About the Transaction
In order to be comfortable that you have the capacity and the skills and experience to deal with the matter, and to come up with a sensible fee estimate, you will need to ask relevant questions. You will need to know the price/value which should not be greater than the limit of your firm's PII cover. What type of transaction is it - sale, purchase, remortgage or something else? If it involves a new mortgage are you on the lender's conveyancing panel? If not you will need to disclose that and explain that the bank will instruct another lawyer whose fees your prospective client will have to pay in addition to your own. Is the property leasehold? If so is it:
You should check if the clie nt has already exchanged contracts (for example an off plan new build or an auction purchase). If so there will be a hard deadline for completion. Do you have the capacity to drop other matters and prioritise this one? Should you charge a premium for that? Buy to let purrchases are more complex, particularly where the buyer is a company. Are you competent to deal with that work?
