What does the CQS Mean for Residential and Commercial Conveyancing in Cardiff?

You may be aware that Freed & Co., one of the best and longest-running solicitors in the city of Cardiff, have recently had the honour of being one of the very first Cardiff conveyancing teams to be accredited by the CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme). 

The achievement is fantastic news for Freed & Co., for their clients and for the standard of residential and commercial conveyancing, Cardiff wide. To date, only 4 Cardiff firms out of over 100 have earned the right to CQS accreditation. The speed with which we have managed to earn accreditation marks our conveyancing service out as one of the fastest and most efficient in the city. We hope our success will inspire other firms to raise the bar in residential and commercial conveyancing right across Cardiff.   

What Does the CQS Actually Involve in Terms of Residential and Commercial Conveyancing?

To earn a place on the CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) applicants must tick a whole host of very stringent boxes which ultimately prove the following things:

• True Integrity
• Exceptional Practice Management Standards
• Real Prudency & Efficiency

By proving our firm meets these criteria within mere six months, Freed & Co. have distinguished themselves as one of the best and fastest residential and commercial conveyancing solicitors Cardiff has to offer. In order to prove their adherence to these three qualities, conveyancing firms must sign the CQS client charter. The CQS client charter is a list of promises which the firm involved makes to every single client. To ensure the standard of conveyancing in Cardiff and beyond, the charter includes elements like:

• Service that adheres to the high-quality standards of the Conveyancing Quality Scheme
• Clear, prompt, polite, professional, honest and entirely transparent information and advice
• Accurate and up-front costs, explained from the outset

The purpose of this charter is to encourage and reward transparency, speed, efficiency, honesty and high-quality service in the fields of residential and commercial conveyancing. Cardiff is home to many great legal firms and Freed and Co. have demonstrated that they are one of the most efficient, fastest and very best in the region.  

If you would like to learn more about expert residential and commercial conveyancing, Freed & Co. are the solicitors to ask. Freed & Co. can guarantee you expert services delivered quickly and to the highest professional standard. Get in touch with the best residential and commercial conveyancing team Cardiff has to offer by calling 029 2022 2685 today.

We’ve just received some great news here at Freed & Co. We have long been regarded as one of the best firms for conveyancing in Cardiff and now our achievement has been recognised by the Law Society. Having accepted our application, the Law Society has already awarded us a place on the brand new CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme).

This is fantastic news, of the hundreds of firms who provide conveyancing in Cardiff, as of November 2011 only four are CQS accredited at this time. The CQS will soon be rolling out UK-wide but the fact that Freed & Co. have been so quick off the mark reveals them to be one of the most exceptional firms for conveyancing .

What is the CQS & What Does it Mean for Conveyancing in Cardiff?

The CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) is a UK-wide scheme designed to reward and encourage high standards, impressive competence and excellent levels of customer service amongst firms offering conveyancing in Cardiff and the rest of the country. In order to be awarded accreditation by the CQS, conveyancing teams must sign both the New Conveyancing Protocol and the Client Service Charter as well as meet very strict, stringent criteria which proves their skill.

The Client Service Charter is a very important document as it promises every single client that the conveyancing solicitor involved will provide:

• Exceptional levels of service, all of which adhere to the codes of conduct outlined in the New Conveyancing Protocol.
• Completely accurate, transparent and informative advice and information, delivered in a manner that ensures the client is completely confident in the processes involved.
• Up-front fees and costs, flagged up and explained from the start.

Meanwhile, the New Conveyancing Protocol is more of an inter-industry document, built to encourage and ensure the requisite high-standards in the world of conveyancing, and the rest of the UK too. Firms will only be accepted onto the CQS if they meet the hundreds of criteria and standards of behaviour laid out in the Protocol. 

As of November 2011 Freed & Co. are one of just four firms offering conveyancing in Cardiff who have already become accredited by the CQS – the impressive speed with which they have achieved this bodes extremely well for the pace and efficiency of their conveyancing service in general.

