Buying a house involves lots of legal work. This is known as conveyancing.
A solicitor or licensed-conveyor can do this for you. In the current poor housing market
it is well worth shopping around as many are doing special deals. The solicitor will
check contracts, perform local-authority & title searches, liase 100% with the
seller/their solicitor and look into lease's for leasehold properties. Even for the
cheapest of houses expect to pay several hundred pounds in costs, much of which you
will not see the benefit of as they are hidden. Remember that you may well have stamp-duty
to pay on top of this. Allow 1% to 3.5% of the house price for this.
When to Pay:- Apart from search fees which are paid as you go along, you pay the main
costs of the solicitor just a day or so before completion.
