Conveyancing Solicitors in York

If you are looking for a conveyancing solicitor in York we can help you. Our conveyancing solicitors offer a convenient, efficient, and friendly conveyancing service to clients in York, throughout North Yorkshire and all over England, Wales and beyond.

If you are buying a detached house in York, selling a terraced house in Huntington, downsizing to a bungalow in Heworth, or buying to let in Acomb, we can help you with your conveyancing.

Why should you use Bird and Co Solicitors for your conveyancing in York?

We offer a friendly, modern and efficient service. If you want to deal with proper lawyers who are friendly and approachable, our team can help you.

You will have a direct line straight through to your legal team, and direct email addresses. You can guarantee that your query will reach the right people, whether you want to ask about search fees in York, drainage and water fees in North Yorkshire or something else.

"The team always provided me with clear, pragmatic and commercially viable advice with efficient and focused communication."

We're a Conveyancing Quality Scheme accredited firm providing conveyancing to clients in York. This is a guarantee that our processes and procedures have been approved, that we operate to a certain standard, and is a mark of the excellence of our service approved by the Law Society, the body which represents solicitors throughout England and Wales.

We are on the panel for most major lenders, and many smaller ones too. Whether you want to use your local Building Society in North Yorkshire or one of the larger corporates, chances are we have you covered.

In short, you get an excellent conveyancing service at an affordable price. You don't have the risk of going to the cheapest providers, most of whom aren't solicitors; instead you get a great service from proper lawyers.

Why don't you need a conveyancer based in York?

In the old days you used your local solicitor. You would visit their office in the centre of York, and all documents would be hand-produced and posted or delivered by hand.

That service came at a price, but the truth is that it is no longer needed. With modern technology such as scanning, emailing and even Skype or Facetime video calls there is no need to use your local solicitor. Your conveyancer can be based anywhere and still provide a great service - even if he or she is in an office many miles away from York or perhaps not even in North Yorkshire.

We have successfully dealt with thousands of conveyancing transactions all over the country, even with clients from the other side of the world. It is not unknown for us to talk to clients outside the UK using Skype, and once we had clients in Thailand talking to us through an interpreter in New Zealand!

There will be no need for you to visit our offices or hand deliver documents. You need never leave York - our conveyancers will talk you through the process via phone and email, and everything works just as smoothly as it would if we were just down the road.

Online Conveyancing in York

There isn't really any such thing as online conveyancing. Clients come to us for conveyancing in York, Huntington, Acomb and all sorts of other places, 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 York

Every local authority is different. We use an excellent, trusted national search provider, which means we can provide searches to clients in Yorkand 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 for conveyancing in York. 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 York 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 York or away from York to somewhere else, our conveyancing team can help you do so with the minimum of fuss and inconvenience.

Fees for conveyancing in York

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, postage, or the like. 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 York.

There are some aspects of our conveyancing fees which 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 York

York is a historic medieval walled city in North Yorkshire that is situated on the confluence of the River Ouse and the River Foss, and is the traditional county town of Yorkshire. Famous for its outstanding history and archaeology, unique shops and award-winning visitor attractions, York has since been awarded UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network status.

It is a city steeped in a rich history dating back almost 2,000 years. Founded by the Romans in 71AD, York became the capital of the Roman province of Britannia and then later the kingdoms of Northumbria and Jorvik.

Throughout the centuries, and unlike many other British cities that have succumbed to the passage of time and to the modern era, York has retained much of its medieval structure and historic character. In many ways, the city centre exudes an atmosphere of history, like that of an open-air museum of a city frozen in time.

Many of the ancient timbered houses still perch and lean precariously into the narrow web of winding streets such as the Shambles, York’s most famous shopping street and, arguably, one of the best preserved medieval streets in Europe, if not the world. Once lined with butchers’ shops and shelves displaying cuts of meat, this now picturesque street, dating back to the fourteenth century was even mentioned in the Doomsday Book in 1086. Nowadays, it is currently home to an array of independent retailers including a chocolatier, a fudge maker, antique jewellery, book and souvenir shops and remains one of York’s most iconic and photographed streets.

York’s ancient city centre is protected within by beautifully preserved historic city walls that, at 3.4km long, are the longest and most intact medieval city walls in the whole of England. York’s City Walls attract 2.5 million visitors each year who can take the 2-hour-long walk along the length of the walls to admire the magnificent and iconic views across the city.

Due to its geography and strategic position, York developed as a railway centre during the nineteenth century. The introduction of the railways into the city saw industries, primarily in the form of confectionery, develop and flourish. At the turn of the century, it was apparent that both York's railways and its confectionery industry were the two predominant industries. The award winning National Railway Museum in York, the largest of its kind in Europe, tells the continuing story of rail transport in Britain and how this has impacted on society up to the present day. Also, to this day, York continues to be the UK’s home of chocolate. Notable confectioners from the city’s industrial past include Rowntree's, for one, which was founded in 1862 and which provided substantial revenue as well as employment to the local area, as did Terry's, renowned for their chocolate orange, which also originated in the city.  York’s Chocolate Story is a visitor attraction that explores York’s chocolate heritage and puts itself at the heart of the city’s 300-year chocolate history, telling the stories behind the biggest names in chocolate and the art and craft of chocolate making.

