Conveyancing is the most complained about area of law in England and Wales – accounting for nearly a quarter of all the complaints made to the Legal Ombudsman each year.
In one instance, a first time buyer was asked to spend £20,000 on outstanding repairs in a newly bought flat, before the Ombudsman stepped in. But what is your lawyer expected to do and what is your responsibility?
Based on this and other such complaints, the Ombudsman has compiled
On the Move: A first time buyers guide for using a conveyancing lawyer, to help ensure the legal side of moving home runs smoothly.
During this process you’ll usually need a legal professional to act for you to ensure the legal title to the property passes from the seller to the buyer.
The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (
RICS) website contains useful information about the different types of survey. The most common being the Lender’s Valuation Report, Homebuyers Report and a full Building Survey.
The guide will help you to navigate buying your first home without any hitches. But if things still go wrong the
Legal Ombudsman is there to resolve complaints between legal service providers and their customers. The service is independent, impartial and free.
The types of poor service that you can ask to be investigated are varied, and might include problems such as your service provider not giving any information about their costs, not updating the information as time goes on and not doing the work in the timescale it should have been done.
