Solicitors are required in almost every property transaction. When purchasing or selling a property which will involve a mortgage or secured load, the lender will insist on the use of a solicitors practice. Most solicitors are accepted by UK lenders (normally subject to a minimum of 2 practicing partners), and in some instances lenders may accept the use of licensed conveyancers.

Your legal practitioner (Solicitor) will simply carry out all the legalities of buying and selling property. One thing you must remember as a client is that disbursements by solicitors are invariably charged separately and can prove to be quite costly.

Therefore, when instructing any solicitor ask for a quote at the outset for their legal fees (not forgetting VAT) and approximate cost for disbursements although charges may vary locally for some.

They would generally include :-

Local land charges search and enquiries.
Search at H.M. land charges registry, Plymouth.
Mining searches.
Water searches.

Your solicitor should be only to happy to explain what searches he is carry out, what they entail and their result.

They will also be responsible for the drawing up of contracts between buyers and sellers, and ensuring the required funds are in place for completion.