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Alister Jones of Clark Willis Solicitors on buying and selling property

Alister Jones is head of the Residential and Commercial Property team at Clark Willis Solicitors. He is an experienced property solicitor and helps clients with all kinds of property matters, including freehold and leasehold sales, purchases, transfers and equity release. For most of us, our home is the most expensive asset we are ever likely to own, so it’s hardly surprising that buying or selling a property can be a difficult and stressful process. Fortunately, though, you can make things a whole lot easier for yourself by ensuring you have a good solicitor on your side.

Suppose, for example, that you are selling. “You may think that in the current state of the market your property will be easy to sell,” says Alister, “but things are starting to get a little more difficult, especially with properties of a certain value, and with rural properties where there may be complex issues involved.

“Just as you should be looking at engaging a proactive local estate agent – someone who understands the area and will actively sell your property for you – you should also be looking to instruct a proactive local solicitor.”

“Online estate agents and conveyancers may appear to be cheaper, but you only get the service you pay for.”

Forward Thinking

“Most sellers still wait until they have accepted an offer from a buyer before engaging a solicitor, but that’s not necessarily the best strategy. Sales can easily fall through because of issues regarding timings. Nowadays the estimated turnaround time between acceptance of an offer and completion is eight to twelve weeks, and that average is creeping up. By instructing a solicitor at an earlier stage you can potentially speed things up by two to three weeks.

“Your solicitor can get all the initial forms and documents in order early and be ready to send out a buyer’s pack immediately you have accepted an offer, putting you ahead of the game. Here at Clark Willis we don’t make a charge for work done at the marketing stage in the event that you don’t find a buyer – so for you, the seller, getting started early is essentially risk-free.

“As a long-established, experienced firm of solicitors, customer service is at the heart of what we do. We will explain things clearly and concisely, deal promptly with enquiries and help preempt potential difficulties. As much as is possible we will take the weight off a client’s shoulders.”

“Ours is a professional, proactive approach to the transaction as a whole, a level of service that you won’t find with many of the other options out there.

“Of course buyers too deserve the same high standard of service – although unfortunately they don’t always get it. People often tell me they have been given a quote and then find out at the end of the process that they were liable for several unexpected extras: stamp duty, land registry fees, search fees and so on.

“As a regulated firm of solicitors, here at Clark Willis we have to be transparent about our fees, so you won’t get any nasty surprises. When we give a quote we make sure we include anything and everything that is likely to be an expense for the client. We can provide concise quotes by email or in person at either of our offices.

“Once the contract pack arrives from the seller we’ll deal swiftly with everything that needs to be done, preparing a detailed report and getting searches under way. Searches that are usually done as standard are local authority searches, water and drainage searches, and environmental searches.”

An Eye For The Details

“Local authority researches cover things such as a property’s planning history, buildings regulations history, adopted roads and paths and public rights of way, and there’s the option of an additional search for planning applications nearby.

“A water and drainage search will examine issues such as the location of adopted sewers and whether the water supply comes from the mains, a borehole or a private supply. An environmental search will look at factors such as possible historic contamination of the site, flooding risk, ground stability, agricultural ties and National Park status.

“At the same time as getting the searches done we’ll be using Land Registry information to compile a Report on Title that will highlight issues such as restrictions on the property, rights that benefit the property, and rights of way.”

“If anything emerges that requires clarification we will immediately raise enquiries, and if satisfactory answers are provided we will then look towards signing the paperwork, such as the contract and transfer deed, and setting a date for exchange of contracts and completion. If the client is getting a mortgage, the offer will come to us via the mortgage lender.”

“Regarding financial issues, in recent years there has been a notable increase in the risk of fraud due to the online nature of so many aspects of the conveyancing process. At Clark Willis we have very strict protocols regarding financial safety, and the protection of our client is utmost in our minds throughout the transaction.

“We believe that proactive management and our friendly personal touch make a real difference to our clients. Of course a chain is only as strong as the weakest link, and we can’t guarantee that the other party in any transaction will employ conveyancers that meet the same high standards of speed and efficiency that we aspire to. Nonetheless we believe that with our experience and professionalism we can make the experience of the conveyancing process as simple, straightforward and painless as possible for our clients.”

Clark Willis Solicitors have offices in Darlington and Northallerton. For more details visit clarkwillis.com or call 01325 281111 or 01609 765765.