Conveyancing is one of a number of everyday legal products that Halifax will launch in the near future and is believed to be the first of its kind from a major lender.
There are approximately 1.4 million housing transactions in the UK each year. The average conveyancing cost per transaction in England & Wales is estimated to be £560 (Source: ODPM). The total value of the market is approximately £780 million per year.
Conveyancing is a very fragmented sector in which no one player has a significant market share.
Customers using the Halifax Conveyancing Service will be referred to one of a panel of selected legal practices which will undertake the legal work for the customer and provide impartial, confidential and independent legal advice. Customers will be able to budget more easily with a simple fixed cost for all the legal work associated with their move. Legal fees range from £299 for properties valued at less than £50,000 up to £799 for properties valued between £401,000 — £500,000.
The Halifax Conveyancing Service is available to customers and non-customers alike in England, Wales & Northern Ireland. The service can be accessed online at www.halifaxhomemover.co.uk. Customers arranging a mortgage to move home will be able to arrange the Halifax Conveyancing service during the customer's mortgage interview.
The Halifax Conveyancing Service is underpinned by a 'no sale — no fee' guarantee. If the sale or purchase do not proceed then no charge will be made for the legal work undertaken. There is no conveyancing industry standard for the costs a customer faces when a sale or purchase fails to complete.
All cases undertaken by Halifax Conveyancing will be managed through a UK wide panel of legal firms. The panel includes many local conveyancing practices across the country.
Customers will also be able to track the progress of their move online. Home movers can also be kept informed of the progress of their home move with text message, email or updates by letter.
Each update is triggered at key milestones throughout the process. For example, home movers using the service are automatically contacted when completed documentation is received, search results are known, mortgage offer received from the lender and when contracts are exchanged.
Nigel Payne, head of the Halifax Conveyancing Service, said:
"Conveyancing is just one of the everyday legal products which Halifax is launching this year. Providing home related legal products is a natural extension to our role as the country's leading mortgage provider."
