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In every effort to assist our clients, we offer competitive fixed fees for all transactions and are happy to discuss your situation with you first during a FREE initial consultation. This consultation allows us to assess what specific services you need, the best options for you to take and gives you an idea of the prospective costs.
Moving to a new home should be an exciting prospect but dealing with the legal aspects can make it stressful and complicated. We believe that shouldn’t be the case.
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Personal Law
> Residential Property
Residential Property
Property transactions can often feel complex and time-sensitive. Whether you are buying, selling, remortgaging or preparing a lease agreement, our experienced residential property team provides clear, practical guidance to help your transaction progress smoothly and with confidence.
Foys Conveyancers offer legal advice and support on all matters concerning UK property and conveyancing law.
Employing the services of our dedicated Conveyancers means that we will handle all of your property matters, saving you time down the line. By drawing on our years of experience in property law, we will work tirelessly to help you without making any compromises on quality. Given our years of expertise in all areas of property law, we recognise that every situation is different, which is why we take the time to understand the service you need and give you useful advice to help you move forward.
Buying & Selling a Property
Our professional Conveyancers will assist you with:
Drafting the contract, which describes the terms and conditions of the sale agreed upon by both the buyer and the seller.
Exchanging contracts when both parties are satisfied with all the terms of the contract before committing to a transaction. The exchange will set a date for the legal completion of a transaction.
Handling completion day – the most critical day of any property transaction, which involves overseeing the transfer of funds to pay the balance of the purchase price and the releasing of keys.
Throughout the process of a transaction, your conveyancer will serve as your legal representative, negotiating on your behalf, guiding you through every step while continually updating you on the progress.
To see our conveyancing costs and estimates click here
The areas of Residential Property that we cover
Buying a council house (Right to Buy)
The Right to Buy scheme is a policy in the UK which allows the tenants of councils and some housing associates the legal right to buy the council house in which they live in, at a discounted rate. The council will first determine whether or not you are eligible for the Right to Buy scheme before helping you to apply for the scheme. Once you have been approved our dedicated team will be able to assist with the legal process from approving the draft transfer right through to registering you as the legal owner at the Land Registry.
Declaration of Trust (Deed of Trust)
When buying a property with another person as joint owners, or buying one with the help of someone else, a Declaration of Trust, or Deed of Trust, is useful as it stipulates who is entitled to protect which funds have been used towards the purchase price or to ensure a specific share held in the property. At Foys, our Conveyancers can advise you on how to protect yourself and your investment on any future resale and that this is registered at the Land Registry against the property.
Renting and letting properties, including buy-to-let
With our buy-to-let Conveyancers working with you, you may find the legal process of renting, letting or buying-to-let (including buy-to-let mortgages) smooth and speedy, allowing you to kick-start your long-term investment on the right foot. Becoming a landlord will see you obtaining a number of certifications and meeting regulations, as well as managing lease agreements and tenants – so let us work with you to ensure that you comply with the law and that your tenancy and lease agreements protect your investment. With years of experience in helping landlords in South Yorkshire, North Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, you can rest assured that Foys Conveyancers will safeguard your rights as a landlord.
Purchase of a Residential Leasehold property
Purchase a leasehold property is more complex than a freehold property whether this be a leasehold house, apartment or flat. The key understanding is to know the financial commitments and legal structure of the property before you commit. This involves checking the term of the Lease, the current and future ground rent, service charge history if applicable and any planned major works. You also need to check that there are no onerous restrictive covenants that affect your future enjoyment of the property. In some cases the Lease may be defective for a mortgage lender and a deed of variation may be required which can make the case more complicated. There are pros and cons to buying a leasehold property and our expert team is here to help and advise you on such matters.
Freehold Sale
Selling a home can often feel like a daunting experience. There are numerous legal documents to review, financial considerations to manage, and potential complications that can arise, especially in situations such as divorce, probate, or shared ownership. Navigating this process without guidance can be overwhelming. At Foys, we draw on extensive experience in residential property law to make the sale of your property as smooth and straightforward as possible.
Sale of a Residential Leasehold property
Selling a leasehold property can be more complex than selling a freehold home. Issues such as ground rent, service charges, lease length, and managing agents can make the process challenging, particularly for first-time sellers or in complicated circumstances whereby a deed of variation may be required to comply with a mortgage lenders requirements. Other things to take into consideration are possible lease extensions should a lease have a short term. We also have to liaise with a freeholder and/or management company as to their management pack and their post completion requirements required for the buyers solicitors. Generally a leasehold sale takes longer than a freehold sale. Our experienced Conveyancers are able to assist in all types of leasehold properties from a house, flat to an apartment.
