Christmas Holidays – Time for Property Searching

Christmas Holidays – time for Property Searching but don’t be bah humbug - make it a smooth move

Moving house in the New Year might be your 2020 resolution, but the Christmas holiday season is a popular time to search for new houses.  Last year Rightmove released data showing that property searches doubled a 231% increase in traffic after Christmas Day.

Typically property searches double over Christmas holidays.  Rightmove revealed that Christmas Day itself was low but then traffic increased daily until December 29^th then hit a serious peak in the early days of the New Year. These trends exist as once Christmas is over moving house might be the next thing on people’s agenda.

Oldham law firm, Pearson Solicitors and Financial Advisers are also advising that when choosing your Solicitors the bah humbug approach may not be the best one.

“Saving £40 on conveyancing and not getting a good service seems foolish when you are spending between £100,000 and £500,000 on a house purchase,” said Pearson Conveyancing Executive, Gillian Hawley.

Christmas is a time for friends and family and this is where the majority of people spend the greatest amount of time at home, then realise that it’s either too big, or too small.

lf you're contemplating selling your house you may be thinking, "Should I put it on the market before Christmas or wait until 2020?"  Pre-Christmas will capture those festive browsers testing out their new tablets and the ones with time on their hands.

The time between Christmas and New Year, fondly known as Twixtmas, is also a great time to research a good Conveyancing Solicitor to help you make a smooth move. There are nine days of holidays from Christmas Eve when a turkey sandwich and a new smartphone, tablet or laptop will encourage browsing for properties.

Your house will probably also be the most expensive purchase you will ever make in your life, it will be your safe haven, your home to raise children and enjoy quality time, so make sure you appoint a qualified solicitor to do the job.

As Gillian said:  “The most important thing when appointing a Conveyancing Solicitor is the person and firm who will be dealing with you and your lender? It is their qualifications, their commitment, being able to contact them easily and trust they are doing a good job that’s important, not saving £40 on the price of the conveyancing.”

“In the current climate more and more pressure is being put on conveyancers to ensure that all aspects of your purchase are covered. From search results, to surveys, mortgage offers, gifted deposits and money laundering and we haven't even touched on the actual title of the property yet, so it’s money well spent.

“Whilst it is understandable that you would need every penny for your move and to buy nice things for your house, I would say when spending so much on your purchase you should not scrimp on the conveyancing and appoint a specialist Solicitor to do the job for you.”

For more information contact our Conveyancing Team on 0161 785 3500

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Please note that the information and opinions contained in this article are not intended to be comprehensive, nor to provide legal advice. No responsibility for its accuracy or correctness is assumed by Pearson Solicitors and Financial Advisers Ltd or any of its members or employees. Professional legal advice should be obtained before taking, or refraining from taking, any action as a result of this article.

This blog was posted some time ago and its contents may now be out of date. For the latest legal position relating to these issues, get in touch with the author - or make an enquiry now.