good online conveyancers. anyone reccomend some companies

stolt

hi anyone had a recent good experience with a online conveyancing company, I was with beaumont legal up until i found out the house we are buying has no HIP pack so they have to change an additional £136.00 for local searches plus £99+vat for there proffesional fee. Plus they take the odd day or two to get back to me when i email them so i thought i better look elsewhere while in the early stages.

I would look locally but the solicitors in the high street want 3 times as much as online places and is there any guarantee they will be any better. I work a good 40 mins from where i live so i'm always going to have problems that if i want to pop in then i'd have to wait to lunch breaks during the week to sort something out if i choose someone near work and if i choose a solicitor at home i have to wait until the weekends (fingers crossed they work weekends)


I just want someone thats on the ball and really wants to push things along as much as they can.

any reccomendations that someone has used and been happy with

Richard_Webster

I am not into purely "on-line" conveyancing but the comment

I was with beaumont legal up until i found out the house we are buying has no HIP pack so they have to change an additional £136.00 for local searches

is a bit rich isn't? Hardly their fault that there is no HIP pack! That's the seller's responsibility, but your case might have been an exception where a pack did not need to be provided.

What was the extra £99 for? Sending the search off, or something else?

There do seem to be one or two genuine set ups who really do guarantee no extras, but most of the "online" conveyancers attract clients with very low topline quotes for "conveyancing on a purchase" but then add on extras for things that for most people are thought to be part of the basic job - acting for the lender, completing the Stamp Duty Form (needed whether or not the tax is payable), professional indemnity premium (to cover cost of professional negligence insurance for the firm!), telephone calls, postages etc, etc. These things can greatly inflate the original apparently low estimate and you are advised to read all their online terms and conditions and explanatory material...

m_13

Our remortgage was done through Enact. Our Solicitor (for our seperate purchase) rolled her eyes when she heard it was them but we had no problems and they sent us regular SMS to let us know what was happening and each time they received correspondence from us so we knew it had got there.

stolt

Richard_Webster wrote: »

I am not into purely "on-line" conveyancing but the comment
is a bit rich isn't? Hardly their fault that there is no HIP pack! That's the seller's responsibility, but your case might have been an exception where a pack did not need to be provided.

What was the extra £99 for? Sending the search off, or something else?


I wasnt blaming them for charging for the searches fee, as that was always the case before HIPS was in place, the £99.00 is a admin fee!! so when i said i thought that is what the £136.00 was for? and then i had silence and i must admit it scared because the girl on the other end didnt know what to say. i must admit it wasnt the conveyancor probably a trainee but even so she should have just said hold on a second and i'll find out rather than trying to fob me off.

lil'H

I live just south of London, used a solicitor based up north. Worked out great a million times cheaper (well 50% anyway) and she was great. The people I'm buying off are using an online firm and they have been useless, held everything up, don't answer any form of communication and you don't get a set person which can cause issues. If you live down south i'd say try a solicitor up north who a friend has used to save money rather than going online.

If you are already in the north then i'm no help i'm afraid!

stolt

lil'H wrote: »

I live just south of London, used a solicitor based up north. Worked out great a million times cheaper (well 50% anyway) and she was great. The people I'm buying off are using an online firm and they have been useless, held everything up, don't answer any form of communication and you don't get a set person which can cause issues. If you live down south i'd say try a solicitor up north who a friend has used to save money rather than going online.

If you are already in the north then i'm no help i'm afraid!

ha ha, that made me laugh, dont know anyone up north well nobody well enough to get any reccomendations. Trouble is i can find a million online but there is no guarantee that they are going to be what i'm after.

alisonp_2

stolt wrote: »

hi anyone had a recent good experience with a online conveyancing company, I was with beaumont legal up until i found out the house we are buying has no HIP pack so they have to change an additional £136.00 for local searches plus £99+vat for there proffesional fee. Plus they take the odd day or two to get back to me when i email them so i thought i better look elsewhere while in the early stages.

I would look locally but the solicitors in the high street want 3 times as much as online places and is there any guarantee they will be any better. I work a good 40 mins from where i live so i'm always going to have problems that if i want to pop in then i'd have to wait to lunch breaks during the week to sort something out if i choose someone near work and if i choose a solicitor at home i have to wait until the weekends (fingers crossed they work weekends)


I just want someone thats on the ball and really wants to push things along as much as they can.

any reccomendations that someone has used and been happy with

When you call for a quotation, ask to speak to the conveyancer who will be dealing with your matter. Ask for the quotation to be followed up by email and post. As Richard says, check there are no additional fees charged for completing stamp duty forms, administration fees. etc. Another thing to check is that if the matter doesnt proceed to completion, whether or not there will be a fee for work carried out either by a set fee fixed at the outset or an hourly rate.