Here at Freed & Co. we hope our achievement will inspire other firms providing conveyancing in Cardiff to eventually apply and meet these all-important standards laid out by the CQS. A move towards regulated, consistently excellent service will allow conveyancing in Cardiff to flourish, providing top service to all clients who require conveyancing.

Until the CQS rolls out across all conveyancing solicitors, please make sure you always use a firm you can trust when you are looking for conveyancing. Freed & Co. have been providing services for conveyancing in Cardiff for over 35 years and the speed with which they have been accredited by the CQS shows them to be leaders in the local industry. Don’t leave one of the most important transactions of your life to slower, unaccredited firms and instead contact Freed & Co. on 029 2022 2685 today.

Moving home, they say, can be the most stressful experience that you are likely to encounter throughout your life.  We are here to help you through the buying and selling process and this document outlines the various stages of your move.  Here at Freed & Co we are committed to providing help and guidance through every stage.

Before we start we will need you to provide evidence of identification; this is checked in a variety of ways (in common with banks and building societies when opening an account). We will also ask you to instruct us to carry out various tasks on your behalf such as filing a tax return on your purchase.  Please help us by completing and returning the forms that we send you as soon as you can.

Selling

1. Please contact us as soon as you have, or are likely to receive an offer, so that we can carry out the following:-
 (a) Apply for the title deeds from the lender (necessary to enable us to produce the final contract).  
 (b) Give you a breakdown of the costs involved, including a redemption figure in anticipation of redeeming your mortgage. 
 (c) Send you a Sale Questionnaire and Fixtures and Fittings List to complete, this forms part of the contract with the purchaser.

2. A draft contract is sent to the purchaser’s lawyer, together with all the supporting documents.  The contract then has to be approved and once this has happened we will ask you to sign this and other documents so that we are prepared for exchanging contracts.

3. When the purchaser’s lawyer has received the local searches and their client’s mortgage offer and is satisfied as to the title, we will negotiate a completion date and the amount of the deposit with them, taking into account your instructions.  Provided all parties are satisfied contracts can then be exchanged.

4. On the completion date, the property must be vacated and be clear of all your  possessions (other than those which you have agreed to leave) by 12 noon leaving the  keys to the property with the estate agents, unless other arrangements have been made  and agreed to. From the proceeds sent to us by the purchaser’s lawyer we will pay off  the mortgage (if any) and settle the estate agent’s invoice.

Buying

1. When you have made an offer to buy a property, the estate agent may want you to pay a deposit.  Should this happen, this will be allowed for on the financial statement on completion.  Please tell us if you have paid a deposit.

2. As soon as we know that you have made an offer, we will ask you to complete a purchase questionnaire, the answers to which will help us with our enquiries of the seller’s lawyer.  Searches will need to be carried out both for your benefit and to satisfy your lender so you will be asked to send us a payment to enable us to carry these out.

3. The seller’s lawyer will send us the draft contact. As soon as we receive this we will:-

 (i) Apply for searches as appropriate.

 (ii) Examine the contract and title.  We may feel it necessary to raise additional enquiries of the seller’s lawyer.  When we are satisfied that all is in order, we will send one copy of the contract to the seller’s lawyer and retain one copy for you to sign.

4. Where borrowing is required to buy the property, the mortgage offer must be received from the lender in advance of exchange of contracts.

5. If you are arranging any new life policies, we must have received acceptance of risk from the insurers before exchange of contracts.

6. When we have received all the requested searches, offer of mortgage and have satisfied ourselves as to the title, we will write to you detailing the terms of the mortgage (if there is one), the results of the searches and details of the title (covenants and leases where appropriate) and ask you to sign the contract and mortgage deed.  The amount agreed as a deposit on exchange will need to be received and cleared before exchange of contracts can be carried out.  Where there is a related sale we will normally be able to arrange for the amount received from your buyers to be taken as a deposit on your purchase and subsequently it passes up the chain where appropriate.

