Holmes & Hills Solicitors: I’m a first time buyer – what do I need to know about the legal process?

Hear from an expert Shared Ownership conveyancer

Introducing Homes & Hills

Holmes & Hills is independently recognised by The Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners – two independent directories of the country’s top law firms – as a leading supplier of legal advice and representation across several areas of law.

We are a firm of over 160 legal industry professionals, with a specialist New Build and Shared Ownership Team who act for purchasers and owners of Shared Ownership property across the country.

Why work with a specialist lawyer?

When conducting a Shared Ownership conveyancing transaction, it is advisable to use a specialist lawyer due to the increased complexity involved.

Shared Ownership is a great way to get on the property ladder without having to stretch your finances. However, this can make the conveyancing process a little more complicated. However, this needn’t be a problem – just hire a specialist Shared Ownership solicitor!

Hiring a specialist means you are working with a lawyer who is dealing with Shared Ownership transactions every day, and where there are a team of Shared Ownership lawyers working together, they will have come across most issues that tend to crop up.

So, what makes Shared Ownership more complex?

That’s a good question, and can be simply answered. With Shared Ownership, a lease is issued on behalf of the other interested party, and while they are likely to be similar in most cases, there will be nuances to be investigated, and your property solicitor will go through the wording in detail. Your lawyer will contact you if anything out of the ordinary is found, so this can be discussed before proceeding any further.

A benefit of this is that as you have employed the services of a specialist, these leases are familiar with your lawyer, and the time it takes to assess a lease will be a lot quicker than that of a lawyer who mainly deals with standard sales and purchases.  

I am purchasing a Shared Ownership property – what do I do now?

One of the first things you will need to do, is to get a Shared Ownership conveyancing quote. This will usually be a fixed fee quote, but quite often you will need to look into these in more detail to ensure there are no hidden costs. Find out how to compare your conveyancing quotations here.

Once you have decided which quote to take up, you will need to instruct your solicitor. At this point, you will be advised of your next steps on this exciting journey.

Visit Share to Buy’s Shared Ownership Solicitors and Conveyancing Panel.

Share to Buy is a one stop shop for affordable homes. On our website, you can search for properties, compare mortgages and find out all you need to know about alternative home buying schemes such as Shared Ownership via our article index. To find out more about the scheme, check out our Shared Ownership terms and conditions.