Mel Lawrence - Conveyancing Solicitor

Our conveyancing department is headed up by Mel Lawrence who has been a Property Solicitor for 19 years, dealing with residential sales and purchases, developer estate set up and plot sales, and real estate. Prior to becoming a conveyancer Mel specialised in family law for 8 years.

Mel took the less usual route to becoming a solicitor by training as a legal executive first so has many years legal experience under her belt.

Mel now deals with all types of residential Conveyancing:-

• Leasehold including newbuilds and shared ownership

• Freehold and newbuild freehold

• Lease Extensions

• Sales of part

• Part Exchange

• Equity Release

• Remortgage and/or Transfer of Equity

You name it, she’s done it!

Mel is assisted by Kate who is Mel’s Legal Assistant.

If you are moving house and need an experienced conveyancing solicitor, call us. We have been helping people buy the homes of their dreams for 18 years.

The conveyancing process explained

Enquiries and Searches

As part of the conveyancing process, your solicitor will carry out enquiries and searches, local authority, water and property and environmental searches.  The point of the searches is to determine whether there are any potential issues with the property you are intending to purchase.  They can take anything from 48 hours up to a couple of weeks to complete. In some cases, your conveyancer may recommend carrying out additional searches, depending on where your property is located.

This is an important part of the conveyancing process and any issues identified by the searches should be discussed with your conveyancer. More information on searches can be found here.

Proof of funds

In order for your solicitor to complete the conveyancing process, they will need to see information on proof of funds relating to your purchase. This can be a combination of proof of cash held for your deposit, and/or a mortgage agreement in principle. Your solicitor may also ask to see information relating to the source of your funds. For instance, if you have an inheritance of money, then you will need evidence from the executors of the estate, or if you have been lucky enough to win the lottery, then you would need to produce a receipt for your winnings. This requirement is due to anti-money laundering legislation. More information on this can be found here.

Signing the contract

Before exchanging contracts with the other party, your solicitor will ask you to sign the contract. This is the point where you need to make sure that you are happy that all of the queries raised have been answered to your satisfaction. If you have made any agreements with the seller on fixtures and fittings, these should be laid out on the contract. Before signing you should have a mortgage offer in writing, (if applicable), funds available for your deposit, your surveys have been completed, have an agreed completion date and fully read and understand the contract you are signing.

Exchanging Contracts

When contracts are exchanged with the other party, this is the point at which your sale/purchase becomes a legally binding contract. Up to this point you can pull out of the agreement.

Contracts are normally exchanged 7 – 28 days before the completion date, although it is possible to exchange and complete on the same day. (Your mortgage lender may require a minimum number of days between exchange and completion). If you are the buyer the house becomes your responsibility when contracts are exchanged, so you will need to have buildings insurance in place from this date. One contracts are exchanged you can feel confident that your purchase/sale will go ahead.

Completion day

The day you have been waiting for! This is the final step in the process. This is the day when your solicitor receive/transfer the monies relating to your sale/purchase. If you are the seller, you should aim to vacate the property by 12pm and leave the keys with your estate agent. Once the money transfer is complete the estate agent will be contacted to release the keys to the buyer, and you can move into your new home!

What our Clients say about us!

“So many thanks to Melanie Lawrence for pulling off the impossible. I don’t know how you done it but your commitment to getting this nightmare sorted has been absolutely amazing. We have the keys as of 6pm this evening even though we can’t unload until tomorrow. “

👍🏻 I recommend Mel Lawrence.

“Excellent solicitor, very knowledgeable and professional went above and beyond on our sale and felt it was down to Mel’s expertise that everything completed on the sale, will be using her again on my next purchase… highly recommended.”