Buying Your Home - Key Points to Consider

Finding and purchasing the right property for you can be a difficult task. This article provides a few top tips on how to make your purchase run more smoothly.


When you go and visit a property, try to ignore the internal decoration and general state of the property. Try to imagine the property as a blank canvas. If it contains some fittings that you really dislike enquire to whether or not these could be removed prior to a new buyer moving in.

Do not just consider the house and garden in your decision. Ask your estate agent for information about the area. Check the availability of amenities, schools, social clubs, pubs or whatever is important in your daily life.

If you do then become interested in the property, proceed to do a bit of research about the neighbourhood as a whole before putting an offer in to the seller. Check you are happy with the general neighbourhood environment, if necessary visit the property at a different time of day or evening to experience the area at that time.

If you are entirely happy with the property and it fits within your budget then put an offer in to purchase with the estate agent. If you have your offer accepted, you need to find solicitors to handle the conveyancing as soon as possible.

When considering which solicitors to instruct, ask your estate agent which conveyancing solicitors they recommend. You should know that many conveyancing solicitors offer a referral fee to estate agents who pass them a potential client - so they may not be entirely objective. Feel free to ask them if they getting a referral fee - the solicitors' code of conduct specifies that clients must be told about any referral fees that the solicitor pays the estate agent.

You should also know that a lot of the large estate agency chains have deals with large conveyancing 'factories' that are far away from the area, and so will send their clients there instead of to a local specialist - in return for a sizable referral fee. People who work at conveyancing factories are likely to have very little knowledge of your area, and you will probably find that you don't have a dedicated lawyer who handles your purchase, but instead you are passed around all the members of the firm. Most people who use conveyancing factories only do so once, finding the service slow and impersonal.

In light of this it is always beneficial to conduct your own research using the Internet and obtain quotes from different firms before instructing a conveyancing solicitor. Take care to get advice from experienced specialist conveyancing solicitors - they should really know what they're doing - and to avoid small one-man bands who claim to handle every aspect of the law.


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If you're looking at Andover law firms to help sell your house, Bonallack & Bishop are specialist conveyancing solicitors based in Andover. Tim Bishop is senior partner at the firm, responsible for all major strategic decisions. He has grown the firm by 1000% in 13 years and has plans for continued expansion.