Conveyancing in Crawley
Conveyancing is the legal work that ensures property is transferred from a seller to a buyer. If you need a solicitor for conveyancing in Crawley, we can help you with fast & proactive conveyancing from a national panel of conveyancing specialists.
We have helped clients in Crawley and throughout West Sussex with buying, selling, buy-to-let, Help to Buy, Right to Buy, shared ownership, new build, leasehold, lease extensions, remortgage and transfer of equity.
Other areas covered: East Grinstead, Horley, Horsham and Reigate
Buying property in Crawley
Crawley's location in West Sussex on the main London to Brighton road helped it develop as a market town, particularly in the 19th century. The opening of Gatwick airport brought further prosperity and in 1946, Crawley was designated for development as a new town, absorbing the nearby districts of Ifield, Pound Hill and Three Bridges.
Thanks to good transport links - the journey to Victoria or London Bridge takes less than 45 minutes - and good value property prices, Crawley earned the title of the most successful commuter town in East or West Sussex.
House prices have surged in the last 5 years, as more families seek to move to the area, and the trend looks set to continue.
Council Tax in Crawley (2023/24)
| Band | Amount |
|---|---|
| A | £1,399.11 |
| B | £1,632.29 |
| C | £1,865.47 |
| D | £2,098.66 |
| E | £2,565.03 |
| F | £3,031.40 |
| G | £3,497.77 |
| H | £4,197.32 |
What do conveyancing solicitors do?
For a house or flat purchase, your lawyer will handle all the legal elements of buying a home. They will perform due diligence on the property, like raising enquires of the seller, property searches, reviewing contracts and registering your ownership of the property at HMLR.
Crawley conveyancing solicitors may undertake searches for flood risk.
Will you be taking out a mortgage?
Whether you are buying a commercial property or a first-time buyer, your solicitor must also complete legal work for your bank or building society. If your lawyer is not on your lender's panel, your purchase could take weeks longer to complete and cost you more in the process.
We work with lawyers who can represent the vast majority of banks and specialist lenders, helping to facilitate a faster completion for your purchase.
Read more:
Conveyancing for buying a property
Find out if our panel solicitors can act for your mortgage lender
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We can also assist home movers in Crawley with the legal work for:
There exist around 500,000 listed buildings across the country, 110 of which are in Crawley Borough Council. Listed buildings in and near to Crawley include: There are many additional things to consider when buying a listed building. Our specialist panel of property solicitors will discuss with you the additional legal obligations your planned listed building purchase will entail. Examples include use of traditional methods and materials for maintenance, and consent required for energy efficient alterations. Read more:Buying a listed building
When you purchase a share in a house or flat from a housing association, you'll need the help of a specialist solicitor. Although taking this approach makes property ownership more attainable, shared ownership is more complex, as all properties are leasehold and mortgage lenders' apply stricter criteria. Quittance's panel of solicitors has years of experience with shared ownership conveyancing and staircasing.Buying a Shared Ownership property
Buying a leasehold property
Purchasing a leasehold house or flat is significantly more complex than buying a freehold property. The many potential complications awaiting the unsuspecting buyer can include legally technical issues like incomplete management company accounts and unreasonable lease extension premiums.
A leasehold solicitor will look into all potential issues with the lease and report back to you.
Read more:
What you need to know about buying a leasehold property
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Selling property in Crawley
For the sale of homes in Crawley, your conveyancing solicitor will prepare the necessary documentation, including assorted property information forms and the contract of sale.
The duties of a seller's solicitor includes overcoming hurdles such as lack of consent for alterations, answering enquiries from the buyer's solicitor and redeeming the mortgage.
Your lawyer will also communicate effectively with the other parties, including agents, lenders and landlords, confirming that the sale completes quickly.
Does sale conveyancing take longer for leasehold?
Yes, compared to freehold conveyancing. The conveyancing for selling a leasehold home typically takes longer.
The buyer's conveyancer must review these documents. These could include details of any breaches by other leaseholders and management company information. The time required by to source this information is usually the cause of these delays.
It could take several weeks to collect this paperwork if it is difficult to contact the agent responsible for managing the property or they are slow to respond, so your solicitor ought to start this process before a buyer has even been found.
Read more:
Selling a leasehold flat? What to do before going on the market
Conveyancing for selling a property
Remortgage conveyancing
The base interest rate is 5.25% (9 December, 2024)
You should check your preferred solicitor is on your lender's legal panel before you instruct your solicitor.
Our remortgage panel solicitors can work with 99% of all lenders. Whether you are changing to an offset mortgage with Metro Bank or moving to a capped mortgage with Aldermore Bank, we can assist.
Read more:
Find out if our panel solicitors can act for your mortgage lender
Get a remortgage conveyancing quote
Transfer of equity in Crawley
If you need to change the ownership shares of your home, whether you are buying out a joint owner, tax planning for the future or transferring the ownership of your home to your daughter, son or other family member, you will need to transfer equity.
Your conveyancer will complete the process for a fixed fee.
Read more:
Transfer of equity Stamp Duty calculator
Get a transfer of equity conveyancing quote
How much does conveyancing cost in Crawley?
Solicitors' fees
The conveyancing quote should clearly detail the legal fees, including VAT, that you pay when the property transaction is complete. These fees are what your conveyancing solicitor charges you for the work they carry out.
Disbursements (third party costs)
Disbursements are third-party costs paid by your solicitor on your behalf. Examples of disbursements include Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT), HM Land Registry fees and property searches.
Check the terms and conditions
Some solicitors' quotes may include additional charges in their terms and conditions, resulting in an inflated final bill. If you are comparing quotes, watch out for undisclosed fees missing from the original quote.