Today, the city of York has a population of 204,439 and its local economy revolves primarily around tourism and the service sector. In 2000, the service sector accounted for 88.7% of the city's employment, with the primary industries being health, education and finance. The biggest employers in the service sector currently are firstly York City Council, which employs around 7,500 people, as well as Aviva, Network Rail and the University of York, all of which employ over 2,000 people.

Tourism has accounted for 10.7% of employment in the city in recent years. In 2009, it was the 7th most visited city by UK residents, and 13th by overseas visitors. Museums such as Jorvik Viking Centre provide a substantial base for employment, but some of the other most frequently visited areas are York Minster, and York Castle, of which the Castle Museum can be found nearby.

The impressive and iconic York Minster majestically dominates the skyline across the city being the second largest and one of the finest examples of a gothic cathedral in Northern Europe. Visit England has listed York Minster as one of their History and Heritage Experiences ‘101 things to do before you go abroad’.

The most impressive views across the city of York can be seen from the top of the central tower of the Cathedral after climbing the 275 steps that take you to the highest point in the city.

Another of York’s famous and most iconic landmarks is Clifford’s Tower, an imposing medieval tower standing high upon a mound and the only remains of York Castle, built by William the Conqueror in 1068 as a statement of his power in the region.

The Theatre Royal is also hugely popular amongst visitors, seating 837 people, as is the Grand Opera House, a Grade II listed building.

Every September, since 1997, the city has also held a festival of food and drink, and its primary aim is to promote gastronomic culture from York and North Yorkshire by celebrating local food production and produce.

The city is also home to a number of breweries and enjoys a reputation for the brewing of unique real ales, making it a top UK beer destination. Each year, Yorkshire’s largest beer festival, which is run by York CAMRA – York Beer & Cider Festival, takes place at The Knavesmire, the home of York Racecourse where over 450 real ales and over 100 ciders are showcased. Beer lovers can also enjoy guided tours of local breweries including York Brewery which was established in 1996 within the Micklegate Bar Walls and offers visitors insights on the traditional art of brewing and the production of their award-winning range of ales.

York is also well known for its pub culture and, in particular, its many historic pubs, some of which are said to be haunted. Set along a small snickleway, off the ancient historic street of Stonegate, is the Ye Old Starre Inn, known to be one of the oldest and most historic pubs in the city. Set within a Grade II listed building with its famous sign overhanging the street, it is said to date back to 1644. Its 10th century cellar was believed to have been used to tend to wounded soldiers during the English Civil War. It is said to be one of the most haunted pubs in York and resident ghosts include a cat that was once bricked-up into the walls.

No trip to York is complete without a visit to the world-famous Betty’s Tearooms on St Helen’s Square right in the heart of the old town. Betty’s traditional afternoon teas served in their beautiful art deco inspired tea rooms are famous the world over. Recently, Visit England featured afternoon tea at Betty’s in their ‘101 things to do before you go abroad’.

From independent boutiques to big brand high street stores, open air markets to quirky vintage, antique and curio shops, in York shoppers can find it all. Famous for its maze of cobbled medieval streets, York offers shoppers a unique and unrivalled shopping experience.

Just a few minutes’ drive outside of the historic city centre is the conveniently located York Designer Outlet, an out of town shopping mall in a beautifully landscaped garden setting, owned by the McArthurGlen Group. The indoor centre is a popular shopping destination, attracting shoppers from across the UK. Home to over 120 leading UK international designer and high street brands including Hobbs, LK Bennett, Ted Baker, Reiss, Hugo Boss, Calvin Klein, Osprey London and many more, shoppers flock to make the most of the big discounts off designer wear.

Sport also has a strong presence in the city. Bootham Crescent is the home of York City Football Club, and has a capacity of almost 8,000. The team currently plays in the Football League Two, however, they have previously reached the semi-finals in the FA cup.

York Racecourse is, perhaps, the most prominent sporting attraction in the city, and from 1990 has been awarded the best Northern Racecourse for 17 years running. It has 15 meetings every year, and accommodates thousands of visitors. It hosted Royal Ascot in 2005.

York is situated within close proximity to other market towns and villages in North Yorkshire and East Yorkshire including Beverley and Wetherby both famous for their racecourses, the popular spa town of Harrogate, Northallerton in the Vale of York, Selby, Goole, Tadcaster, Market Weighton, Bishopthorpe and Haxby. York is part of “The Golden Triangle” a term often used by estate agents to describe the area in Yorkshire between Harrogate, North Leeds and York. The area is often associated with being an affluent area with some of the most expensive houses in Yorkshire, and is considered a great location as a commuter belt for the commercial centres of Leeds and York. It is also conveniently positioned for easy access to the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors national parks.

York is also close to other major northern cities such as Leeds, Bradford, Kingston-Upon-Hull and Sheffield and is very well connected with excellent transport links to other cities including Newcastle, Manchester and Liverpool. Being a roman town, the city is served well via the road system, being on the intersection of the A19 road from Doncaster to Tyneside. The A64 road provides a link to the motorway network, linking York to the A1 and the M1.

York railway station continues to be a major station since its opening in 1839. Nowadays, it is situated on the East Coast Main Line and, therefore, provides frequent services down to London King's Cross as well as up to Scotland. The TransPennine Express also links the city to areas such as Liverpool and Manchester Airport.

There is a long list of famous people who have come from York, including, Guy Fawkes (revolutionary), Judi Dench (actress), W.H Auden (writer), Steve McClaren (Ex-England Football Manager) and Vince Cable (Politician).