Buying a home
from$1,150
- Contract and title checked line by line
- Searches ordered and explained
- A written report before you commit
- New owner registered after completion
From accepted offer to keys in hand
The legal side of buying and selling a home: the contract, the searches, the transfer of ownership and the money on the day. A fixed fee quote in writing, and a named conveyancer who answers the phone.
Fixedfee for the legal work
Fridaysa written update on every file
1 dayto send a written quote
- Buying a home
- Selling a home
- An update every Friday
- Money held in a client account
Fixed fees for the legal work
One named conveyancer runs your file from the day an offer is accepted to the day ownership is registered. The fee below covers the legal work listed.
Buying and selling
from$1,950
- Both sides of the move on one file
- Sale money passed straight to the purchase
- One weekly update covering both
- Less than two separate fees
Selling a home
from$950
- Contract pack prepared in week one
- Buyer's questions answered quickly
- Existing mortgage paid off on the day
- Balance sent to you on completion day
Searches, registration fees and any tax on the purchase are added at cost and itemised in the quote; they differ by country and by state. If a sale falls through before contracts are signed, you pay for the work done so far, never more than half the fee.
The stages of a sale
The names and the order of these stages differ by country and by state, and so does the moment a sale becomes binding. This is how a typical file runs here.
Instruct us
Once an offer is accepted, accept the quote and send your ID, and the file opens the same day.
Contract and searches
We review the draft contract and the title, and order searches on the land, planning and drainage.
Questions and mortgage
We raise questions with the other side and check every condition in the mortgage offer is met.
Signing
You sign the contract and the transfer, and a completion date is agreed by everyone involved.
Completion
The money moves, ownership passes, the keys are released, and we register the new owner.
What a quote lists, line by line
Our fee is only one part of the cost of moving. The quote shows every other line we can foresee, with its amount.
| Item | Set by | When it is paid |
|---|---|---|
| Our legal fee | Clearkey, fixed in the quote | On completion |
| Property searches | The search providers and local offices | When they are ordered |
| Registering the new owner | The public land register | After completion |
| Tax on the purchase, where it applies | The government where the home is | On or soon after completion |
| Bank transfer of the purchase money | Clearkey, at cost | On completion |
The total stays as quoted unless the facts of the sale change, for example a higher price or a leasehold flat that turns out to need extra checks. We tell you before any figure moves.
Why sales stall, and how yours keeps moving
Delays usually come from three places: missing paperwork, slow replies from the other side and conditions in a mortgage offer that nobody spotted. We ask sellers for their documents on the first day, chase replies twice a week and read the mortgage offer the day it arrives.
Every Friday you receive a short written update on what happened that week and what comes next. If something goes wrong in between, we call the same day instead of waiting for Friday.
- A named conveyancer for the whole file
- Calls returned within one working day
- Plain answers without legal jargon
- Your deposit held in a separate client account
Papers sellers should find early
Finding these in the first week can take weeks off a sale. If something is missing, tell us early and we find another way.
- Title deeds
- Permits for building work
- Guarantees for windows and roofs
- Boundary agreements
- Service charge accounts
- Lease or management papers
- Boiler and electrical certificates
- Recent utility bills
- Planning approvals
- Warranties for new homes
Moves we have seen through
First homes, family moves and last sales, each one a file that ended with keys changing hands.
What movers told us (example reviews)
Buying and selling on the same day felt impossible until the Friday updates started. Each one said what had happened and what would happen next.
A question about a boundary wall came up late, and it was explained in plain words with the options laid out side by side.
Each cost was itemised in the quote, and completion day brought no new figures. That mattered at the very end of a stressful month.
Questions before you instruct us
When does the sale become binding?
That depends on the country and the state. In some places both sides are bound once contracts are exchanged or signed; in others an accepted offer or a signed purchase agreement is enough. We tell you exactly when that point comes in your sale.
How long will it take?
There is no set length. The searches, the mortgage and the other buyers and sellers involved all affect it. We give you an honest estimate when the file opens and update it every Friday.
Can you act for the buyer and the seller?
We act for one side only, even where local rules would allow both, so each person has someone looking after their interests alone.
Do you arrange the mortgage?
No. A lender or a mortgage adviser arranges the loan, and we deal with the legal conditions in the offer and the money on the day.
What if the sale falls through?
You pay for the work done so far, never more than half the fixed fee, plus any searches already ordered. The quote says this in writing before you instruct us.
Is anything on this site advice about your own sale?
No. These pages describe how Clearkey works. Property law, and whether a conveyancer, a notary or a lawyer handles a sale, differ by country and by state, and advice starts once your file is open.
Ask for a written quote
Tell us about the sale or purchase, and within one working day we send a fixed fee quote that lists every cost we can foresee.
- Quotes are fixed for the work listed
- No obligation to instruct us
- Questions answered before you decide
Talk to a conveyancer
Your call goes to a conveyancer, not a call centre. Email at any time and expect an answer the same working day.
Reach Clearkey
Second floor office in the town centre, acting on homes across the region
Office hours
| Monday to Friday | 8:30 to 17:30 |
| Saturday | By appointment |
| Sunday | Closed |
Signing from further away
Documents can be signed at our office or, if you live further away, in front of a witness near you. We tell you which rule applies to each document.
Ask a question