Questions to Ask Before Instructing a Conveyancer
What to Check Before You Choose Your Conveyancer
Before instructing a conveyancer, asking a few important questions can help you understand the service you’re going to receive, how much you’re likely to pay and who will be responsible for your property transaction.
A conveyancing quote is important, but it doesn’t tell you everything. Communication, relevant experience, case management and possible additional charges can all affect your experience once the transaction gets underway.
This guide covers the questions to ask a conveyancer before instructing, helping you compare firms and make a more informed choice.
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Why Ask Questions Before Instructing a Conveyancer?
Once you’ve instructed a conveyancer, they may be involved in your property transaction for several weeks or potentially longer.
During that time, you’ll rely on them to carry out the legal work, communicate with other parties and explain what you need to do as the transaction progresses.
Taking a little time before instructing can help establish:
- who will handle your transaction
- how you’ll communicate
- whether the firm has relevant experience
- what the quotation includes
- when additional charges might apply
- whether they can act for your mortgage lender
- how you’ll be kept updated
- what happens if something goes wrong
For more help comparing different firms, explore our Choosing a Conveyancer guides.
What Should You Ask a Conveyancer Before Instructing?
You don’t need to interrogate a conveyancing firm with dozens of questions.
For most transactions, there are a handful of areas that are particularly useful to understand before you decide.
Question |
Why it matters |
|---|---|
|
1. Who will handle my transaction? |
Helps you understand who is responsible for your case |
|
2. How will you keep me updated? |
Establishes how communication will work |
|
3. Do you have experience with this type of transaction? |
Particularly important for less straightforward property transactions |
|
4. What does my quote include? |
Helps you compare the actual cost rather than just the headline fee |
|
5. Could I have to pay any additional fees? |
Identifies circumstances that could change the cost |
|
6. Can you act for my mortgage lender? |
Important where you’re buying or remortgaging with a mortgage |
|
7. How can I contact you? |
Helps set expectations before the transaction starts |
|
8. What happens if my transaction falls through? |
Helps you understand which fees or costs may still be payable |
Let’s look at each in more detail.
1. Who Will Handle My Conveyancing?
This is one of the simplest questions you can ask, but it can tell you a great deal about how the firm operates.
Some firms allocate your transaction to a particular conveyancer supported by a team. Others use a team-based system where different people deal with different parts of the process.
Neither approach is automatically better.
What matters is understanding who has responsibility for your transaction and who you can contact when you need help.
Useful follow-up questions include:
- Will I have a named conveyancer?
- Will I have a named point of contact?
- Who deals with my case if that person is unavailable?
- Will different people handle different stages?
Knowing how the team works before you instruct can help avoid mismatched expectations later.
2. How Will You Keep Me Updated?
Don’t wait until you’re several weeks into the transaction to discover how your conveyancer communicates.
Ask how updates are provided and how frequently you can expect to hear from the firm.
Depending on the conveyancer, communication might include:
- telephone
- text messages
- an online portal
- automated progress updates
- direct updates from the conveyancing team
Technology can be useful, but an online portal doesn’t necessarily tell you how easy it will be to speak to someone if you have a question.
Ask what happens when you need an explanation rather than simply a status update.
3. Do You Have Experience With My Type of Property Transaction?
For a straightforward transaction, many conveyancing firms will regularly deal with similar properties.
However, some transactions involve additional legal work or particular procedures.
Relevant examples can include:
- leasehold property
- new-build property
- shared ownership
- buy-to-let
- auction purchases
- probate property
- unregistered property
- transfers of equity
If there’s something unusual about your property or circumstances, explain it before asking for a quotation where possible.
That gives the conveyancer an opportunity to confirm whether they regularly handle similar transactions and can also help ensure the quotation reflects the work likely to be involved.
4. What Does My Conveyancing Quote Include?
Don’t compare conveyancing firms using the headline legal fee alone.
Ask what is included in the quotation and whether other costs will be payable.
Depending on your transaction, a quotation may show:
- the conveyancer’s legal fee
- VAT
- property search costs
- Land Registry fees
- other third-party costs or disbursements
- additional fees for particular legal work
The way these costs are presented can vary between firms.
What matters is that you understand what you’re likely to pay and what work the quotation covers.
5. Could I Have to Pay Any Additional Fees?
Even where a conveyancer provides a fixed-fee quotation, additional fees may sometimes apply if work is required outside the original agreed scope.
Ask the firm what circumstances could result in an additional charge.
For example, extra legal work could potentially become necessary if the transaction reveals an unexpected issue or involves something that wasn’t known when the original quotation was prepared.
The purpose of asking isn’t to obtain a guarantee that nothing unexpected will ever happen.
It’s to understand how additional work is dealt with and how you’ll be told about any extra cost.
6. Can You Act for My Mortgage Lender?
If you’re buying or remortgaging with a mortgage, this is an important question to ask.
Your conveyancer may also need to represent the interests of your mortgage lender, and lenders have requirements concerning the firms that can act for them.
Tell the conveyancer which lender you’re using where known and ask whether they can act for that lender in your transaction.
Checking this before you instruct can help avoid discovering later that another firm needs to become involved.
7. How Can I Contact You During the Transaction?
This is slightly different from asking how the firm provides updates.
