The first step to buying a house for most of us is getting a mortgage. And in shopping around for a mortgage, you may have been offered ‘free legals’ as part of the package.
Whilst more common when it comes to remortgaging, as it allows you to change lenders without the need to find a lawyer, it is sometimes used to tempt homebuyers too with the promise of conveyancing taken care of at no extra cost.
Sounds too good to be true? It probably is. Although there may be a saving to be made, it’s likely to be negligible, with the true cost factored in elsewhere in the process.
It’s also important to read the small print as what’s offered may cover the basics but not the cost of any further investigations required should complications arise.
Convenience is a factor, but with such a major investment, it’s wise to take time to properly research the options before making a decision. As ever, it pays to shop around for a service that you are sure meets your needs.
Chequered past: Complaints about ‘free legals’
The concept has been around for a long time, but it’s fair to say that free legals have had a chequered history.
A survey by the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries (AMI) revealed more than 82% of brokers found the standard of ‘free’ services worse than solicitors or conveyancers appointed by the customer themselves. It led the AMI to call for lenders to increase their cashback offers to cover legal costs.
The most common complaints were delays caused by conveyancers not returning their messages and, consequently, deadlines being missed.
It’s important to note, however, that the above preceded the pandemic and the huge amount of work that has been done over the last few years to modernise and improve the conveyancing process, from developing new technology to enable speedier and more secure identity checking to HM Land Registry’s move to adopt digital signatures.
Securing peace of mind when seeking a conveyancer
Ultimately, the most important thing when buying or remortgaging a house is your peace of mind. Cost is important but, if your budget allows, it shouldn’t be the overriding concern.
As with all of our regulated practices, any reputable conveyancer should be able to provide clear information on service and price at the outset to help you decide the most appropriate service for your needs.
This should include an estimated transaction time and, in the event of delays or additional costs, they should also be able to provide a clear explanation of what’s happening and how long it should take to resolve.
Look around and see what’s on offer, ask family and friends who they used and check out what others are saying about firms on sites such as Trustpilot.
Above all, make sure the conveyancer you choose is regulated so you are protected and have a right to redress should anything go wrong.
At the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC) we require all of our practices to display the CLC’s secure badge in a prominent place on their website, which, when clicked on, will take you through to a page on our website that confirms they are genuinely regulated by us.
You can find a list of CLC-regulated conveyancers here.
Stephen Ward is director of strategy and external relations at the Council for Licensed Conveyancers
