HS Conveyancing

The process began in May 19th and received notice of 'completion' on 29th July. While taking a little longer than expected were were reasonable happily and would have give a 3-4 star review. During this time Joe Furness from Holden Smith was not that forthcoming in his communication style and his phone manner was at time too 'relaxed'. We would have liked more efficient and regular updates and more energetic approach but I would have recommended Holden Smith especially considering their quote was on the lower end of the spectrum. That being said it appeared to be a very straight forward process of paying off a help-to-buy loan with cash savings. After 'completion' we would have assumed : 'no more to do'. However we were selling our house shortly after and that solicitor informed us there was no note on the Land Registry documents. We were starting to think the worst that we'd been scammed or something. We contacted Joe who said 'it was completed' just waiting on land registry and claimed that not his fault is the fault of land registry. Joe took over 2 weeks to reply to emails after which we called him and eventually got an answer in which he claimed it was down to HelptoBuy . After calling Help to Buy we found out Joe did not complete the 'DS1' form properly and seemed like pretty easy information to find out. This took a few days to sort and was eventually sorted , with Joe being more forthcoming (probably because we were so annoyed) . We would have not known about this error/oversight if it weren't for the other solicitor noting this. After all of this we eventually 'actually completed', having our account closed with Help to buy almost a month later. This could have been avoided had Joe not acted as previously mentioned. Because of this I will not be recommending Holden Smith and would not use them again. I sent them this email during the time and they never replied

Legal experts tagged in
this review

Joe Furness

We instructed Holden Smith (via SAM Conveyancing) for our property purchase and experienced a complete failure in basic service standards. As first-time buyers, we expected clear guidance, but were instead met with weeks of unanswered emails, vague updates, and a complete lack of urgency. Communication was so poor that the seller’s solicitor and estate agent had to contact us directly to get updates because our conveyancer was completely unresponsive. Updates routinely consisted of unannotated forwarded email chains without context, and crucial documents—like a Deed of Surrender—sat untouched for weeks, even while our handler went on leave with no active cover. We have been forced to submit a formal complaint and escalate to senior management just to get basic progress on our file. Avoid if you value transparency, efficiency, or responsive legal support.

A truly, truly frustrating experience with Abena Boateng. Communication has been extremely poor throughout this transaction and my questions and concerns were routinely dismissed. My offer was accepted six months ago and I still have no certainty as to when this purchase will complete. Months of delays and practically begging for updates that should have been provided proactively. The lack of clarity and communication has made this an unnecessarily stressful experience. I have now lodged a formal complaint with the Legal Ombudsman. Avoid this firm for your own sanity.

I found them very professional, knowledgeable and trustworthy.

Martin was very helpful and explained everything simply and completely.

One of the worst professional services experiences we have ever had. Our experience with this firm was absolutely appalling from start to finish. Buying a house is stressful enough without having to constantly chase the very people you are paying to handle the process, yet that is exactly what we experienced. For approximately the first month after instructing them, there appeared to be virtually no action taken on our house. We were then repeatedly left chasing for updates ourselves, often having to call every single week just to find out what was happening. Communication was consistently poor, and we were rarely kept informed unless we actively pursued them. There were two significant delays during the process, followed by yet another delay right at the end. What should have been a straightforward process became unnecessarily stressful and frustrating because of the lack of organisation, communication and urgency. The solicitor who was originally assigned to our case was particularly disappointing. Despite being the person we had been told was handling our matter, he ultimately didn’t even end up completing the transaction. The work was passed between other members of the team, leaving us wondering who was actually responsible for getting things done. Based on our experience, there was a complete lack of confidence that our matter was being properly managed. And unfortunately, even completing the house purchase did not bring the problems to an end. After completion, they had still forgotten to send us important paperwork. We should not have had to discover that ourselves or chase for documents after the transaction had already closed. What is perhaps most frustrating is the complete lack of accountability. Despite the delays, poor communication, mistakes and paperwork being forgotten, there was no meaningful attempt to rectify the issues and not even a proper apology. We were left feeling as though our concerns simply weren’t important. For a service that costs a significant amount of money, we expected professionalism, communication, competence and accountability. Instead, we had to repeatedly chase, deal with delays and pick up the pieces of mistakes that should never have happened in the first place. We would absolutely not use this firm again and cannot recommend them based on our experience. If you are looking for solicitors to make the process of buying a house less stressful, our experience was the complete opposite. Save yourself the frustration and look elsewhere.

One of the worst professional services experiences we have ever had. Our experience with this firm was absolutely appalling from start to finish. Buying a house is stressful enough without having to constantly chase the very people you are paying to handle the process, yet that is exactly what we experienced. For approximately the first month after instructing them, there appeared to be virtually no action taken on our house. We were then repeatedly left chasing for updates ourselves, often having to call every single week just to find out what was happening. Communication was consistently poor, and we were rarely kept informed unless we actively pursued them. There were two significant delays during the process, followed by yet another delay right at the end. What should have been a straightforward process became unnecessarily stressful and frustrating because of the lack of organisation, communication and urgency. The solicitor who was originally assigned to our case was particularly disappointing. Despite being the person we had been told was handling our matter, he ultimately didn’t even end up completing the transaction. The work was passed between other members of the team, leaving us wondering who was actually responsible for getting things done. Based on our experience, there was a complete lack of confidence that our matter was being properly managed. And unfortunately, even completing the house purchase did not bring the problems to an end. After completion, they had still forgotten to send us important paperwork. We should not have had to discover that ourselves or chase for documents after the transaction had already closed. What is perhaps most frustrating is the complete lack of accountability. Despite the delays, poor communication, mistakes and paperwork being forgotten, there was no meaningful attempt to rectify the issues and not even a proper apology. We were left feeling as though our concerns simply weren’t important. For a service that costs a significant amount of money, we expected professionalism, communication, competence and accountability. Instead, we had to repeatedly chase, deal with delays and pick up the pieces of mistakes that should never have happened in the first place. We would absolutely not use this firm again and cannot recommend them based on our experience. If you are looking for solicitors to make the process of buying a house less stressful, our experience was the complete opposite. Save yourself the frustration and look elsewhere.

I would highly recommend Lucy at Holden Smith. She has acted very professional, kept us informed at every stage of our house buying process and ensured that the process has been as smooth as possible! I would also like to mention Tilly, Lucy’s assistant who was also professional and kept us informed when Lucy was on annual leave! Both ladies have been incredible and we would like to thank them both for all of the hard work they have put in when helping us buy our first home!

I recently sold my house and used Holden Smith Law. The service was excellent and there were no mistakes in any of the paperwork. A big shout out to Tiarny and Francesca for making my house sale a lot less stressful than I thought it was going to be. :-)

Legal experts tagged in
this review

Francesca Graham

Holden smith and their team handled the sale of my property. I have to say that it was flawless, streamline and the pressures of selling a house were taken away from me. Very reasonable fees also. A massive thumbs up from me. Strongly recommended