Why choose SAM Conveyancing Solicitors in Berkshire?
Whether you're buying, selling, remortgaging, dealing with a lease, staircasing shared ownership, or paying off your Help to Buy loan, you'll need a conveyancing specialist to handle the legal side of things. With SAM, you benefit from a dedicated conveyancing executive who will guide you through the process, from start to finish, at no extra cost. Available Monday to Saturday to answer all your questions, we'll bridge the gap between you and your solicitor, with regular updates in plain English.
We have hand-selected some of the best conveyancing solicitors Berkshire has to offer, which are backed by a no-sale-no-fee guarantee, and the fixed-fee we quote is broken down so you can see exactly what your quote includes. No unpleasant surprises.
You'll also benefit from our state-of-the-art Online Conveyancing Process to track your progress and next steps along the way.
We're first-time-buyer friendly
86% of our purchase clients are First-Time Buyers, so we are hyper-attuned to what you need when buying your first home.
- We take the time to explain the process
- We offer tips on timescales
- We keep it real, never overpromising
Our Conveyancing Services
We can help with all of your conveyancing needs; simple to complex, and always affordable.
- Purchase
- Sale
- Transfer
- Remortgage
- Help to Buy Repayment
- Help to Buy Sale or Transfer
- Auction Sale or Purchase
- Shared Ownership Sale & Purchase
- Shared Ownership Staircasing
- Lease Extension
- Purchase of Freehold
- New Builds & Off-plan Purchases
- First Time Buyers
- Second Homes
- Buy to Let landlords
Fixed quote for our legal costs plus a budget-friendly breakdown of third-party disbursements.
Your sale or purchase is protected by our no sale, no fee guarantee.
Our panel solicitors are pre-approved to work with 99% of mortgage lenders in England & Wales.
Panel solicitors accredited by the Conveyancing Quality Scheme; regulated by the SRA.
Residential Conveyancing Solicitors in and around Berkshire
Our Berkshire conveyancing solicitors can help you with your conveyance locally or in any of the surrounding areas, including Ascot, Reading, Slough, Bracknell, Maidenhead, Ashford and Windsor.
We have many offices throughout England and Wales, so you can find a solicitor near you.
- Churchfield Cottages, Bedford Lane, Ascot, Berkshire, SL5 0NN
- 3 Drummond Court, 179-171 New Road, Ascot, Berkshire, SL5 8PU
- Strouds Copse, Warfield, Bracknell, Berkshire, RG42 6JB
- 22 Spurcroft Road, Thatcham, Berkshire, RG19 3XX
- 23 Cambrian Way, Basingstoke, Berkshire, RG22 5AH
- Atria (apartments) – various locations in Slough incl. William Street.
Developed by Galliard Homes.
Berkshire Property Prices
| Average property price in Berkshire | £492,186 |
| Population of Berkshire | 803,657 |
Royal Berkshire Hospital, Craven Rd, Reading, RG1 5AN
CircleReading Hospital, 100 Drake Way, Reading, RG2 0NE
West Berkshire Community Hospital, London Rd, Benham Hill, Thatcham, RG18 3AS
Berkshire contains two motorways, the M4 and A329(M) and numerous railway connections, particularly from Reading Railway Station, a major transport hub.
Distance to Airports from Berkshire (Reading)
| Airport | Miles by car |
| Heathrow | 26.4 miles |
| Luton | 56.3 miles |
| Southampton | 57.1 miles |
Kendrick School, 41 London Rd, Reading, BERKS, RG1 5BN
Reading School, Erleigh Road, Reading, Berkshire, RG1 5LW
Ranelagh School, Ranelagh Drive, Bracknell, Berkshire, RG12 9DA
Local conveyancing solicitor
Are local, licensed conveyancing solicitors near me more expensive?
Buyers and sellers alike often start the process by searching online for conveyancing solicitors in Berkshire. But, can you find a better service, when you widen the search?
