A Guide to Choosing a Conveyancer for Your Move

The right conveyancer can make the difference between a move that feels managed and one that seems to disappear into a maze of forms, unanswered emails and unexplained delays.

This guide to choosing a conveyancer is designed to help buyers and sellers make a confident decision before the legal work begins.

Ideally, that decision should be made before you desperately need them.

For sellers, choosing a conveyancer while preparing to market your home means the legal work can begin more quickly once a buyer is found. For buyers, having someone selected before making an offer means there is one less job to deal with once the excitement starts.

A good conveyancer cannot remove every complication from a property transaction, but they should explain what is happening, deal with the legal work properly and help you understand what needs to happen next.

What Does a Conveyancer Actually Do?

Conveyancing is the legal process of transferring ownership of a property from one person to another.

Depending on whether you are buying or selling, the work can include:

• Preparing or reviewing contracts
• Checking the legal title
• Dealing with property searches
• Raising and answering legal enquiries
• Reviewing mortgage requirements
• Checking leasehold information
• Handling exchange of contracts
• Transferring purchase funds
• Dealing with Land Registry requirements
• Completing the legal transfer of ownership

The Government’s guide to transferring property ownership gives a useful overview of the conveyancing process.

The legal detail can become more involved where there is a leasehold property, unusual title, shared ownership, probate, previous building work or another complication.

That is why choosing someone on price alone is rarely the best approach.

Choose Your Conveyancer Before the Sale Becomes Urgent

You do not need to wait until an offer has been accepted.

In fact, choosing your conveyancer earlier can make the start of the transaction considerably smoother.

A seller can complete identity checks, sign terms of business and begin preparing the property information paperwork before a buyer is found.

Once the sale is agreed, the conveyancer is then in a better position to issue the initial contract documents without losing several days while the seller shops around for legal quotes.

This can matter even more when there is a property chain.

If five households are linked together, nobody wants to discover that one seller has not yet chosen a conveyancer two weeks after accepting their offer.

Our guide to how long conveyancing takes explains where some of the common delays arise.

Check That the Firm Is Properly Regulated

This should be one of your first checks.

Current GOV.UK guidance explains that residential conveyancing can be handled by appropriately qualified professionals including:

• Solicitors
• Licensed conveyancers
• Chartered legal executives
• CILEX practitioners authorised for the relevant work

You can read the Government’s guidance on finding a solicitor or conveyancer.

The appropriate regulator will depend on the professional and firm you choose.

For example, solicitors’ firms may be regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, while licensed conveyancers are regulated through the Council for Licensed Conveyancers.

Do not rely purely on a logo on a website. Check the firm’s details through the appropriate professional register if you are unsure.

Solicitor or Licensed Conveyancer?

For a normal residential transaction, either can be an excellent choice.

A licensed conveyancer specialises in property-related legal work.

A solicitor may work specifically in conveyancing too, while also belonging to a profession that covers wider areas of law.

The important question is less about the title on their email signature and more about who will actually handle your transaction and what experience they have.

Ask whether they regularly handle properties like yours.

That might be particularly relevant for:

• Leasehold flats
• Shared ownership
• New-build purchases
• Probate sales
• Properties with land
• Unregistered titles
• Listed buildings
• Transfers following separation
• Complex chains

A busy residential property specialist may be a far better fit than a general legal practice that only handles occasional conveyancing work.

If You Need a Mortgage, Check the Lender Panel

This is an important one for buyers.

Mortgage lenders usually have approved panels of legal firms they are prepared to work with.

Before instructing someone, confirm that the conveyancer can act for your chosen lender.

If they cannot, another legal representative may need to become involved, potentially creating extra work, cost and delay.

MoneyHelper includes lender approval among the key questions to ask when choosing a solicitor or conveyancer.

If your mortgage application has not been finalised yet, tell the conveyancer which lender or broker you are currently using and ask what happens if that changes.

Compare the Whole Quote, Not Just the Headline Fee

Conveyancing quotes can look surprisingly different even where the final total is fairly similar.

This is often because the quote contains both:

Legal fees

What the firm charges for carrying out its own work.

Disbursements and third-party costs

Amounts paid to other organisations as part of the transaction, such as searches or Land Registry charges.

When comparing quotes, ask for the likely total cost for your particular transaction, including VAT where applicable.

Also ask what circumstances could trigger additional charges.

Examples might include:

• Leasehold property
• Shared ownership
• New builds
• Gifted deposits
• Lifetime ISA administration
• Unregistered titles
• Help to Buy-related work
• Additional title documents
• Complex legal issues

A cheap quote is not automatically suspicious.

Likewise, an expensive firm is not automatically better.

What matters is understanding what you are paying for.

MoneyHelper recommends comparing several providers and checking that quotes break down the overall costs rather than relying solely on the headline number.

Leasehold Sellers Should Ask About Additional Costs Early

Leasehold transactions usually involve extra work and information.

Your legal firm may charge an additional leasehold fee because they need to deal with matters such as:

• The lease
• Service charges
• Ground rent
• Management information
• Freeholder enquiries
• Major works
• Management company requirements

There may also be separate third-party fees charged by the freeholder or managing agent for management packs, certificates or notices.

These are not necessarily fees your conveyancer controls.

If you are selling a flat or another leasehold property, ask both what the legal firm charges and what additional third-party costs might arise.

Our guide to selling a leasehold property explains what sellers can prepare before a buyer is found.

Ask Who Will Actually Handle Your File

This is one of the most useful questions you can ask.

Some firms provide a named conveyancer with direct contact details.

