Conveyancing quotes throughout the UK from CMS

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Buying a house is a huge step for most people and choosing a conveyancing solicitor or a licensed conveyancer can also be a daunting task. Should you just accept the one recommended by your estate agent or building society, should you make numerous telephone calls yourself for quotes, or are you tempted by the cheapest firm? How can you be sure that you will receive the best value for money fixed fee conveyancing service?

Since 1995 Conveyancing Marketing Services have been building up a panel of solicitors and conveyancers throughout the UK who are willing and able to deliver a prompt and efficient legal conveyancing service. We monitor their performance on an ongoing basis and if they do not meet our standards - then we do not recommend them to our clients. Furthermore, we have negotiated very special fees with them, so that you - the client - get the best deal possible.

What exactly is the CMS Price Guarantee?

Exactly that - CMS guarantee to better any other genuine quotation that you may receive. Most other companies have hidden extras which are difficult to spot as they are hidden in the small print. Since 1995 the CMS policy has been to eliminate such extras and only provide genuine all inclusive quotations. Therefore we are confidently able to guarantee the very best genuine quotes. Even if you proceed with us and then find a cheaper quote we will honour our guarantee so you have nothing to lose.

What makes CMS different from any other website?

CMS have been providing legal and solicitors quotes since 1995 and do not use large conveyancing factories as do many other websites. All our solicitor firms are medium size high street solicitor firms offering a personal service as well as very competitive fees.

Why is it that I have seen some quotes as low as £120 from other sites which appear to be cheaper than yours?

These quotations may appear cheaper but do not fall into the trap. No conveyancing solicitor could make a profit from such low fees. What they do is conceal many other hidden extras which when added on make their quotes very expensive indeed. CMS guarantee to better any other genuine quotation that you may receive.

What are disbursements exactly?

Disbursements are costs collected by solicitors and passed on to a third party. For example you have to have a local search undertaken if you are purchasing a property in the UK. The solicitor will therefore need to collect the cost of this from the client and pass it on to the relevant Local Authority. Please see the complete list of disbursements on our website.

What do you mean by hidden extra costs?

CMS do not have any hidden extras as they only insist on providing genuine quotes to all their clients. However, may firms charge extra for acting for your lender, leasehold additions, extra searches, petty disbursements, expedition fees, indemnity insurance, abortive insurance etc. These can add £200 or more to the quote.

I understand that the disbursements are the same with all quotes?

They should be but some firms use the list of disbursements to hide extra charges so they can make more profit from the client. Remember they cannot make a profit if they charge you just £120 or so - they need the extra costs for that.

How can I compare quotes on a like for like basis?

This is becoming increasingly difficult for the public at large. One way is to insist on being given the total costs for your transaction including everything that may be involved. The other is to ask CMS without obligation to look at your other quotes and point out any possible hidden extras that you may have missed. We have been giving such free advice to clients for years - and we invariably save them money. CMS guarantee to better any other genuine quotation that you may receive.

Surely you are only interested in getting business for yourself so why should you offer this service?

We are an ethical company (established 1995) and believe that it is morally wrong to deliberately under quote anybody. We will explain the breakdown of all competitor's quotes to you and inform you of the absolute total payable. Which quote you take after that is your own decision - but at least you are now able to compare like for like.

Surely deliberately under quoting amounts to bad practice?

We couldn't agree more but you will find that the majority of websites are now doing this in order to boost the very low conveyancing fees they have quoted clients. CMS can and will point you to the relevant small print on these other competitor's quotes so that you can judge for yourself.

What happens if I am unhappy with my solicitor for any reason during the transaction?

CMS offer a hands on and friendly service right through to completion. Many of our firms have been on the CMS panel for 12 years and we know them very well. In the unlikely event that you have such a problem we will invariably resolve the issue to your satisfaction.

Why should I use an Online Solicitor?

Moving house can be quite stressful at times and the CMS panel always try to make the process as smooth and painless as possible keeping you updated all the way. Your transaction will proceed efficiently and quickly to completion. CMS also provide you with regular updates to your matter with email and SMS updates. This allows you to be kept up to date 7 days a week. Also the whole matter is dealt with by post and email so there is no need for any time consuming meetings with your solicitor. This means that CMS can offer extremely competitive fees with a high level of service.

Are all of your solicitors members of the Law Society?

Yes all members are full members of the Law Society and are now governed by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA)

all of whom are covered by a minimum of £2,000,000 indemnity insurance for your protection.

Our building society/estate agent has strongly recommended we use a local solicitor - should we not use them?