With advanced online security, you are no longer restricted to having to work with a licenced conveyancer near you. Often, an online conveyancing solicitor who specialises in property transactions will be preferable to a local one.
Affordable Housing Schemes
Several affordable housing schemes in Berkshire help make buying a property more achievable. The work is more complex, and we have specialist conveyancing solicitors to handle the following:
- Shared Ownership Solicitors
- Right to Buy Solicitors - speak to Berkshire Local Authority Councils to find out if you are eligible
- Discount Market Sale - check with Berkshire Local Authority Councils if they are running a DMS scheme
Berkshire conveyancing solicitors
You can rest assured that you're in good hands with us. We hand select our panel for skill and experience, from a simple purchase to complex transactions with specialist ownership structures and deeds of trust.
Is the property over 5 storeys (11m)?
Many leasehold properties in Berkshire are in large buildings which now require an EWS1 certificate to confirm if the cladding is fire safe. Thankfully 2022's leaseholder protections mean that most leaseholders are not burdened with the cost of remediation of any defective cladding, but you will need to see the seller's Deed of Certificate to prove that the lease doesn't come with a nasty (and expensive) surprise.
Be particularly wary of purchasing a share of freehold as the freeholders may become liable for the cost of remedying defective cladding. Our specialist leasehold solicitors Berkshire are well experienced with handling all of these added complications, so you will be in safe hands with SAM. Property Challenges Solved.
Look no further for your residential conveyancing solicitor in Berkshire
Whatever your property challenge, we can solve it.
Selling a property
Your expert conveyancing solicitor's role when selling a property will include:
- Draft contracts – Your conveyancing solicitor drafts the initial legal contract to be sent to the buyer's solicitor.
- Responding to enquiries – your solicitor responds to any questions the buyer's solicitor may have (this is where you'll find out if you are missing documents, which can cause delays to your sale).
- Investigating issues – your solicitor may need to complete further investigation to try and satisfy them.
- Exchange contracts – once the buyer's solicitor has satisfied their enquiries, contracts are finalised and exchanged
- On the day of completion – your solicitor receives the money for the sale, discharges the mortgage (if required), pays the estate agent, deducts their fee and then sends the net sale proceeds to you.
- Post completion – your solicitor receives the DS1 discharge documents and, when leasehold, settles your liabilities for ground rent and service charges.
Our conveyancing solicitors' cost for selling a property starts from £723 INC VAT.
Buying a home
- Draft contracts – Your solicitor reviews the draft contract sent by the seller's solicitor.
- Raising enquiries – your solicitor will ask the seller's solicitor questions based on the contract, title, and property documents to protect you from any nasty surprises.
- Exchange contracts – once your solicitor is satisfied with their enquiries, they agree with the seller to finalise and exchange contracts
- Day of completion – on the day of completion, your solicitor transfers the money for the sale.
- Post completion – following completion, your solicitor makes an application to HM Land Registry to register you as the new owner.
Our Berkshire conveyancing solicitors' cost for buying a property starts from £723 INC VAT.
Add or remove someone from a property title
With a Transfer of Equity, you can buy someone out of a shared property and remove them from the title, or add someone to the title to transfer ownership of a share of the property, making them a joint owner. This service includes:
- Property solicitors' fees, including ID checks, office copies
- HM Land Registration fees
- (if party being removed) ID1 Form verification fee
- (if mortgage) Change of mortgage fee
- (if leasehold) Notice fee to freeholder
Our Berkshire conveyancing solicitors' cost for a Transfer of Equity starts at £399 INC VAT.
If someone is giving up their share of the property for less than market value, they may be required to get independent legal advice, which will be an additional expense.
Switch your mortgage deal in Berkshire
Your remortgage solicitor will perform all the necessary checks, review your new mortgage offer, and update HM Land Registry post-completion. The process is similar to when you purchase but should take less time, as the solicitor doesn't need to raise any legal enquiries.
If you own a leasehold property, your solicitor must carry out extra work to investigate the lease terms. Our conveyancing solicitors' cost for a remortgage in Berkshire starts at £363 INC VAT INC VAT.