Exchange of Contracts

1. We are now ready to exchange contracts. However it may be that there are other people involved in a chain - in other words your seller is buying a property in which someone resides who requires to purchase another property.  Your buyer may also be involved in a chain. This is where it gets complicated as everyone wants to move in and complete their sale and purchase on the same day so as to avoid any “bridging” finance.  This is where we come in, we arrange and organise the completion date that will suit all parties.  This sometimes means that the date that you would like to move on cannot be met. This is because we have to wait for everyone in the chain to have gone through the same process as you, i.e. that they have:
 (i) A mortgage (where appropriate)
 (ii) The required searches have been carried out
 (iii) The title and contract has been approved
 (iv) A completion date or dates have been suggested

Obviously it is not always possible to arrange a date that is satisfactory to everyone.  However we will do our best and will be in constant contact with the estate agents and lawyers until the completion date has been agreed and exchange is carried out.

2. When exchange has taken place, the completion date is legally binding (your buyer would lose at least their deposit if they did not proceed) so you can now go ahead and arrange your move.   Below are some of the things that you will need to deal with:-

• Arrange contents and buildings insurance (we can provide a quote for this).
• Contact the following and arrange for meters to be read and accounts transferred to your new address where appropriate:-
    - Gas
    - Water
    - Electricity
    - Telephone/cable services
    - Book the removal van.
   
• Cancel Standing Order for Mortgage payments, after exchange of contracts
• Notify local authority of move and ask for council tax to be apportioned to the date of moving.
• Notify the following of the change of address
    - Insurance/Assurance companies  
    - National Savings/Premium Bonds
    - Banks and Building Societies
    - Employer  
    - Schools
    - Doctor and Dentist     
    - DVLA      
    - friends and relatives
    - Make arrangements for family/friends to look after any children and pets on the moving day!
• Contact Post Office for mail to be re-directed

Completion

1. We will send you a statement of account showing you all the monies received and paid out.  Where there is a balance required to complete we will need to have this four days before the day of completion.

2. On completion day, if you have a related sale, we have to wait for the buyer’s lawyer to transfer the sale money before we in turn, can send the money to your purchaser’s lawyer. For this reason it is unusual for the keys to be available for your new purchase until lunch-time on the day of completion.  Please contact us before vacating your old house to ensure that it is in order for you to move. Where there is just a purchase it is normal for us to transfer the money early in the day, however you are unlikely to receive the keys before midday as you have to allow time for the buyer to vacate the property.

Finally

We hope you will have found this guide helpful.  If at any time you have a problem or are worried about anything please contact us.  We are proud of our service and if you are, then please recommend us to your family, friends and colleagues!

Paying a solicitor for conveyancing on an hourly rate can be dangerous. That is why we offer a guaranteed set fee for conveyancing, giving you peace of mind.

Earlier this year the Ministry of Justice carried out research on Conveyancing Fees and their methods of calculation.

In the last 3 years, 31% of people who moved home obtained an estimate of their legal fees from their Conveyancing Solicitor.  Of those, 61% obtained fixed fee quotations, whilst 4% were charged on an hourly rate.

4% of those surveyed did not bother to obtain an estimate from their Conveyancing Solicitor before proceeding.

Surprisingly, 30% of people were willing to accept a Conveyancing Estimate rather than a formal Conveyancing Quotation from their solicitors.

Whilst some Conveyancing Solicitors might argue that it is impossible to predict what complications might occur during the transaction, and therefore the level of work involved in the transaction, Freed & Co are experienced enough to provide a guaranteed set fee at the outset for any conceivable additional work which might occur.

It goes without saying that agreeing an hourly charge is unnecessary, outdated and dangerous.

So there you have it.

It’s an easy decision to make; why accept an estimate when with Freed & Co you can have the comfort and piece of mind of a fixed fee and a guarantee of no hidden extras.