Remortgages & Transfer of Equity
The term remortgage means switching mortgage lenders or placing a mortgage or second charge on your property. Our expert Conveyancers assist in advising you on your new mortgage offer and obtaining settlement figures for your existing mortgage and checking when your early repayment charges expire. We are responsible for repaying your existing mortgage and drawing down your mortgage funds. The benefit of this for you is to achieve better interest rates, lower mortgage payments and to lock in fixed periods in your new mortgage offer. During this process we will remove the existing charge at the Land Registry and register the new charge. A Transfer of Equity is a term used for adding or removing one or more individuals from the property’s title register. This can be done for a number of reasons from the result of divorce proceedings, entering into new relationships or making changes for tax planning purposes.
Shared Ownership & Staircasing
Shared ownership is a government-backed scheme that allows buyers to purchase a share of a property, usually between 25% and 75%, and pay rent on the remaining share to a housing association. It is designed to make home ownership more accessible, particularly for first-time buyers or those who cannot afford to buy outright. You can increase your share over time (known as “staircasing”) until you own the property outright. Monthly payments include a combination of mortgage and rent. There may be restrictions on selling the property, usually requiring approval from the housing association.
Newbuild Properties
We have dedicated Conveyancers that are specialised in newbuild purchases, whether this be a new build house, flat or apartment we are able to advise on all matters involved including the checking of the new title, the planning and building regulations approvals, right through to registering the property at Land Registry. Newbuilds benefit from a structural warranty which generally lasts for 10 years. Newbuild purchases are normally under a deadline to exchange and completion is normally on notice once the property is builder complete. Timescales set by a developer are sometimes not met if the construction turnaround is delayed. However, there are benefits of purchasing a newbuild property as the internal features can be customized to your benefit. The property will have a very good energy rating, better insulation and lower utility bills.
First Registrations and Assents
The first registration of title is the legal procedure in which property title deeds are submitted to the Land Registry to be officially recorded on the public register. This process applies to properties that are currently unregistered, often those that haven’t changed ownership in many years and still rely on traditional paper-based title deeds. During this process, essential documents are sent to the Land Registry, which then generates a unique title number and a title plan. This registration validates the legal ownership of the property and records it in a publicly accessible database. The record includes the owner's name and address, along with a detailed plan marking the property's boundaries. While most properties in England and Wales are now registered, this process provides several benefits: it helps prevent fraud, simplifies future transactions, and offers clear proof of ownership. An assent in property law refers to the formal process by which a personal representative (such as an executor or administrator of a deceased person's estate) transfers ownership of property to a beneficiary, as specified in the will or, if no will exists, according to the rules of intestacy. Our expert Conveyancers are able to assist in such matters.
Stages of the Process
The precise stages involved in the purchase or sale of a residential property vary according to the circumstances. However, below we have listed some key stages.
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TESTIMONIAL
"We used Foys Solicitors for the purchase of our first property and we couldn’t be happier with the service we received."
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Frequently Asked Questions
Conveyancing is the legal process of transferring property ownership from one person to another. It ensures that the property title is correctly transferred and that all legal requirements are met.
This type of transaction usually takes around 10-12 weeks to complete due to the fact that the purchasers solicitors must be satisfied with the Contract, Title, any mortgage offers and additional searches before they will be in a position to complete.
It can be quicker or slower, depending on the parties in the chain. For example, if you are selling an empty property, with nothing further to buy and your purchaser isn’t having a mortgage or searches, it could take 4-6 weeks.
The stages involved in the sale of a residential property vary according to the circumstances. However, below we have listed some key stages:
Take your instructions and give you initial advice
Download the Title and documents from Land Registry
Draft the Contract documentation
Check whether there is a mortgage to pay off and request any redemption figures from the lender
Await enquiries and deal with the same
Give you advice on signing the contract documentation
Provide a completion statement
Agree a completion date (the date from which you no longer own the property)
Exchange Contracts and notify you that this has happened
Complete the sale
Pay off any mortgages and transfer the balance monies to you
How long it will take from your offer being accepted until you can move into your new house will depend on a number of factors. An average transaction of this type usually takes 10-14 weeks to complete. However, we must be satisfied with the title, any searches, the Leasehold requirements, and any replies to enquiries. If there is a lender, we must also hold a mortgage offer and have satisfied all their requirements before we will proceed to exchange of Contracts.
It can be quicker or slower, depending on the parties in the chain. For example, if you are purchasing a Leasehold property which requires an extension of the Lease, it can take significantly longer, around 3-5 months at times. In such a situation additional charges would apply.
This type of transaction usually takes around 10-12 weeks to complete due to the fact that the purchasers solicitors must be satisfied with the Contract, Title, any mortgage offers and additional searches before they will be in a position to complete.
It can be quicker or slower, depending on the parties in the chain. For example, if you are selling an empty property, with nothing further to buy and your purchaser isn’t having a mortgage or searches, it could take 4-6 weeks.
