Why You Should Choose The Best Conveyancing Solicitor

Buying or selling a home in England and Wales involves stamp duty calculations, property searches, contract review, and identity checks, and getting any one of these wrong can delay completion or cost thousands of pounds. Standard residential stamp duty land tax now starts at £125,000, after the temporary higher nil-rate thresholds introduced in 2022 reverted on 1st April 2025. Choosing an experienced conveyancing solicitor, rather than the cheapest quote, is often what protects a buyer from the costly mistakes that surface only once a purchase has completed.

Summary

• Choosing an experienced conveyancing solicitor over the cheapest quote reduces the risk of missed title issues, delayed completion, or costly disputes after moving in.
• Thorough title investigation checks legal ownership, restrictive covenants, easements, and boundary accuracy against the registered title at HM Land Registry.
• Targeted property searches, including local authority, drainage, and location-specific checks, answer questions the title itself cannot, from planning history to underground hazards.
• Payment diversion fraud cost property buyers and sellers an average of more than £80,000 per case between April 2024 and March 2025, according to the National Crime Agency, making verified bank details essential before any transfer.
• From 1st April 2025, standard residential stamp duty starts at £125,000 and first-time buyer relief starts at £300,000, so buyers should confirm the current thresholds before budgeting for a purchase.

Introduction

If you are buying or selling a home and tempted to accept the cheapest conveyancing quote, you may be unsure what you actually get for the extra cost of an experienced solicitor. A conveyancing solicitor investigates the title, targets the right searches, reviews the contract, and runs the fraud checks that protect the money moving through the transaction.

Every property transaction carries risk that a lower-cost, high-volume conveyancing service is not always equipped to manage. Thorough title investigation, properly targeted searches, and careful contract review all take time and expertise, and cutting corners on any of them can leave a buyer exposed long after they have moved in. Fraud prevention checks add a further layer that a diligent solicitor treats as routine.

This forms part of our wider guide to residential conveyancing.

Why does experience matter in conveyancing?

Experience matters because a conveyancing solicitor’s judgement determines which risks in a title, search result, or contract term actually need investigating, rather than simply processing paperwork. An inexperienced or overstretched conveyancer can miss an issue that only becomes obvious once the buyer tries to sell, extend, or mortgage the property years later.

A solicitor who regularly handles complex titles will recognise an unusual restriction, an unexplained gap in the chain of ownership, or an inconsistency between the title plan and what a buyer has actually been shown, and will know which of these needs resolving before exchange rather than after completion. Choosing a solicitor on price alone risks paying less now and considerably more later if a problem surfaces once it is too late to renegotiate.

What should good title investigation cover?

Good title investigation covers confirming who legally owns the property, identifying every right, restriction, or charge affecting it, and checking that what is being sold matches the official title plan. A solicitor completes this by examining the registered title at HM Land Registry alongside any historic deeds still relevant to unregistered elements of the property.

This process reveals restrictive covenants, easements such as rights of way, outstanding mortgages or charges that must be cleared on completion, and any discrepancy between the boundary as described and the boundary as understood by the buyer. Missing any of these at this stage can mean the buyer inherits a problem they never agreed to take on, from an unexpected right of access across their garden to a covenant restricting how they can use the property.

Which searches actually protect a buyer?

The searches that protect a buyer most are the local authority search, the environmental and drainage searches, and any search specific to the property’s location or history, such as a mining or flood risk search. Each search answers a different question the title itself cannot answer, from planning history to underground hazards.

A local land charges search confirms whether the local authority holds any charge or planning restriction against the property, while a drainage and water search confirms who is responsible for pipes serving the property and whether the public sewer network connects to it. Chancel repair liability, a historic obligation on some parishes dating back to the dissolution of the monasteries under Henry VIII, can still affect the owners of former monastic land in rare cases and is generally now dealt with through indemnity insurance rather than a dedicated search. A solicitor selects searches based on the specific property and location rather than applying a single standard package to every transaction.

How can buyers avoid conveyancing fraud?

Buyers avoid conveyancing fraud most effectively by verifying any bank details for a payment by phone before transferring money, and by treating any late change to payment instructions as a warning sign rather than routine admin. Criminals target property transactions specifically because the sums involved are large and the timeline is often tight.

Between April 2024 and March 2025, Action Fraud recorded 143 reports of payment diversion fraud in property transactions, with victims losing an average of more than £80,000, according to the National Crime Agency. Nick Sharp, Deputy Director Fraud at the National Economic Crime Centre in the National Crime Agency, said that “payment diversion fraud is one of the highest harm types of fraud experienced by victims, and when it manifests during a property purchase transaction, it has a huge impact on those who fall victim.” A solicitor who insists on verified, in-person, or telephone-confirmed bank details before any transfer removes the single biggest opening fraudsters rely on.

What checks will my solicitor run on me?

Your solicitor will run identity verification and anti-money laundering checks on you before acting, as required under the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017. These checks typically combine document verification with electronic or biometric identity confirmation rather than relying on a single passport or utility bill check.

Firms follow the Legal Sector Affinity Group anti-money laundering guidance, approved by HM Treasury, which the Solicitors Regulation Authority treats as the current standard for AML-supervised firms, with its most recent substantive revision effective from 23rd April 2025. Expect to provide proof of identity and proof of address, and expect your solicitor to ask where your deposit funds have come from, since source-of-funds checks are a standard and mandatory part of the process, not a sign that anything is wrong with your transaction.

Frequently asked questions

Is the cheapest conveyancing quote the best value?

No, the cheapest conveyancing quote is not usually the best value once the cost of a missed title issue, a delayed completion, or an unresolved dispute is taken into account. A slightly higher fee for an experienced solicitor typically reflects more thorough title investigation and search analysis, which reduces the risk of expensive problems after completion.

How much stamp duty will I pay?

Stamp duty depends on the purchase price and whether you qualify as a first-time buyer. Standard buyers pay nothing on the first £125,000, then rising rates up to 12% above £1.5 million, while first-time buyers pay nothing up to £300,000 and 5% between £300,001 and £500,000, according to government guidance on Stamp Duty Land Tax rates. First-time buyer relief is not available at all above £500,000.

Must I prove where my deposit came from?

Yes, solicitors are legally required to check the source of a buyer’s funds as part of customer due diligence under the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017. Source-of-funds checks are a standard step for every buyer, not an indication of suspicion, and providing clear documentation promptly helps keep your transaction on schedule.

Talk to Cocks Lloyd

If you are buying or selling a home and want a conveyancing solicitor who investigates every title thoroughly and protects you against fraud risk, contact Cocks Lloyd to discuss your transaction.

About the author

Pardeep Kandola, Solicitor, Cocks Lloyd Solicitors. SRA number 803567.

Pardeep Kandola is a Solicitor in the Residential Conveyancing department at Cocks Lloyd Solicitors, advising buyers and sellers through the full range of freehold, leasehold, and new-build transactions. She focuses on identifying and resolving title and search issues early, so that clients reach completion with clarity about what they have bought and what obligations come with it.

Last reviewed: July 2026