You also want to know what happens when you need to contact them.
Ask:
- Can I speak to the conveyancing team by telephone?
- Can I contact them by email?
- Will I have direct contact details?
- What happens if my usual contact is unavailable?
- Is there an online portal?
- How are urgent queries handled?
Think about how you prefer to communicate.
Someone who wants to speak to a person when a problem arises may value a different service from someone who is happy managing most of the transaction through an online portal.
Explore: Online vs Local Conveyancer →
8. What Happens if My Property Transaction Falls Through?
Not every agreed property transaction reaches completion.
A buyer or seller may withdraw, a survey could identify a problem, a mortgage may not proceed or another transaction in the property chain could collapse.
Ask what happens to your conveyancing fees if your transaction doesn’t complete.
Depending on the firm’s terms and the arrangement you’ve agreed, you may still be responsible for:
- legal work already carried out
- third-party costs already incurred
- property searches already ordered
- other disbursements paid on your behalf
If the firm offers a “no sale, no fee” or similar arrangement, check exactly what it covers rather than relying on the phrase alone.
Other Useful Questions You May Want to Ask
Are You Properly Regulated?
Check that you’re dealing with an appropriately authorised conveyancing provider.
Depending on the type of firm, this may include regulation by organisations such as the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) or Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC).
What Do You Need From Me to Get Started?
Finding out what identification, information or documentation is required can help you get the process underway promptly.
When Should I Instruct You?
If you’re selling, you may be able to choose and instruct your conveyancer before a buyer has been found.
If you’re buying, having a conveyancer selected means you can provide their details promptly once your offer has been accepted.
How Do You Deal With Problems or Delays?
You can’t expect a conveyancer to guarantee that your transaction will never encounter a problem.
A more useful question is how they communicate when an issue arises and what they’ll do to help progress matters that are within their control.
Should You Ask How Long Conveyancing Will Take?
Yes, but be cautious about expecting an exact completion date at the beginning of the transaction.
Conveyancing timescales can depend on factors outside your conveyancer’s control, including:
Property searches
Mortgage arrangements
Legal enquiries
Information from third parties
Title issues
Leasehold documentation
Other buyers and sellers
The property chain
A conveyancer may be able to give you an indication based on the type of transaction, but circumstances can change as the legal work progresses.
Be particularly cautious about treating a very precise timescale given before the legal work has begun as a guarantee.
Should You Ask for a Fixed-Fee Conveyancing Quote?
Yes, if the firm offers fixed-fee conveyancing.
A written quotation gives you something concrete to review before you instruct.
Look at the complete quotation rather than just the headline legal fee and check:
What legal work is covered
Whether VAT is shown
Anticipated disbursements
Possible additional fees
Any relevant conditions
If something isn’t clear, ask before agreeing to proceed.
Should You Ask About Reviews?
You don’t necessarily need to ask the conveyancer directly about their reviews because you can usually research these yourself.
Rather than relying only on an average star rating, read a selection of recent reviews and look for recurring comments about things such as:
Communication
Responsiveness
Clarity
Updates
Handling problems
Overall service
Reviews are only one source of information, but patterns across a larger number of recent reviews may help you understand other clients’ experiences.
What Should You Tell the Conveyancer Before Asking for a Quote?
Getting useful answers isn’t only about the questions you ask.
Giving the conveyancer accurate information about your transaction can help them understand the work likely to be required.
Depending on your circumstances, useful information may include:
Whether You’re Buying, Selling or Remortgaging
The legal work differs depending on the transaction.
The Type of Property
For example, whether the property is a house or flat and whether it is freehold or leasehold where known.
The Agreed or Expected Property Price
This may be relevant when preparing your quotation.
Whether a Mortgage Is Involved
If you know the lender, tell the conveyancer.
Anything Unusual About the Transaction
For example, shared ownership, a new build, an auction purchase, unregistered property or another specialist circumstance.
If your transaction involves unusual legal circumstances, you can also explore our Specialist Conveyancing services.
The more accurately the transaction is described, the easier it is for the firm to provide relevant information about its service and charges.
A Checklist Before You Instruct a Conveyancer
Before making your final decision, check that you can answer these questions:
- Do I know who will handle my transaction?
- Do I understand how I’ll receive updates?
- Do I know how to contact the conveyancing team?
- Does the firm have relevant experience?
- Do I understand what the quotation includes?
- Do I know when additional fees could apply?
- Can the firm act for my lender if required?
- Do I understand what happens if the transaction falls through?
- Have I checked the firm’s regulatory details?
- Am I comfortable with the service I’m being offered?
If you can answer those questions before instructing, you’ll have a much clearer idea of what to expect once your conveyancing begins.
Why Choosing the Right Conveyancer Matters
Choosing the right conveyancer is about more than comparing prices. We recommend carefully selected firms based on service, communication and reliability, helping you enjoy a smoother property transaction from instruction through to completion.
Carefully Selected
Every firm we recommend is assessed against our standards for service, communication and professionalism.
Regular Updates
Regular updates and in-house client support to help keep your transaction moving.
Fixed Fee Quotes
Clear fixed-fee quotations with transparent pricing, helping you understand the costs before you instruct.
A Smoother Move
Helping reduce unnecessary delays and making your property transaction smoother and less stressful.
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