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Conveyancing Solicitors in Leicestershire
If you are buying, selling or remortgaging a home in Leicestershire, our expert conveyancing solicitors are on hand to make sure that everything goes ahead as smoothly as possible.
Moving homes is an exciting time, but it can be fraught with difficulties, especially if a thorough approach is not taken. Our conveyancing solicitors can help to make the entire conveyancing process as straightforward as possible, while also making sure that every minor detail is carefully considered.
We offer a reliable, efficient conveyancing service that is designed to be accessible for all of our clients. Using our combined experience, we can carefully guide you through your case from start to finish, allowing you to move with confidence.
Our physical offices are based in Grantham, Newark and Lincoln, but we frequently work with clients from Leicestershire and are familiar with the local market. We are able to support our clients in and around Leicestershire including Leicester, Wigston and Thurmaston using our online conveyancing service.
Get in touch with a member of our conveyancing team near Leicestershire by giving us a call, or get a quote online.
How our conveyancing solicitors near Leicestershire can help you
Our team of expert conveyancing solicitors near Leicestershire can advise on a wide range of matters, including:
- Buying and selling your home
- Advice for first time buyers, such as:
- Remortgaging
- Equity release
- Advice about buying as joint tenants or tenants in common
- Buying and selling listed property
- Buying and selling leasehold property
- Collective enfranchisement and buying the freehold of a house
- Lease extension
- Transfer of equity
- Gifting property and Deeds of Gift
- Buy to let conveyancing
- Buying and selling land
- Commercial conveyancing
- Stamp Duty advice
We are on the panel for most major lenders. This means that we can support your transaction regardless of who you have chosen to work with – be it a national firm or a local building society.
Why choose Bird & Co’s conveyancing solicitors near Leicestershire?
Our conveyancing service is designed to be as straightforward as possible, alleviating much of the stress associated with carrying out a property transaction.
Our conveyancing solicitors near Leicestershire are also able to carry out online conveyancing work. This means the entire process can be carried out remotely and you won’t need to visit our offices, unless you want to.
When you work with our team, you will always have a direct line of correspondence with us, as well as a direct email address for the solicitor you are working with.
Our property lawyers near Leicestershire have in-depth knowledge of the national property market, as well as the local Leicestershire market. Many other firms only have knowledge of their local markets.
We are also able to deal with transactions around the country and we frequently use video conferencing to speak to clients outside of the UK.
You can opt to work with our Leicestershire team in person, or you can use our online conveyancing service. No matter which option you choose, our legal obligations to you remain the same. There are no differences to the service you receive, and we are fully insured just in case.
We have been accredited with the Law Society Conveyancing Quality Scheme. This means that we will:
- Provide high quality legal advice
- Get your conveyancing transaction completed as efficiently as possible
- Provide top quality customer service and respond to queries quickly
- Keep you regularly updated and never leave you in the dark about the status of your transaction
- Be upfront and honest about your fees – we will provide you with an accurate quote before you instruct us so that you can decide whether we are right for you
In addition to this, we are also Lexcel accredited by the Law Society. This demonstrates our commitment to upholding the highest standards of customer service and practice management.
Our conveyancing fees – how much does our conveyancing cost in Leicestershire?
We can offer fixed fees for straightforward conveyancing work. This allows you to have a clear idea of how much you will have to pay from the outset. If additional fees are required to complete your transaction, your solicitor will keep you informed.
Additional costs associated with the conveyancing process are referred to as disbursements. Disbursements could include conveyancing searches or the process of registering a transaction at HM Land Registry.
Depending on the type of transaction, you may also need to consider whether tax will come into play, such as Stamp Duty Land Tax or Capital Gains Tax. If this is the case, your solicitor will help you to calculate how much tax is owed and file the return with HMRC.
Conveyancing FAQs
How does the conveyancing process work in Leicestershire?
There are usually three mains stages to the conveyancing process that you should be aware of. These are:
- Offer and acceptance
- Exchange of contracts
- Completion
The buyer and seller will agree to enter into a contract when an offer is accepted. Until that contract is signed and exchanged, the transaction is not deemed to be legally binding and either party can choose to back out without receiving a penalty.
The buyer will then work alongside their conveyancer to carry out various checks on the property. Checks could include:
- Reviewing property information provided by the seller and making further enquiries if necessary (done by the conveyancing solicitor)
- Conducting conveyancing property searches, such as local authority checks (done by the conveyancing solicitor)
- Carrying out an independent survey (done by the buyer)
The buyer will also apply for a mortgage at this stage if required.
Once the property checks have been completed and both parties are happy to proceed, contracts will be signed and exchanged. The transaction is now legally binding.
When the transaction reaches the completion stage, it is deemed to be official. A transfer deed is submitted to HM Land Registry and the seller is required to leave the property.