This can happen as lenders and estate agents like to recommend business to local solicitor firms (and often get investment business in return). Indeed many of the larger estate agents have now also formed joint partnerships with solicitors. The questions here are:

Will you, the client, be getting impartial legal advice on your transaction?

Will it cost you extra money for the same conveyancing to be done?

Our solicitors are approved by all the major banks and building societies (and are on their panel) meaning they can act for both you, and the lender, for no extra cost.

Remember, you are totally free to choose your own solicitor. At the end of the day it is your choice, and you are paying the bill !

I have been told that a local solicitor would do a better (quicker) job, and I can visit if necessary?

All solicitors have to carry out exactly the same preliminary enquiries and searches as any local solicitor would - there is no difference whatsoever. Our solicitors use fax, e-mail and overnight document exchange to ensure there are no delays.

Most clients make one visit at most, to see their solicitor, in order to sign contracts (and even this is not necessary). In today's modern world, most conveyancing is already conducted by fax, e mail, telephone and post for convenience. We find that most clients want the legal work undertaken efficiently, promptly and at a reasonable cost. This is exactly what CMS panel solicitors offer (However, we will always offer you our most local solicitor as an alternative choice).

Why is it that your prices are lower than other quotes I have received?

Solicitors fees do vary considerably throughout the country and in relation to the size of the law firm and their own overheads. CMS we have negotiated special discounted fees with reputable firms who specialise in conveyancing only. We recommend many clients each year to these firms and naturally obtain lower prices for our clients.

I do not understand a lot of the legal terminology used - how do I deal with this?

CMS can help here-just click here for our jargon buster pages and hopefully most of your questions will be answered.

What are Home Information Packs and do I need one?

Again just go to our Home Information Pack pages for a full explanation.

What is involved with a Remortgage?

This is quite a straightforward process - please see our remortgage page and conveyancing guide for further details.

How do I add / remove someone from the deeds of my property?

This is quite a straightforward process - please see our remortgage page and conveyancing guide and also transfer of equity page for full details.

I am buying a Leasehold Property - what does this involve?

There are quite a few differences with this type of property which are also explained in our conveyancing guide

Do you have any further information on mortgages?

Yes you can find this from our mortgage information page

How do we know we will get a good service from these solicitors?

We continually select our panel of solicitors on merit and efficiency, and have now been using most of them for many years. All our 'high street' firms are, of course, members of the Law Society with full indemnity insurance for your protection. These CMS panel firms also have to use the CMS tracking software which enables us to monitor their performance at every stage - as well as keeping clients updated throughout the transaction..

Can we deal directly with the solicitor concerning our matter?

Most certainly, once we have given them your details, you will deal with them direct throughout the transaction. This can be by telephone, fax, email or you may visit them if you wish.

What if we have any difficulties in contacting or dealing with the solicitor?

In this unlikely event, please do not hesitate to contact us personally. We have an excellent working relationship with our lawyers and will always be pleased to assist. They have also signed a legally binding agreement with CMS including a Service Charter to cover your interests.

How long will my transaction take to complete?

This is probably one of the most difficult questions for anybody to answer as it often depends upon many factors. These may include waiting for mortgage offers to be issued (either to yourself - or others in your chain), whether others in the chain have sold their property and the position of their own buyers etc. Whether there are any survey or structural problems can also delay matters. As a general guide an average transaction may take 6-8 weeks to exchange contracts with completion following after a further 2-4 weeks. However, it may happen more quickly or slowly depending upon the individual circumstances. None of the CMS panel of solicitors will delay any matter as it is in their own interests to complete as soon as possible.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS FOLLOWING THE DEATH OF A PROPERTY OWNER

(Please refer to the useful Jargon Buster at the foot of this fact sheet for an explanation of the legal terms used)

1. What happens to a property when the owner dies?

The Transfer of land following death is regulated by the Land Registration Act 2002

When a person dies and they own land that will be inherited by someone else, it is usually necessary to register the change of ownership at the Land Registry. A solicitor will do this for you and if you would like a quote for this please either:

Call us on 0845 060 33 55 or 01638 565 318

Or click on the QUOTE button on this web-site and select the Transfer of Equity option, inserting £0 as the consideration. ·

Or e mail us at customerservice@cms-uk.co.uk. and we shall be pleased to answer any queries you may have.

If a solicitor has been employed to deal with Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration it is not necessary to use the same solicitor to transfer the property. It is often much more cost effective and efficient to use a specialist Conveyancer to deal with this aspect of the transfer of property. All CMS solicitors are fully qualified to deal with this type of land transfer.

