When we opened our Estate Agency in 2011 we were determined to focus on a high quality service maintaining traditional values for our local clients.

In March 2015 when we became the first Estate Agency in the Country to be granted a Licence to offer Conveyancing services we wanted to continue the same ethos.  A property is probably the most expensive thing you will buy and whether you are a first time buyer, an investment purchaser or a seasoned home owner you deserve access to a qualified and experienced local Conveyancer dealing with your work rather than a team of case handlers usually based hundreds of miles away.

The feedback we receive is that our clients appreciate being able to call in to speak to their Conveyancer or having direct email or telephone contact and certainly it helps us to be able to progress your transaction if we are in direct contact with you. We have included some reviews received from our clients in orange font. The originals are available to read on our Facebook page or on Google Reviews

“The service provided by Tim Duggan and his colleagues was excellent. We recently bought a house and his help and advice was excellent all the way through. Everything was clearly explained (not in complicated solicitor lingo!) and he was quick to respond to emails and take phone calls. He was extremely thorough in every stage of the process. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them to anyone”

“We haven't used the estate agency, but the conveyancing service was superb. Responsive, professional, friendly and thorough. Exceptional quality service from Tim and Linda. The larger conveyancing firms can't compete with this level of service.”

The service we offer is traditional but do not mistake that for dated, we are more than happy to use technology where it improves the service we offer to our clients but not to the point where the technology makes the service impersonal.

Our aim is to concentrate on quality rather than quantity and to deal with your transaction as we would want to be dealt with ourselves offering as much guidance and advice as you need to get the transaction through to the moving date.  All the Conveyancing work is dealt with by Tim Duggan who is a Licensed Conveyancer with over thirty years experience.  Tim trained in his fathers practice moving on to a Conveyancing firm in Southampton when his father retired followed by ten years working with a Solicitors firm in Romsey before finally setting up his own practice.  Tim is assisted by Linda Mifsud who although not qualified, is equally experienced and having worked as a team for the past twenty years together they can offer the support you need to make your transaction as stress free as possible

“I couldn’t recommend Tim highly enough. His professional and friendly approach along with his advice and fantastic knowledge made our working relationship great and the stress of dealing with the situation and paperwork a breeze!”

“Franklin Allan have been absolutely amazing from start to finish. They were professional, clear and completely upfront. No hidden costs and replied instantly every time I emailed. As first time buyers, it’s quite scary being lumbered with all this jargon and financial responsibility but no question was too small. Linda is an absolute babe! And can’t thank her enough. Tim was also equally as helpful, super organised and friendly to meet. Thanks again you lovely people! Xx”

There are two important stages in the conveyancing process and these are the Exchange of Contracts and the Completion.  Exchange of Contracts is when the parties in the transaction are legally committed to buying and/or selling and at that point the completion date is set, which is the moving date.

The most frequent question we are asked is "how long will my transaction take" which is almost impossible to answer. We are finding that the average time for the conveyancing process is six to eight weeks, being approximately four to six weeks to exchange of Contracts and then approximately two weeks to completion.  However, this is as general as saying “the average time to walk a mile is twenty minutes”.  Unfortunately, some people walk quickly while others walk slowly!

Although there is sometimes a need to have proposed dates for exchange and completion, these cannot be guaranteed until everyone in the chain is in a position to exchange Contracts.  Most of the frustration and stress in the conveyancing process is caused by dates being arranged and then missed.  Whilst we will do all within our power to achieve suggested dates, we cannot emphasise enough that no firm arrangements (such as booking removals, holiday that cannot be altered, giving notice of accommodation, etc.) should be made until we reach the point of exchange.

"I would like to say a massive thank you to Jason and Tim at Franklin Allan for the most professional, friendly and calm sale of a property and all the legal complications that can often accompany a sale. Their service was superb in every respect. Fantastic!"

"Do not usually post a review but both selling and legal side of selling my property was carried out in such a friendly professional manner that I would highly recommend Jason and his team to any prospective sellers"

As a small conveyancing firm we rely very much on our reputation and on recommendation.  It would however be naive to assume that we always get it right and whilst we would like to avoid any situation that might detract from the service you receive and therefore lead to a complaint, we accept that this is not always possible and we have therefore put in place a complaints policy which we hope is clear and straight forward to follow

If you have any complaint about the way in which your matter has been dealt with, this is the procedure which will be followed:

a) A complaint is oral or written expressions of dissatisfaction which alleges that the complainant has suffered (or may suffer) financial loss, distress, inconvenience or detriment.

b) We aim to resolve any complaint you have about the services we have given you as quickly as possible. If you are unable to sort things out with the person who has been dealing with you please contact our Practice Manager at linda@franklinallan.co.uk

c) Once we have received your complaint, our Practice Manager will write to you within 7 days to explain how your complaint will be investigated if a complete response to your complaint has not been made by that time. You will be told the latest date by which a complete answer will be given to your complaint (this should not be more than 28 days after we received your complaint) If you have made the complaint verbally-either at a meeting or on the telephone-we will set out in our full response our understanding of the nature of your complaint.

d) The assessment of the complaint will be based on a sufficient and impartial investigation. We will explain in writing our findings and, where the complaint is upheld we will offer remedial action or redress. This will be dealt with promptly.

e) If you are dissatisfied with any aspect of our handling of your complaint, please feel free to contact Jason Franklin who is a Director of the Company and will conduct a separate review of your complaint. You will be told about the conclusion of this review with 28 days.

f) We will keep a record of any complaints received and any action taken as a result

g) If after following the review process you remain dissatisfied with any aspect of our handling of your complaint, you may contact directly the Legal Ombudsman to ask them to consider the complaint further:-

Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ          Tel no: 0300 555 0333

Website: www.legalombudsman.org.uk  Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk

Unless it agrees there are good reasons not to do so, the Legal Ombudsman will expect you in the first instance to allow us to consider and respond to your complaint in accordance with the procedure set out above. You can refer your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman up to 6 months after you have received our final written response to your complaint (6 years from the date of the act or omission giving rise to the complaint or 3 years from the date you should reasonably have known there were grounds). You can also refer your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman if we have not resolved your complaint within 8 weeks after we received it. The Legal Ombudsman deals with service-related complaints only. Any conduct-related complaints should be referred to the Council for Licensed Conveyancers whose contact details are as follows:

Council for Licensed Conveyancers, WeWork, 131 Finsbury Pavement, London EC2A 1NT                Tel no: 0207 250 8465

Website: www.clc-uk.org   Email: clc@clc-org.uk

We are regulated by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers and our Licence Number is: 2510

Alternative complaints bodies (such as ProMediate (http://www.promediate.co.uk/)) exist which are competent to deal with complaints about legal services should both you and our firm wish to use such a scheme.

We will however both need to agree whether we use one of these schemes

Finally, as far as costs are concerned, obviously that is important and we aim to remain competitive within the market we serve. Offering a local service means that we would struggle to compete on a fee basis with an online firm whose overheads are far lower however that is not the service that we are looking to compete with. We are not attempting to be the cheapest, however we are by no means the most expensive. There are many different elements involved in the cost of buying and selling property, not just legal fees but also Government taxes and when purchasing, Land Registry fees, Searches and Stamp Duty Land Tax which also changes for second home purchases, first time buyers or standard sale of main home and purchase of another.

We would be happy to provide you with a detailed estimate of charges (with no obligation) specific to your situation.  Please feel free to telephone or if you prefer, fill out the section below and we will forward a full estimate to you!