the disbursements and government charges to expect — is on our fees & service information page, kept in one place so it is never out of date. You get a written, itemised quotation with an exact figure before instructing us.
Every kind of move, covered
If it involves the title to a home, it's our bread and butter.
Searches ordered on day one, enquiries chased weekly, and a plain-English report before you sign.
Freehold · Leasehold · First-time buyersYour contract pack goes out the day we're instructed and buyer enquiries are answered fast, so your sale sets the pace.
Sole sale · Sale & purchase chainsWe pay off your old mortgage and register the new one before your current rate runs out.
New lender · Product transfer · Equity releaseAdding or removing someone from the title after a separation, marriage or gift, handled sensitively with the lender squared away.
Separation · Gifts · Joint-to-soleDeveloper deadlines, staircasing and lease terms need a careful eye. We exchange inside the reservation window, not after it.
Off-plan · Staircasing · Help to Buy redemptionWe review the legal pack before you bid and hit the 28-day deadline after the hammer falls.
Pre-bid pack review · 28-day completionSharia-compliant home purchase, done properly.
We're one of the few CQS-accredited London firms with real experience in halal mortgages and Islamic finance.
What you're actually paying for
Conveyancing is risk-hunting: searches, enquiries and checks find problems while they're still the seller's, not after they've become yours.
The searches, decoded
Planning permissions and refusals, building-control sign-off, enforcement notices, road schemes and conservation areas.
What it catches: the loft conversion that never got building-control sign-off.
Mains water and sewer connections, whether drains are adopted, and whether a public sewer runs under the property.
What it catches: the extension you're planning sitting on top of a public sewer.
Flood risk, contamination from past industrial use, and ground stability.
What it catches: the bargain plot that used to be a landfill.
Where the area or title calls for it, we'll recommend more, like a coal-mining search in parts of Leicestershire. Always at cost, explained before we order.
The disbursements, itemised
Disbursements are costs we pay out on your behalf, at cost with no mark-up. On a typical purchase:
Your quote shows the exact figures before you commit; full fee details are on our fees page.
Stamp duty, without the surprise
What you owe depends on the price, your residence status, and whether this is your first home or an additional property. First-time buyers often pay nothing; an additional property adds a surcharge.
We calculate it at quote stage, collect it with your completion funds, and file the return within HMRC's 14-day deadline.
Stamp duty on alternative finance has its own relief rules; see our Sharia-compliant purchase page.
Check the lease length before you fall in love.
Below about 80 years, extending a lease gets markedly more expensive and lenders get nervous. We review the years remaining, ground rent, service charges and the management pack, and tell you plainly what they mean for resale.
The people on your file
A named solicitor who knows your move, backed by a team clients mention by name in their reviews.
From people who just moved
"Waterstone were the cheapest quote we could find, but the service was five-star. Replies within the hour, every time — and Darius pushed the other side's solicitors whenever things slowed. I'd choose them again without hesitation."
"As we neared completion the buyer's side raised endless questions. Nithi checked and answered every one, kept me informed throughout, and pushed us to exchange as fast as possible. Kind, diligent — a great job."
Across ReviewSolicitors and Trustpilot, most of them from movers like you.
Read more reviews →Conveyancing questions people ask us
The ones we hear most, answered straight. For anything else, call us.
Call 020 7063 9040Two minutes now.
Your itemised quote today.
Tell us about your move and we'll send an itemised fixed-fee quote the same working day, even if you're still viewing.