About us
EstateNook lists estate agents, conveyancers, surveyors and removal companies in UK towns, so you can compare each trade before you move.
A home move in the UK rarely depends on a single firm. It depends on four that seldom work from the same diary: the estate agent, the conveyancer, the surveyor and the removal company. EstateNook gathers each of these trades in towns and cities across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, so that buyers, sellers and anyone moving house can weigh up the firms in their area before choosing one.
Four trades, four lists
Estate agents: agencies with a local branch that sell homes for their owners, including those that also let property.
Conveyancing solicitors: solicitors and licensed conveyancers who handle the legal side of buying, selling or remortgaging a home, including the land tax return. That is Stamp Duty Land Tax in England and Northern Ireland, Land Transaction Tax in Wales and Land and Buildings Transaction Tax in Scotland.
Chartered surveyors: surveying firms that inspect homes for buyers, from RICS Home Surveys and valuations to snagging checks on new builds. In Scotland many also prepare the Home Report that sellers need.
Removal companies: firms with their own vans and crews that move household contents, often with packing, dismantling and storage on offer.
Every entry gives the firm's own description of its services, its address, its opening times and the ways to contact it.
What we do not do
We are not an estate agent, a law firm, a surveyor or a removal company. We do not value homes, arrange viewings, carry out surveys, take bookings or gather quotes for you, and the site is free for you to use. Nothing here is legal, financial or survey advice, and we cannot tell you whether a price, a contract or a property is right for you. We also do not check each firm's registration or memberships one by one, which is why the next section explains how you can.
Checks you can make yourself
Estate agents must belong to a government-approved redress scheme, either The Property Ombudsman or the Property Redress Scheme. Both let you search their members online.
In England and Wales, a firm of solicitors is regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, appears on its online register and should show the SRA badge on its website. Licensed conveyancers answer to the Council for Licensed Conveyancers instead. In Scotland and Northern Ireland, solicitors are regulated by the Law Society of Scotland and the Law Society of Northern Ireland.
A chartered surveyor is a member of RICS, and its find-a-surveyor tool shows the firms that RICS regulates.
Removal companies have no regulator of their own. Ask whether the firm belongs to a trade body such as the British Association of Removers, and what its insurance covers while your belongings are on its vans or in its storage.
Moving in Scotland or Northern Ireland
In Scotland, the seller commissions a Home Report before the property goes on the market. It includes a survey by a chartered surveyor, an energy report and a questionnaire about the home. Offers are usually made through a solicitor, sometimes by a closing date, and many Scottish solicitors also sell property, so the same firm can turn up on two of our lists. Northern Ireland has its own Law Society and its own way of running a sale, so ask your solicitor early how the steps and timings work there.