Buying Property

Our award-winning conveyancing team will help you to buy your house, or flat, with as little stress as possible, while protecting your interests and ensuring that you understand exactly what you are buying. We know that buying a property can be a pressured experience and that mistakes and false assumptions can end up costing thousands of pounds. That’s why our expert property lawyers will take the heat and the jargon out of the process – helping you to understand what’s happening at every stage, avoid unnecessary delays and secure the property you want.

Whether you are a first-time buyer, a growing family or searching for your dream retirement property, we know how important it is for you to finally have the keys to your new home in your hand. We will make your home-buying transaction our priority, drawing on our local expertise and using state-of-the-art technology to advise you and progress the legal process as quickly as possible. This is why our property lawyers are recognised as the best in the South West for customer service.

As experts in the South West’s predominantly rural property market, we are also familiar with the kinds of issues that frequently occur when buying a property here. From private water supply, septic tanks and off-mains gas supply to rights of way, private lanes and tin mines, we know the issues that can cause problems with lenders, and we know how to address them. We’ll take you through the issues, help you understand your options and find the solution that’s right for you.

Find out more about our accreditations and awards.

Our property buyers’ service

Your property purchase will be handled by a senior and experienced conveyancing lawyer with an assigned assistant. That means you’ll have two people you can contact who will be familiar with your file and the progress of your purchase. And, because we sit on most of the lenders’ panels, we can act for both you and your lender, saving you time and money.

What do conveyancing solicitors do?

The process of buying a house has three main stages and conveyancing solicitors play a key role in each of them:

• The funding – We are recognised by all the leading mortgage lenders and can act for them at the same time as acting for you. This means we can provide them with a report on the property to secure or pay off the mortgage. The fact that we can act for both you and them saves time and can also save money.
• Checking the condition of the property – We can recommend appropriate surveyors and specialist contractors to deal with matters such as damp/timber infestation, water-quality testing, soil sampling and boiler servicing. Being based in Cornwall and Devon means we can also advise on specialist searches that are specific to this region, such as mundic block, mining features and radon gas. These checks help to ensure that you and/or the lender understand the property’s value and any issues that might impact its condition and value in the foreseeable future such as rights of access and planning applications that might affect your property.
• Confirming the ownership of your new home – We research the legal ownership of the property, ensuring that the seller is legally able to sell it and exploring any disputes over boundaries, access points, easements for utilities etc. This often-unseen work is probably the most important and valuable to you as it guarantees your future ownership. We also ensure that you are fully aware of any restrictions on the use of the property and that it has all necessary rights to enable you to use it as a home.

Our step-by-step guide to the property-buying process will help you understand what to expect and why it is important.

How long will it take to buy my property?

The average property purchase takes between six and ten weeks. However, this period will be affected by a number of factors, including how long it takes for any mortgage to be issued and the complexity of the transaction. Above all, it depends on the other parties in the chain and how their transactions progress.

Fees for conveyancing

We recognise that you may be nervous about the legal costs of property transactions. That’s why we offer fixed fees for conveyancing, with no hidden costs. With Coodes as your conveyancing lawyers, you’ll have complete certainty – about the process, the progress, and how much it’s going to cost.