How long does conveyancing take in Leicestershire?
The time it takes to complete conveyancing work will depend on a number of factors, including the type of property in question and how complex the property chain is. Under normal circumstances, you can expect a transaction to take around 12-14 weeks to reach completion, but this can quickly change as each stage progresses.
If there are likely to be significant delays to your transaction, your solicitor will keep you informed and run through your available options.
What searches are involved in conveyancing in Leicestershire?
If you’re buying a property in Leicestershire, your conveyancer will carry out several checks to ensure that there are no issues that you should be aware of.
The three main types of conveyancing checks are:
- Local authority checks – to check the surrounding area for planning, pollution, highway, pollution or other related issues
- Environmental searches – to check for issues such as flooding or land contamination
- Water and drainage searches – to check matters such as water and drainage access
Further checks may be required, depending on the type of property in question and where it is located. If this is the case, your solicitor will let you know.
How do you instruct our conveyancing solicitors near Leicestershire?
Get in touch with a member of our conveyancing team near Leicestershire by giving us a call, or get a quote online.
Our Leicestershire conveyancing team will be able to run through the initial stages of your conveyancing transaction and, once your file is opened, your conveyancer will take care of all of the legal details related to your transaction.
Whether you are moving to, from, or across Leicestershire, our conveyancing solicitors will be able to lend their expertise.
Get in touch with our conveyancing solicitors near Leicestershire
Get in touch with a member of our conveyancing team near Leicestershire by giving us a call, or get a quote online.
Online Conveyancing in Leicestershire
There isn't really any such thing as online conveyancing. Clients come to us for conveyancing in Leicester, Loughborough and throughout the rest of Leicestershire, having first found us via our website.
After that, the relationship between you and your conveyancer is the same as any other. We have the same professional obligations towards you, and deal with your conveyancing file in the same way.
It might feel like online conveyancing because you can talk to us through email on your computer, but really it is proper conveyancing.
Search Fees in Leicestershire
Every local authority is different. We use an excellent, trusted national search provider, which means we can provide searches to clients in Leicestershire and all over the country, knowing that we will get a product we're happy with and which we know is properly insured and protects your interests.
What is the process to instruct us for your conveyancing?
First, fill in our conveyancing quote form. You can find the links at the top of this page.
Our helpful conveyancing support team will then guide you through the initial stages, and once your conveyancing file is opened your Leicestershire conveyancing solicitor and their small team will deal with the legal side of the conveyancing transaction. You'll be given direct contact details for your conveyancing lawyers and they'll keep in touch with you every step of the way.
Whether you're moving to Leicestershire, or away from Leicestershire, our conveyancing team can help you do so with the minimum of fuss and inconvenience.
Fees for conveyancing in Leicestershire
Our fees are transparent and, so long as the situation does not change (for example so long as your property doesn't turn out to be leasehold when we thought it was freehold), the fee we quote is the fee you will be charged.
We don't add extras on for things like photocopying or postage. Those are our overheads and we don't pass them on to you.
All our conveyancing fees are dependent on the nature and value of the transaction, so we naturally charge a bit more for more complicated and high value work. However, the fee charged will be the same for a customer in Newcastle as it would be for someone in London, or indeed in Leicestershire.
There are some aspects of our conveyancing fees we can't change. Fees charged by other bodies such as HM Land Registry, or by HMRC for Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) are out of our control.
Introduction to Leicestershire
Leicestershire is a county situated in the East Midlands of England, bordering Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the northeast, Rutland to east, Northamptonshire to the southeast, Warwickshire to the southwest, Staffordshire to the west and Derbyshire to the northwest.
The county has a population of 1,031,300 according to estimates from mid-2016, with around half of this population living in Leicester and the surrounding area. Other large towns include Loughborough, Market Harborough and Melton Mowbray.
A considerable part of northwest Leicestershire is part of the new National Forest, which is the result of a project to blend ancient woodland with newly planted trees to create a large continuously forested area. The forest is largely made up of broad leaf trees native to the UK, including English oak, ash, poplar and Scots pine.
Leicester
Leicester is located in the centre of the East Midlands, but is a separate unitary authority. The city had a population of approximately 348,300 in mid-2016, while its urban area was home to 508,916 people at the time of the 2011 census, making it the 13th most populous urban area in the UK.
The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest. It also forms a triangle with Nottingham and Derby, with all three cities having good links to East Midlands Airport, while London is easily accessible by train.
The city centre area is very ethnically and culturally diverse with well-established South Asian and Afro-Caribbean communities, in addition to more recent immigration from EC countries. Leicester is often referred to as the “curry capital” of the Midlands for the range and quality of its Indian restaurants.
