Buying a home, with the slow part already moving.
A purchase is the longest and most document-heavy job in conveyancing, and almost all of it happens in a sequence you cannot skip. We prepare the front of that sequence before a solicitor is instructed, so the firm opens a file that is already complete rather than starting from nothing.
What it covers
The legal work behind an accepted offer.
Conveyancing on a purchase is everything between the estate agent issuing the memorandum of sale and your name appearing on the title at HM Land Registry.
Your conveyancer receives the contract pack from the seller’s solicitor, which contains the draft contract, the official copies of the title, the property information form and the fixtures and fittings form. They read the title for anything that limits what you can do with the property, order the searches, and raise pre-contract enquiries on anything the pack leaves unclear.
In parallel they satisfy your lender’s conditions, because on a mortgaged purchase the firm normally acts for you and for the lender at the same time. Once the searches are back, the enquiries are answered and the mortgage offer is in, contracts are exchanged and a completion date is fixed. After completion, they file your Stamp Duty return and register the transfer.
None of that is optional and most of it has to happen in order, which is why a purchase that starts cold loses its first fortnight to admin. Ours does not, because the admin is already done. If you are buying for the first time, the first-time buyer checklist walks through what to have ready at each stage.
Done before instruction
Five things finished before day one.
This is the whole difference. Everything below is work the panel firm would otherwise start from scratch the day it is instructed. Doing it first is what takes 2 to 3 weeks off the front of a purchase.
- 01
Identity and AML checks
Credas-verified digital identity for every buyer on the file, done online in about ten minutes. No ID charge.
- 02
Source of funds
Deposit and funding evidence gathered and reviewed upfront, rather than chased three weeks in, which is when it usually derails a purchase.
- 03
Key documents
Mortgage offer, gift letters, ID for anyone contributing, all uploaded and checked in one secure portal.
- 04
Searches started early
Searches are scoped and underway before the file lands on your conveyancer's desk, not after.
- 05
The right firm for your case
We match you to a panel firm that fits your lender, your tenure and your property type, before anyone is instructed.
What it costs
Fixed from day one, itemised in full.
We do not publish a price list, because a genuine purchase quote depends on the value, the tenure and the postcode. You can estimate your total moving costs first if you want a sense of the whole picture before you ask us for a figure.
Inside the fixed fee
- A fixed fee agreed before you instruct anyone, with no hourly billing
- No file opening fee and no ID verification charge
- No admin surcharges at completion
- Review of the contract pack, the title and the search results
- Pre-contract enquiries raised with the seller's solicitor and chased
- Exchange, completion, your SDLT return and registration at HM Land Registry
Outside it, and never hidden
- Searches and other third-party disbursements, itemised in your quote
- Stamp Duty Land Tax, which is paid to HMRC rather than to the firm
- The leasehold supplement, where the property is leasehold, quoted upfront
Step by step
From enquiry to instructed firm.
Four steps, and only two of them need anything from you. The full journey is set out on how it works.
- 01
Tell us about the purchase
Property value, postcode, tenure and whether you are buying with a mortgage. It takes about three minutes, and there is no obligation.
- 02
We review it and come back
Our team checks the enquiry, prepares the case file and gets in touch within one business day with your fixed-fee quote and the panel firm we would suggest.
- 03
You complete onboarding
Identity verification, source of funds and document upload, all online. Around ten minutes of your time in total.
- 04
Your conveyancer takes over
The firm is instructed with a complete file, raises pre-contract enquiries and drives the purchase through to exchange and completion.
Where purchases stall
Searches, leasehold, and the chain.
Three things account for most of the delay in a purchase. Two of them we can start early, and the third is the reason being ready early matters at all.
Searches
Local authority, water and drainage, and environmental as standard, plus anything the property or the lender calls for. They cover planning history, road schemes, flood risk and contaminated land. Because we scope them before instruction, the slowest item in a purchase is already moving on day one.
Leasehold
Flats and some houses need a leasehold information form and a management pack from the freeholder or managing agent, which is one of the slowest documents in the whole transaction. Leasehold purchases carry a clearly quoted supplement, shown before you instruct.
The chain above you
Your completion date is set by the slowest party in the chain, not by you. Being ready to exchange early is the only real protection you have, which is the entire point of preparing the file first.
Common questions
Buying questions, answered plainly.
How long does buying a home take?
- Typically 8 to 12 weeks from offer accepted to completion. Because we prepare your case before your solicitor is instructed, ID checks, source of funds and key documents, we can shave 2 to 3 weeks off the usual timeline. Long chains and leasehold management packs are the two things most likely to stretch it.
Is the fixed fee really fixed?
- Yes. The fee we quote is the fee you pay. No file opening fee, no ID verification charge, no admin surcharges at completion. The only items not in the fixed fee are third-party disbursements and Stamp Duty, both shown transparently in your quote.
Do you handle leasehold purchases?
- Yes, along with freehold, new-build, shared ownership and company purchases. Leasehold carries a supplement because of the extra work in reviewing the lease and the management pack, and it is quoted before you instruct anyone. The figures are set out in our conveyancing FAQs.
Who actually does the legal work?
- A firm on our panel, authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority or the Council for Licensed Conveyancers. The Home Panel is an introducer, not a law firm. You get a named conveyancer at that firm with a direct line and email, and we tell you which firm has been assigned before you sign a client care letter.
What happens if the purchase falls through?
- Your panel firm may charge an abort fee at their discretion, and the exact terms are set out in the client care letter they issue you, which is worth reading before you instruct them. Disbursements already paid on your behalf, such as searches, go to third parties and are generally not refundable.
I am selling at the same time. Is that a different service?
- Yes, and it is worth using it. Buying and selling puts both legs with one firm on one file, so the two completions are co-ordinated rather than negotiated between two sets of solicitors.
More of these on the full FAQ page.
Other services
Other services
- Selling a homeYour contract pack and protocol forms ready before a buyer is found.
- Buying and sellingBoth ends of the chain, one firm, one file, one completion date.
- RemortgageSwitching or renewing your deal, with your lender's requirements met.
- Transfer of equityAdding, removing or buying out an owner without selling the property.
- Auction conveyancingLegal pack reviewed before you bid, and a firm ready for a 28-day clock.
Ready when you are
Get your purchase moving before you instruct.
Tell us the value, the postcode and the tenure. We come back within one business day with a fixed fee and the panel firm we would put you with.