I’d like to start by expressing our (me and family’s) deepest gratitude to Jennings Solicitors for helping us move into our dream home. After almost 5 months of pain with the other conveyancer, we lost hope and feared that not only we have to go through the cycle of finding new property but also have to bear the higher cost of mortgage as the interest rates have significantly risen from March 2023 to August 2023. This increase in mortgage repayment was likely to have ended our dream of moving into a new home forcing us to stay put where we were.

We were so excited when our offer was accepted for our dream home at the end of February 2023. My very helpful and efficient mortgage advisor helped secure the mortgage by 2nd week of March 2023 and recommended my previous conveyancer. We accepted the recommendation hoping that the transaction would go quickly and smoothly as the conveyancer is in the panel of my lender and recommended by my mortgage advisor with whom we were very happy.

The previous conveyancer started the searches which came through by 1st week of April and although our mortgage offer was valid for 6 months (until 2nd week of September 2023) we were confident that we will be able to exchange if not complete by end of May 2023.

Unfortunately, the efficiency and knowledge of my previous conveyancer finished after the searches as they not only mis-read the lending terms from my mortgage provider (which were in plain English) but also completely mis-interpreted the covenants. They didn’t seem to have enough experience in dealing with conveyancing matters where multiple titles and farming land are involved and they didn’t invest any effort or time in understanding the history and context of the property development.

Their mis-interpretation started a heated debate between my previous conveyancer and the conveyancer of the sellers who took a position that their property papers are in complete order and nothing else is required and also provided all the assurances (including indemnity policy) to my conveyancer but my conveyancer wasn’t convinced that this is enough mitigation so they informed my lender and wrote the letter in a negative tone asking if they are willing to lend or if their valuation is affected by the indemnity insurance. Of course, they declined because information provided to the Bank was out of context and no context or recommendation was given to them despite me requesting. So everything stalled.

By July end the estate agency prepared to re-advertise the property and my previous conveyancer did nothing .

A friend suggested getting the papers checked by Jennings Solicitors as a second opinion and I spoke to Matt on the 2nd week of August. He looked at the chain of papers and various titles and mentioned there is nothing wrong with the titles and he can get the property completed. We could not believe our ears when we heard it and we asked for the quote for the conveyance and we were surprised that it was very reasonable and the same amount as was my previous conveyancer. We hired him and signed all the paperwork. He spoke to the lender giving detailed explanation about the property and title and the mis-interpretation done by previous conveyancer and the lender was satisfied with his arguments and gave the approval.

A TON OF THANKS TO MATT that Two weeks afterwards we exchanged and completed and are in our new home. He has earned our trust for life and whenever we have to do a property related legal transaction or need other legal services then we know who to reach-out to.

Lessons learnt –

Home moving is stressful and you like to avoid stress where possible so choose your conveyancer carefully
Recommended conveyancers from your mortgage provider / estate agents may not turn out to be good
Conveyancers can mis-read or mis-interpret the documents so when they say no – challenge them
If your transactions do not go smoothly then seek second opinion early on in the process
Your mortgage advisors or estate agency will warn that changing conveyancers will result in loss of time but do not be discouraged by their recommendation -Change the conveyancer early on in the process when you have to.

I have worked with many legal firms over the last few years, and Matt Douglas at Jennings Solicitors is by far the best. The legal advice I received was absolutely first-class, much better than two previous firms that had been working on an ongoing case for me - as Matt made more progress within days, than the two other local firms had made within over 1 year. I would happily recommend this firm as the best legal firm in Milton Keynes by far.

After 3 years I just concluded my case with Matt and Melanie at Jennings. They are dedicated, loyal and committed to getting you the desired result. Matt was very honest from the start he explained it was probably going to be a long case and explained the rationale behind why it would.
All of them are so passionate about their work. Matt and Melanie went above and beyond. We kept in touch by email which I preferred as I could respond whenever I was able to. I wouldn’t go anywhere else now, they are straight talking and very honest. They may not be very quick at times to return your call or email but they are a small company with a lot of clients. Just be patient they are definitely worth it