Leicester is famous as a major centre of learning. The University of Leicester is highly regarded for its strong record in both teaching and research, while De Montfort University is respected in many of its specialist fields and is popular with students. The city region also hosts many other institutions of higher and further education.
Leicester is home to the world-famous Leicester Tigers rugby team, who play at the Welford Road Stadium. Leicester City FC is at the King Power Stadium, formerly the Walkers Stadium and the team has regularly competed in the Premiership, notably winning the league in 2016 to the surprise of many. Leicester also boasts a County Cricket team, a speedway team (the Leicester Lions) and a basketball team (the Leicester Riders).
The city hosts an annual Pride Parade (Leicester Pride), a Caribbean Carnival (the largest in the UK outside London), the largest Diwali celebrations outside of India and the Leicester Comedy Festival, one of the largest comedy festivals in the UK.
One of the best-known places in the city is Melton Road, near the city centre, which contains many diverse shops and restaurants for both locals and tourists. From textiles to electronics to fine cooking, specialist bridal makeup and wedding attire to home appliances. Melton Road is also regarded as the centre of Leicester’s strong multi-faith community.
In recent years the city has become famous for being the last resting place of King Richard III. The former monarch’s remains were discovered buried under a car park where the Greyfriars Priory Church once stood. The identity of the remains was confirmed by scientists from University of Leicester using radiocarbon dating and DNA analysis in comparison to two descendants of Richard III’s elder sister, Anne of York. The king’s remains have since been reburied in Leicester Cathedral.
Loughborough
Loughborough is the second largest settlement in Leicestershire, after Leicester, with a population of 59,317 in 2012. It is located in the north of the county, near to the border with Nottinghamshire and only a short distance from Nottingham, Derby and East Midlands Airport.
Today, the town is perhaps best known for Loughborough University, which is consistently ranked among the top British universities by, amongst others, the Times' Good University Guide and The Guardian League Tables. The university has around 25,000 students and is particularly well regarded for its engineering, technology and sports-related courses. The university is also the town's largest employer.
The centre of Loughborough's shopping area is the pedestrianised Market Place and Market Street, which maintain a number of original art deco buildings, including the building that currently houses the town's cinema. A large outdoor market is held in the Market Place every Thursday and Saturday and there is a monthly farmers' market.
The town is also famous for having the world's largest bell foundry — John Taylor Bellfounders – which made the bells for the Carillon war memorial, a landmark within the Queens Park in the town, as well as Great Paul for St. Paul's Cathedral and all of the existing bells for York Minster.
Loughborough railway station is well connected with twice-hourly services to and from London St. Pancras International, giving Loughborough good links to the continent. Trains run through Loughborough along the Midland Main Line, going south to Bedford, Luton and London; and north to Lincoln, Sheffield, Leeds and York. Junctions at Leicester and Derby stations link with CrossCountry trains route, serving the far north east of Scotland and the south west of England.
The M1's Junction 23 is just to the west of Loughborough. The north of the town can be accessed from Junction 24, travelling through Kegworth and Hathern on the A6 road and the south west of the town from Junction 22, via Copt Oak and the small hamlet of Nanpantan.
Market Harborough
Market Harborough is a town in southeast Leicestershire, on the border with Northamptonshire. It had a population of 22,911 at the time of the 2011 census. The town is about 15 miles south of Leicester and 17 miles north of Northampton, making it ideal for commuting to both.
Famous local landmarks include the Old Grammar School, located in the town centre, which is unusual for having been built on stilts. The town also has a church, St Dionysius, which dates back to the 14th century and the Harborough Museum, which displays various objects of local interest.
Market Harborough station is on the Midland Main Line, connecting it to Leicester, as well as London St Pancras International, Nottingham, Sheffield, Leeds and York. It also has good road connections to the rest of the county and the whole of the UK.
Melton Mowbray
Melton Mowbray is a town in northeast Leicestershire, located around 19 miles northeast of Leicester and 20 miles southeast of Nottingham. The town had a population of 25,554 at the time of the 2011 census.
Melton Mowbray is probably best known as the home of the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie and it also the location of one of the six dairies officially licenced to produce Stilton cheese.
A major local employer is Masterfoods, a pet food producer, which has its UK headquarters in nearby Waltham-on-the-Wolds. The town is also a popular tourist destination, with many sites of historical interest in the town and surround area. These include 28 scheduled ancient monuments and at least 705 buildings listed as being of special architectural or historical interest. There are also 16 local sites of special scientific interest.
Melton Mowbray railway station is on the line from Birmingham to Stansted Airport, which also connects the town to Leicester, Peterborough and Cambridge. There are also regular trains to Nottingham, Norwich and Sleaford. The town is also well served with buses which connect it to Leicester, Nottingham, Oakham and many other local towns and villages.