RESIDENTIAL
CONVEYANCING

Residential Conveyancing – Leeds, Bradford and the UK

It is a big decision to move house and the right legal advice is a necessity. We are committed to providing a comprehensive, quality service for you.

Hallam Solicitors, based in Headingley, Leeds, guarantee an open and honest approach throughout the process, so you are fully aware of all legal issues. We are experts in all aspects of conveyancing.

As conveyancing solicitors, we cover properties in Headingley, Meanwood, Adel, Cookridge, Bramhope, Shadwell, Kirkstall and all LS postcodes. Our conveyancing department also supports clients in Bradford and BD postcodes as well as clients across the UK. In fact, although we are a Yorkshire business, nearly a quarter of our conveyancing is spread across properties in different areas of the UK.

We have a reputation for providing a high quality legal advice for both vendors and purchasers. We are committed to making your transaction as smooth as possible by:

• Taking a proactive approach
• Giving fixed costs quotes, so that you know from the outset what fees you have to pay
• Being approachable and helpful

You can be assured of a bespoke and personal service for transactions of all sizes:

• Home visits
• Everything dealt with through post, email or text

Conveyancing Quality Scheme

We are members of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. We went through a process of   assessment by the Law Society in order to gain CQS status, which marks us out as meeting the high standards required for accreditation in residential conveyancing.

A to Z conveyancing guide

Follow this link for a simple A to Z guide as to what is involved in the conveyancing process for a sale and a purchase.

Testimonials

“Now we’re a little more unpacked and found the box with the pen in….!
Just a note to say a HUGE thank you for handling our move to Shadwell Walk.  You took all the stress out of the process for us plus we didn’t have to worry about much more than the packing!
Have already recommended you to friends who are looking to move in the near future.
Many thanks again and best wishes!”
S & J

“Thank you for all of your help buying and selling our house.  You made it a fairly stress free process for us.
Best Wishes”
D & R

“Thank you so much for all your efforts with buying our first home – making it a lot easier on us to understand everything.
Kindest regards”
F & S

“I know it is a bit belated but we would both like to thank you for making the process of buying our first house stress free and actually enjoyable.  I would recommend you no end to others.
Thank you once again”
B & K

Conveyancing costs

The rate of VAT is currently charged at 20%.

A typical freehold purchase, for a purchase price;

Up to £1 million is £950 plus VAT
Over £1 million is 0.15% of the purchase price plus VAT

A typical freehold sale is £825 plus VAT but on sales over £1 million the fee is 0.15% plus VAT.

A typical re-mortgage is £300 plus VAT

A typical transfer of equity is £350 plus VAT

These cover all of the work required in a typical sale or purchase. If the property being bought or sold is a leasehold, a new build, a right to buy, a help to buy or transfer of part, then further fees will apply, and you will need to contact us for further information with regards to costs.

Save for those cases, we do not make any additional charges.

WE DO NOT DO NO COMPLETION, NO FEE. IF A TRANSACTION FALLS THROUGH, WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO CHARGE FOR THE TIME SPENT AT THE RATE OF £95 PER HOUR PLUS VAT.

Other Costs

Other possible costs charges are;

Bank transfer fees £30 plus VAT per transfer required;

Where a gift is being provided, £75 plus VAT per gift;

Help to Buy ISA – £50 plus VAT per ISA

Help to Buy Mortgage – £550 plus VAT

Deed of Trust – £150 plus VAT

We also reserve the right to charge extra fees, based on £100 plus VAT, per hour if a matter becomes unnecessarily complicated (though we have yet to have a matter reach that stage).

Disbursements

Disbursements (out of pocket expenses) apply in each case.

The types of disbursement can differ in each case. Examples of such are;

Office copy entries £3 per document

Local, drainage and mining search fees – typically £126;

Other specified searches by arrangement

Land registry fees (value related) but typically £95-£270

Final searches £2 per name

Money laundering checks £5.00 per name

Lawyer checker £12.00

Chancel and other indemnity policies may be recommended/necessary. The cost of these will be discussed before being put in place.

The legal costs stated above include all phone calls, faxes, emails and communication with solicitors, clients, estate agents mortgage brokers and mortgage lenders.

Timings

A typical freehold sale/purchase can take around 6-8 weeks from initial instruction to completion, but this is dependent upon a number of factors including responses from the other party solicitors, search results on a purchase being received, a mortgage offer being received and the parties in the chain agreeing dates.

A typical leasehold sale/purchase can take around 8-12 weeks from initial instruction to completion due to the further work involved with regards to liaising with management companies/agents etc.

Frank Hallam

Frank Hallam is the sole proprietor of the practice. He is a solicitor within excess of 40 years’ experience of residential conveyancing, civil disputes and will and probate matters.

Following a solid grounding in high street work in the 1970s and 80s, Frank moved to London where he worked for a number of years in a practice defending professionals in negligence claims and handling a variety of commercial and personal injury actions for defendants.

In 2004 he moved to Leeds (for a lifestyle change) and set up his own practice in 2008 in Headingley, since when he has, with the assistance of his team, continued to work in his specialist fields.

Suhail Chowdri

Suhail joined Hallam Solicitors in 2013. He started as an administrative apprentice and at first completed level 2 and 3 diplomas. After finishing his apprenticeship in 2015 he started working on his own files. Suhail has now completed all his CLC Course qualifications whilst working at Hallam Solicitors and is now a qualified CLC Licensed Conveyancer. He deals with freehold and leasehold sales/purchases and transfers for the practice.