Others work through larger teams, central telephone systems and online portals.

Neither model is automatically better.

What matters is knowing how yours works.

Ask:

• Who is my main contact?
• Can I speak to them directly?
• Who covers the file when they are away?
• How are updates normally provided?
• Is there an online tracking system?
• Who should my estate agent contact?
• What happens if something becomes urgent?

An online portal can be brilliant for uploading documents and checking basic milestones.

It is less reassuring if you cannot speak to anyone when the entire chain is waiting for an answer.

Communication Matters More Than Constant Chasing

Property transactions involve periods where genuine legal work is happening without much visible progress.

That does not mean your conveyancer should telephone every day.

It does mean you should understand:

• What has been completed
• What is outstanding
• Who is responsible for the next action
• When another update is expected

Pay attention to the communication before you instruct.

Did they answer your original questions?

Was the quote understandable?

Did they respond within a reasonable time?

Did they explain the process without drowning you in legal language?

Those early interactions are not a guarantee of future service, but they can be revealing.

Your Conveyancer and Estate Agent Should Work Together

The roles are different.

Your conveyancer handles the legal work and provides legal advice.

Your estate agent manages the sale, communicates with the buyer and seller and, where appropriate, helps keep the wider property chain visible.

One should not try to replace the other.

At Property Bee, sales progression is a core part of what we do after an offer is accepted.

We keep in touch with buyers, sellers, conveyancers and other estate agents in the chain to understand what has happened and what is still outstanding.

We cannot answer legal enquiries for the conveyancer or give legal advice.

What we can do is notice when a transaction has gone quiet, establish where something is sitting and help keep communication moving.

Our guide to managing a property chain explains why that coordination can become so important.

Does Your Conveyancer Need to Be Local?

Not necessarily.

Modern conveyancing can be handled very effectively without visiting an office.

Documents can be exchanged electronically, identity checks can often be completed remotely and much of the communication takes place by email or telephone.

A local conveyancer may still have advantages.

They may already know particular developments, management companies or unusual title arrangements common in the area.

You may also simply prefer having an office nearby.

But distance should not be the deciding factor.

A responsive conveyancer 50 miles away is likely to be more useful than an office around the corner that never answers the phone.

Choose the service and expertise rather than the postcode.

Ask for Recommendations, but Still Make Your Own Choice

Recommendations can be a useful starting point, particularly from people who deal with conveyancers regularly rather than only using one firm every few years.

At Property Bee, we work with conveyancers every day as part of progressing our sales through to exchange and completion.

That means we see first-hand which firms communicate well, respond when something needs attention and work constructively with the rest of the property chain.

We have trusted conveyancers we are happy to recommend to buyers and sellers who would like somewhere to start.

There is no obligation to use them, and you should still make sure the firm is right for your particular move, but you can get in touch with Property Bee if you would like our recommendations.

Whichever firm you choose, check their regulation, experience, fees and mortgage lender approval where relevant before instructing them.

A recommendation should make the search easier, not replace your own decision.

Read Reviews for Patterns, Not Just Stars

Online reviews can be useful, but look beyond the overall score.

Read recent feedback and look for repeated comments about:

• Communication
• Speed of responses
• Clear explanations
• Named contacts
• Problems being resolved
• Unexpected costs
• Difficulty getting updates

One unhappy review does not necessarily mean a firm should be avoided.

Property transactions can be emotional and complicated, and sometimes delays are genuinely outside the conveyancer’s control.

Patterns matter more than individual comments.

Tell Them About Anything Unusual Before They Quote

A conveyancer can give you a better idea of the work and likely cost if they understand the transaction from the beginning.

Sellers should mention matters such as:

• Leasehold ownership
• Shared ownership
• Probate
• Tenants in the property
• Solar panels
• Previous extensions
• Boundary issues
• Private roads
• Powers of attorney
• Unregistered land

Buyers should mention things such as:

• Gifted deposits
• Lifetime ISAs
• Shared ownership
• Mortgage arrangements
• New-build purchases
• Help from family members
• Unusual ownership arrangements

Do not hide complications because you are worried the quote will increase.

Discovering them halfway through the transaction is unlikely to make them cheaper or easier to deal with.

Questions to Ask Before Choosing a Conveyancer

Before instructing a firm, try to answer these questions:

1. Are you properly regulated?
2. Do you regularly handle residential conveyancing?
3. Have you dealt with properties or transactions like mine?
4. Are you approved by my mortgage lender, if applicable?
5. What is the likely total cost?
6. What might cause additional fees?
7. Who will actually manage my file?
8. Can I speak directly with that person?
9. Who covers their work when they are away?
10. How will you update me?
11. How quickly do you normally respond to enquiries?
12. How will you communicate with my estate agent and the other side?

You do not need the cheapest answer to every question.

You need answers that give you confidence the transaction will receive proper attention.

Choose the Person Who Will Help You Reach Completion

The best conveyancer is not necessarily the closest firm, the cheapest quote or the company with the slickest online portal.

You are looking for someone who understands the transaction, communicates clearly and has the capacity and experience to deal with problems when they arise.

Choose early where possible, give them complete information and respond promptly when they need something from you.

Then let your conveyancer handle the legal work while your estate agent keeps an eye on the wider move.

At Property Bee, we support sales across Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire from valuation through to completion, including hands-on communication once solicitors become involved.

If you have not yet chosen a conveyancer, we can also introduce you to trusted firms we work with regularly and have experience progressing sales alongside.

You can contact Property Bee for our conveyancer recommendations, read our 15 questions to ask an estate agent before selling, or book a property valuation if you are preparing for a move.