It is well recognised that the process of buying and selling property in England and Wales is a costly process, and any savings that can be achieved are welcomed by consumers. The Help to Buy initiative provided by the government has been a great success helping buyers get on the property ladder, with over £10bn, lent and with over 80% of users of the scheme being first time buyers.

As soon as a buyer places an offer on a property the estate agent will ask for your conveyancer’s details, which they will pass onto the seller’s conveyancer.

Legal fees involved when buying or selling your home are also an area which has seen a sift in costs with typical legal fees of around £850 to £1,500 including VAT.

The fees charged by Conveyancers or Conveyancing Solicitors can vary significantly, so it pays to shop around for the best price.

The conveyancing market in the UK used to be dominated by local solicitors providing property conveyancing services in their local area.   However, from figures published firms handling less than 25 transactions per month have fallen by 10%.

This is in contrast to firms handling more than 100 transaction per month which have seen the largest growth year on year by an increase of over 25% compared to the previous year.

Online conveyancing firms are becoming much more popular as they are generally more competitive in prices and offer high service levels.

Most online conveyancing services will take your details then submit them to multiple conveyancing solicitors who will contact you with their best prices. However, this can be a pain to users with multiple firms contacting you, multiple times trying to gain your business.

One online conveyancing service called My Key Conveyancing uses a different method which many users have found beneficial.  The system they use allows conveyancers and conveyancing solicitors to input their best prices for different areas of the country and different price bands. These are then used as a database of prices which users of the service just enter their property details and location and the system provides them with the best price. The price displayed is a fixed fee price with no hidden extras. This conveyancing quote is then displayed online and emailed to the customer. Should the customer then wish to proceed they can click link within the email and the process starts.

They also provide a No Move No fee guarantee so unless your transaction goes ahead you do not pay any legal fees. This company also provide homebuyer reports and building surveys which further cuts down on the time taken for property transactions to take place.

They aim to make the buying and selling process as stress free as possible by facilitating convenient and prompt home transfers.

It is possible to do your own conveyancing, but it is highly recommended that you use the services of a professional conveyancer or conveyancing solicitor.  It will probably be the biggest purchase most people make in their lifetime so you need to ensure you get everything right.