2. How do I find out whether the Deceased owned any land?

The Deceased will usually have Title Deeds for any land that they owned. If there is no mortgage on the property they may keep the Title Deeds at home or they may be held for safe keeping with a bank or a solicitor.

If you are not sure whether the deceased owned property or land you may check this with the Land Registry. You should be aware that a fee is payable for this service. You will find their contact details in our useful links section below. As Personal Representative of the deceased, you can find out this information by making a search in the Index of Proprietors' Names.

If you feel that you need to carry out this search, particularly if you think that the deceased may have owned a number of properties, you may contact the Land Registry and they will explain the procedure you need to follow. Please be aware that there is a fee to search the Index of Proprietors' Names.

If the land or property is already registered with the Land Registry then the deeds will consist of a Charge Certificate if the property is mortgaged or if there is no mortgage the deeds will consist of a Land Certificate.

If the deceased has owned the property for a long time, and there have been no changes, then the land may not be registered with the Land Registry in which case the title deeds will consist of a collection of deeds and documents usually Conveyances, Legal Charges, Assents etc. and will include the deed which conveyed the property to the deceased.

3. How should the Personal Representatives of the Deceased deal with the estate?

By law, the Land Registry always has to assume that the Personal Representatives of the Deceased are following the wishes of the Deceased and are acting within their powers. The Land Registry are not empowered to investigate whether any transfer of the property is in accordance with a Will.

Depending upon the wishes of the Deceased or their Will the Personal Representatives may:

• Become the registered owners in their capacity as Personal Representatives
• Transfer the property to any Beneficiary of the Will of the Deceased
• Transfer the property to the Executor of the Will of the Deceased as Trustee
• Transfer the property to someone else in their capacity as Personal Representatives
• Discharge a mortgage if the Deceased was the lender

4. What happens if a joint owner dies?

A. Property held as 'Joint Tenants'

When property is owned jointly or by several owners as joint tenants the surviving owner (s) may apply to the Land Registry to register the property in their sole name. There is no fee for this but you will need to send the Land Registry:

• A completed form DJP (See the Land Registry web-site for the form)
• Evidence of death (the original or official copy of the death certificate, the grant of probate or letters of administration).

B. Property held as 'Tenants in Common'

When a property is owned jointly or by several owners as tenants in common their share of the property must be dealt with according to the Will of the Deceased. See 2. above.

5. What happens if the owner of an unregistered property dies?

If the Deceased is the sole owner or last surviving joint owner of the property then the Personal Representatives of the Deceased will deal with the property - see 2. above. The property will be conveyed to the new owner by means of a Deed called an Assent or a Transfer. The new owner of the property will then have to apply to the Land Registry for first registration of the property.

6. Registration of Personal Representatives

• Personal Representatives may apply to become the registered owners of a property. This option could be used if the Beneficiary of a Will is a minor and not able to inherit. In this case, the Personal Representatives become the registered owner, but only as Personal Representatives of the Deceased.
• Once they are registered as owners of the property, the Personal Representatives can later Transfer or Assent the property to the Beneficiaries of the Deceased.

7. Registering the Beneficiaries of the estate - Assents

The Beneficiaries of the Estate may also become the registered owners. In this case they will need to produce the original or an official copy of the Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration, a Stamp Duty Land Tax Certificate and the appropriate fee. If the Beneficiary is already a joint owner of the estate there is no fee to pay. The Beneficiary can apply directly to the Land Registry but this can be complex and a CMS solicitor will be able to deal with this for you easily and efficiently.

8. Transfer of property to a third party

Following Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration the property may be legally transferred to a third party upon production of the Grant of Probate/Letters of Administration.

9. What forms are used to transfer the property of the Deceased?

Form AS1 will be used to assent, i.e. transfer, the whole of one or more registered titles to the beneficiary or beneficiaries.

If form AS1 is not appropriate then one of the following forms may be used:

Form AS2 - assent of a charge (mortgage) (i.e. where the deceased was a lender);

Form AS3 - assent of part of one or more registered titles;

Form TR1 - transfer of the whole of one or more registered titles;

Form TP1 - transfer of part of one or more registered titles.

10. How do I find out if the land is the land registered?

If you do not know whether the property is registered, you may:

• Use the Land Registry's online Find a property service or
• Carry out a search of the index map. You can do this by completing and sending form SIM to the Land Registry office responsible for the property you are dealing with.

If you have appointed a CMS solicitor to deal with the Transfer or Assent of the property they will check with the Land Registry whether the property is registered and if necessary will carry out a search of the Index Map for you.

