Call us on 0203 868 4519 or email support@homelegaldirect.com

Terms and Conditions

  1. Home Legal Direct (“The Company”) is a Conveyancing network
  2. The Company uses its scale and purchasing power to procure conveyancing and associated services for its clients at discounted rates from a select panel of Conveyancers and other service providers

We help you get much better fees from Conveyancers and we help make the process move much quicker

Quotations

  1. Fixed legal fee quotations issued by The Company:
    • are valid for properties based in England and Wales only
    • are prepared in good faith and as accurately as possible
    • are entirely dependent upon the information provided at the time of quoting being correct and complete
    • are open for acceptance for 14 days from date of first issue
    • cannot anticipate unavoidable changes to disbursements, such as an increase in Stamp Duty Land Tax or Land Registry fee, that may occur between the quote and date of completion
    • are subject to acceptance and review by the assigned Conveyancer
  1. Should new information come to the attention of the Conveyancer which necessitates a change to the quoted fees or disbursements, then and in such event:
    • the client will be advised of the additional costs to be incurred, together with reasons therefor, by the Conveyancer or The Company
    • subject to the cancellation terms set out below, the client may, within 7 days of such notice, cancel the instruction by notice in writing to The Company, failing which, the revised costs shall be deemed to have been accepted

Your quote contains a Fixed fee element. On quoting we have to make a few assumptions based on the information that you were able to give us at the time. So, there is a chance that your property demands more complicated work and there will be additional costs. Please see “additional costs” section below to understand those.

If something new comes up that changes the fees, the Conveyancer will tell you. Please respond within 7 days if you need to.

Searches

  1. The Company works alongside appointed Conveyancers to procure searches as part of its services
  2. Since The Company cannot predict with certainty the nature and extent of searches that will be required or recommended by lenders or Conveyancers, only a local authority search is included in the quotation
  3. Further searches will incur additional charges not included in the quote
  4. It is particularly common for lenders and/or Conveyancers to require environmental and drainage searches in addition to local searches, although circumstances may also necessitate even more extensive searches

We can’t predict what searches you will need, so we ask you to buy the ones we know for sure you will need, and hope that is enough for your particular property

Payments

  1. The Initial Payment for a conveyancing instruction received by The Company upon instruction includes the following charges:
    • a non-refundable File Opening Fee of £75 including VAT for work done immediately upon receipt of instructions, including setting up data files, initiating ID and AML checks and issuing instructions to the appointed Conveyancer
    • the cost of the on-line biometric identification and anti-money laundering checks, as required or requested
    • charges for further related work and support, depending upon the nature of the transaction and instructions received
  2. Although the Local Authority search pack is included in the quote, charges therefor are only processed once the search requirements are known and ordered by the client
  3. The balance of the fees and disbursement listed in the quote will be payable to the Conveyancer as follows:
    • A small upfront payment to cover disbursements may be requested depending upon the conveyancing firm appointed
    • A final payment payable before completion

There will typically be up to 5 payments:

  1. An initial payment to us covering stuff that we need to pay for early in the process
  2. An upfront payment to the conveyancer, though this is not always necessary (will come out of your final settlement)
  3. Another payment to us, only if you need a survey
  4. Another payment to us, for searches
  5. A final settlement to the conveyancer

Cancellations and refunds

  1. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein or otherwise stated or implied:
    1. should a client cancel a conveyancing instruction within 14 days thereof, then and in such event, the client shall be entitled:
      • to a refund of the Initial Payment, save and except for the non-refundable File Opening Fee of £75, and the costs of the ID and AML checks, where such checks have been initiated or completed, or
      • after deduction of the costs of the AML and ID checks, to retain the balance of the Initial Payment on file with The Company, to be used within 24 months as a credit towards the Initial Payment due on a future dated transaction
    2. should a client cancel a conveyancing instruction after 14 days has elapsed from date thereof:
      • the client shall not be entitled to a refund of the Initial Payment, nor any portion thereof, however
      • after deduction of the costs of the AML and ID checks, the client may elect to retain the balance of the Initial Payment on file with The Company, to be used within 24 months as a credit towards the Initial Payment due on a future dated transaction
    3. should a client’s conveyancing transaction be cancelled at any time before exchange or completion, that portion of the quotation comprising legal fees payable to the Conveyancer will be covered by The Company’s “no move no legal fee” undertaking, however all disbursements incurred by the Conveyancer as well as costs for survey’s ordered will be payable in full to the Conveyancer, the surveyor or The Company, as the case may be
    4. The Company reserves the right to terminate an instruction at any stage during the transaction should a client abuse or threaten a staff member employed by The Company or the appointed Conveyancer or any service provider. In the event of such termination, whether to process a refund or part refund will be determined by The Company unilaterally.
  2. Monies paid for searches are not refundable as they are specific to the property
  3. Without exception, any refund paid to clients by The Company will be in full and final settlement of all claims

If you cancel within 14 days, you’ll get back all but the £75 that we have already spent and the costs of the AML and ID checks you have done. But if you prefer, we will just keep the balance for the initial payment on a future transaction. If you cancel beyond 14 days, we can’t refund, but we can still hold a credit for you for the initial payment on future transactions. Awesome, right?

Surveys

  1. The costs associated with taking instructions, opening a file and procuring a property survey are incurred immediately upon receipt of instructions. Accordingly, notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein or stated, fees and disbursements charged by The Company for procuring surveys are non-refundable

Privacy Policy

  1. Please find our full privacy policy here: Privacy Policy

We plan to stay in touch to offer you great new deals and services through our network, but if you prefer us not to, just let us know

Limitation of liability

  1. Neither The Company nor its holding company shall be liable for any damages of whatsoever nature which may be suffered by the client or any third party, howsoever arising
  2. The Company shall not be liable for any additional fees or charges incurred by the client to complete a transaction
  3. Without detracting from the generality of the above, liability of The Company shall not exceed the Initial Payment paid by the client

We try our best to anticipate and quote for every situation, but sometimes mistakes are made. If we err and you have additional costs, we accept that you have the right to cancel your instruction, but we cannot cover the costs for you

Additional costs (Be aware but don't be afraid)

  1. As property, title, ownership, lender, and many more configurations on a property transaction change the requirements, and the number of questions and research required at the time of the quote needs to fit a reasonable timeframe, we can only account for the most common costs. New information will change the requirements as it comes up, and may create further costs. We cannot offer an exhaustive list; however, some examples can be found here: Additional information | Home Legal Direct

Our quotes are generally very accurate and reliable but we are sometimes surprised by new facts coming to light once the matter is with the Conveyancer. Because we know that buying a property can be scary and a bit intimidating, we have tried to disclose all potential risks, no matter how unlikely We want you back when you move again, and we want to help your friends and family with their conveyancing, so we will not mislead you to grab a one-off deal

Compliance

  1. All solicitors and Conveyancers introduced by The Company and/or its partner companies are regulated by either the Solicitor Regulatory Authority (SRA) or the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC), as the case may be.
  2. With respect to Premium Home Buyers Protection Insurance, Home Legal Direct is an Appointment Representative (Firm Reference Number 783621) of Rhino Protect Limited (Registered in England No. 6012736) who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Firm Reference Number 772055). Home Legal Direct regulatory status only applies to Premium Home Buyers Protection Insurance. Rhino Protect Limited does not regulate any other products or services provided by Home Legal Direct.

Fun with official sounding three letter acronyms

* Note that the “translation” version of this document does not cover everything stated in “The legal jargon” version. It gives a friendly description of the left-hand column, but it is not the full binding description of our terms.

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