Purchase the next chunk of your equity
When you're ready to buy the next chunk of the equity in your shared ownership property, a conveyancer will be required to handle:
- The bank transfer;
- obtaining a mortgage redemption statement from your existing lender;
- receiving your new mortgage offer and confirming the lender terms;
- receiving the memorandum of staircasing;
- handling completion;
- filing SDLT form (if required); and
- registration at the Land Registry.
Our conveyancing solicitors' cost for shared ownership staircasing in Berkshire starts at £649 INC VAT.
If you need to add someone to the legal title, you will need to pay an additional fee for a transfer of equity.
Paying off your Help to Buy equity loan
You'll need a solicitor to:
- Receive redemption letter;
- review title for ownership and restrictions;
- obtain Authority to Complete;
- draft a deed of postponement for your current lender;
- handling completion;
- bank transfer; and
- if repaid in full, removal of the loan restriction at the Land Registry.
Our conveyancing solicitors' cost for Help to Buy loan redemption in Berkshire starts at £333 INC VAT.
Price based on a freehold with the loan being repaid in full using savings.
Islamic finance solicitors
Specialists in Sharia-compliant conveyancing for Islamic mortgages.
- Can review, advise and negotiate with all Sharia Mortgage Lenders.
- Terms of the contract fully explained with confirmation of Sharia compliance and UK legal compliance.
- We can help with Ijara (Lease), Diminishing Musharaka (Reducing Partnership), and Murabaha (Cost-Plus Financing).
Conveyancing FAQs
The average conveyancing cost in London can be slightly higher than in the rest of the country. Depending on the property's price and the transaction's complexity, you could pay several hundred to a couple of thousand pounds. Our conveyancing fees in Berkshire are based on the purchase price, and start at £723 INC VAT.
Fill in our easy online form for a fixed quote tailored to your requirements.
Fees vary between online conveyancing solicitors, high street licensed conveyancers or housing solicitors introduced by your estate agent.
It's unnecessary to have a local property solicitor as the conveyancing process is the same throughout England and Wales. You should prioritise service and efficiency over proximity to Berkshire, when choosing a good conveyancing solicitor for any property transaction.
Many factors can delay conveyancing in Berkshire. A simple property transaction can be completed in less than two months, but the average is closer to 12-16 weeks.
Online conveyancing is just as safe as you protect your data on the internet as you would in any other transaction. Online conveyancing means speedier turnaround times on documents, more convenient meetings and lower running costs for the firm. We pass our savings on to you.
Our panel of solicitors are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and conveyancing work is accredited with the Law Society's Conveyancing Quality Scheme.
No Sale No Fee applies to any sale or purchase quote except auction, right to buy, discount market sales, or purchase of land. The No Sale No fee only protects the main solicitor's fee. All Additional Fixed Fees are payable in full. Read our No Sale No Fee Policy.
What are the conveyancing costs?
Fees vary between online conveyancing solicitors, high street conveyancers or housing solicitors introduced by your estate agent.
The actual conveyancing costs, outside of the legal work, should be fixed, including:
For buyers: stamp duty, land registration, property searches, ID searches and leasehold charges (if buying a leasehold property).
For sellers: office copies, title plan and management information (if selling a leasehold property).
Make sure to budget for all of the above conveyancing costs and to get a fixed fee conveyancing quote from several firms, to compare value.
Making the right choice of solicitor is key to the whole process:
- Cheap Conveyancing
- Fast Conveyancing
- Best Conveyancing Service
Can you let out your property?
If you’re buying a property using a mortgage, you have to get the consent of your lender if you want to let out your property.
If you own a leasehold property, you should check the terms of the lease to ensure that you're allowed to let your dwelling. You should also be aware that if you buy a property under the Help to Buy scheme, you are disbarred from letting it out.
If you have bought a shared ownership property, your lease forbids you from subletting your home as a rule unless there are 'compelling social reasons', such as your needing to relocate as a requirement of a job.