11. What is the procedure if the land is registered?

If the property is registered, you can:

• view or download a copy of the register using the Land Registry's online Find a property service or
• get an up to date Official Copy of the Register. You can do this by sending form OC1 to the Land Registry office responsible for the property you are dealing with.

If you have appointed a CMS solicitor to deal with the Assent for you they will obtain up to date Official Copy Entries to check the register before proceeding with the Assent or Transfer.

There may be entries on the register that you will have to consider before you can complete the transfer of the property. These may include:

Restriction: an entry requiring the consent of someone before a particular dealing with the property can take place. This could be a lender, a local authority charge, a party with matrimonial rights, a party with rights of occupation or in the case of leasehold property a Landlord or Management Company.

Notice/Caution: you may need to apply for their cancellation or removal before you would want to go ahead with the transfer. As above this could relate to a financial, matrimonial or right of occupation charge on the property.

Leasehold land: if your property is leasehold, there is usually a clause in the lease requiring the landlord to give his consent, or at least to be informed.

Mortgaged land: If the property is mortgaged, and you do not intend to repay the mortgage in full, you will need to obtain the consent of the lender if you want to transfer the property. If you are paying off the mortgage, you will need to obtain evidence of the discharge of mortgage.

If you have appointed a CMS solicitor to deal with the Transfer/Assent they will advise you whether there are any Notices/Cautions/Restrictions or Mortgages on the property and advise you how to deal with them.

Please note that this is not a full list of the entries that may appear on the register relating to the property

12. Are there any other matters I need to consider before proceeding with an Assent/Transfer?

There are many other matters which do not concern the legal transfer of the land, but may be very important to you. These may include, for example the taxation implications of the Assent or Transfer of the property and you should seek the advice of your accountant before proceeding.

13. Is Stamp Duty payable on a Transfer/Assent

Normally SDLT evidence is not required and you may sign a self-certificate. However, if the person acquiring the property gives a consideration of £40,000 or more for it, other than where they assume responsibility for a secured debt, a Land Transaction Return certificate in form SDLT5 will be required.

If you are unsure if your transfer requires a Land Transaction Return certificate, your solicitor will advise or you may contact HM Revenue and Customs enquiry line on 0845 603 0135for advice, or on-line at www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/so.

14. Where can I get further advice?

· To obtain further assistance or information, you can:

· Access the Land Registry website www.landregistry.gov.uk

· Email Customersupport@landregistry.gsi.gov.uk or

· Telephone Customer Support on 0844 892 1111 or

Your CMS solicitor will be happy to answer any queries you may have

15. Jargon buster:

You will find below an explanation of the various legal terms used:

• Assent- this is the deed often used to transfer property by the Personal Representatives of a deceased landowner to legally transfer property to the person entitled to it. An Assent is usually supported by the grant of probate or letters of administration.
• Administrator/Administratrix- this is the term used for the Personal Representative of a person who has died without leaving a valid will.
• Beneficiaries- this is the term used for the persons named by the Deceased in their Will to inherit property or goods.
• Charge Certificate - this is the document produced by the Land Registry to evidence legal ownership of a mortgage property.
• Executor/Executrix- this is the term used to describe the Personal Representative of a person who has died and has left a valid will.
• Land Certificate - this is the document produced by the Land Registry to evidence legal ownership of an unmortgaged property.
• Land Registry - this is the Government office that deals with the registration of all property in England and Wales.
• Letters of administration- this is the document that is used when the Deceased has not left a valid Will. This document appoints an Administrator to deal with the Deceased's estate.
• Letters de bonis non administrandis - If the original Administrator has died without leaving a valid Will then this document is needed to appoint a new administrator to deal with the Deceased's estate.
• Official Copy of the Register - this is a document produced by the Land Registry to provide an up to date view of the current property register and will include details of ownership, restrictions on the property and any legal charges or mortgages.
• Personal representative- this is the term used to describe either the Executor of a valid Will or the Administrator where there is no valid Will.
• Probate - this is the document, issued by the Probate office which legally appoints an Executor.
• Title Deeds - Either a bundle of documents consisting of Conveyances, Mortgages, Legal Charges, Assents or a Land or Charge Certificate which prove the ownership of the property.
• Transfer - the legal deed used to Transfer ownership of property.
• Trustee - a person who is appointed to hold property on in trust on behalf of another person.
• Will - this is the Legal Document expressing the wishes of the Deceased in relation to their property.

How do we proceed if we are interested or have any further queries?

Just contact CMS either via our website, email or telephone and our dedicated team will be only too pleased to help should you have any questions or queries.

Remember CMS guarantee to better any other genuine quotation that you may receive

End of Frequently Asked Questions