Buying your first home is indeed an exciting experience.
But, it can also be a bit of a stressful one; on the one hand, you have a beautiful new home, waiting for you to move into. On the other hand, there is a seemingly endless mountain of paperwork to be completed and quite a number of hurdles to jump over.
Regardless of the reasons behind purchasing a property, you are going to need expert help. While it may seem tempting to rely on the legal advice of an estate agent, they are not trained in every area of conveyancing law, meaning you may be set up for a fall; no one wants that!
It may even be tempting to invest in an actual conveyancer, but once again, this may not end well, depending on the type of property you are aiming to buy. It also doesn’t cover you against potential complications.
What should you look out for when choosing a conveyancing solicitor in Portsmouth to help you buy your home?
Easy contact
You’ve got the mortgage, you’ve got the house that you want to buy in mind and your conveyancing solicitors from Portsmouth aren’t picking up the phone; talk about a frustrating situation!
It is standard practice for many housing based solicitors to keep on top of their caseloads, but a little reassurance for you is important too. When you are interviewing any potential conveyancing solicitors near Portsmouth, take note of their working hours and notice if they are eager to give you their contact information. If they aren’t, it may be worth moving forward to the next person on your shortlist.
Online tracking
Ah, the internet; it has revolutionised access to essential information and has made it easier to track things like our spending and applications.
If you are the type of person who likes to have immediate access to information, then it may be worth choosing a solicitor firm that has an online tracker. That means that at 3 am, you will be able to track the progress of your housing purchase.
This reduces stress over the entire issue and means you won’t be calling your solicitor every day to check progress. Brilliant!
Costs and fees
It is worth being wary of firms that offer a set price deal; buying or selling a home can be a fairly pricey business and so, you want to make sure you get true value for money!
Be sure to ask any firm upfront about their fees in helping you buy your home; do they charge additional costs for drawing up contracts? Ideally, they will be clear with you about an estimated cost and won’t offer every service for a set price. If they do, be very careful about going forward with them.
Communication
You will want a solicitor who is completely open with you about the process from start to finish. Not only that, but you will want a professional who can help you to understand the more technical jargon too.