Anyone used Premier Property Lawyers?

alicia-100

Do NOT use Premier Property Lawyers under any circumstances!! They are absolutely rubbish. Not only did they lose my paperwork but then started demanding costs up front which they told me they wouldn't do!

I cannot say it enough, do not use them!!

mummyyum

Well, I must have been very lucky! I used PPL when moving last April and they were excellent - could always get hold of someone on the phone who could either give me an answer or would call me back very quickly with information. They were always polite and even though there were issues with the lease, they dealt with it very efficiently. I guess I got the conveyancer who enjoyed their job and enjoyed helping people!

Wolfsbane2k

Wolfsbane2k wrote: »

Wow, looks like i've been lucky so far with these guys which i'm using to purchase a property and sell my current house.

I've gone with them directly, rather than via the L&C Recommendation, ( Although MSE do seem to recommend them ( or at least recommend looking at them here http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mortgages/house-buying-guide ) - they go under easer2move, 1st property lawyers, and premier property lawyers and got a friendly lady as my main point of call who works 3 days a week, and a second point of call if they are out.

So far they have been very good, and i'm hearing these words from the estate agents as well as my dealings with them. Their Eway system is not quite what i expected, as it takes some time for documents/updates to appear - i thought it was a direct copy of their internal filing system, but it's not, it's a customer version which they have to upload documents to, so it's typically 2 to 3 days after something has happened that I get informed of a change from that system, but has been up to a week to learn that they asked an additional inquiry.

They appear to have been very helpful in trying to speed up things after Country Wide Property Services added 6 weeks delay into the system, but we're in the to-and-froing of enquiries at the moment.

I've had to ask them a few things to ask via enquiries,. for things that weren't clear from paperwork, like a conservatory having electrical circuits, but no NICEIC cert provided for this work, so you do need to be quite diligent as well in understanding what is being provided to you to read, and i have typically been calling them once a week for a 5 minute call to check if I could help speed things up at all, or to get a status, and i understand that the my EA and the EA of my vendors have been doing the same.

We're now waiting to exchange with 4 enquiries left, and it's been a week and a bit since the LA search was returned (PPL issued enquires the same day that this was returned by the LA)

All in all, they currently seem on par than the local solicitors i dealt with 10 years ago when i bought the house i'm now selling, and they are definitely cheaper, but the communication seems clearer, probably due to the magic of the internet.

So yes, there is a mass of variation, they seem to balance the workload across multiple sites, so you may get a good team, or you may not.

Please take this with some warning - I'm now launching a complaint against them as they appear to have not heeded the last set of paperwork provided to them a week ago, and therefore to keep our chain moving and exchanging today, I have, effectively under duress, had to spend out indeminty insurance that they have recommended at the last minute. Specifically, i'm concerned that they have delayed/not answered things/ ignored paperwork so that they can sell me something that isn't actually needed.

mikey_l

My twopence worth..

I was going through this exact dilemma when I was buying my first house earlier this year and decided to go with these for their "no move no fee" policy.

I found everything ran as smoothly as it possibly could have done (whole process took around 7-8 weeks) I could never really get through to my conveyancer on the phone straight away buy she always called back.

It's definitely a no frills service, there were times when I think things did move a bit slowly but as long as you're prepared to get on the phone and chase regularly then I'd have no problem recommending them.

manub

I just appointed 1st Property Lawyers for my first home purchase. So far they validated my ID but no sign of progress although I sent everything by their online system on Friday. Tried to call them today but got to voicemail, left a message but will need to chase them. The online system seems very clear though. Hopefully I won't regret appointing them...

ladyabouttown

The seller and I are both using PPL, so you would think they would be quicker at sorting stuff out with each other...

I keep on asking them what's next, what are we waiting for etc... either no answer or they come across something else I need to sign or do... they need to be more proactive...

System

manub wrote: »

I just appointed 1st Property Lawyers for my first home purchase. So far they validated my ID but no sign of progress although I sent everything by their online system on Friday. Tried to call them today but got to voicemail, left a message but will need to chase them. The online system seems very clear though. Hopefully I won't regret appointing them...

The online eWay system is VERY good. Unfortunately the muppets using it at the other end know as much about buying and selling houses as I do string theory.

I'm coming to the end of my PPL nightmare now, after a 6 week delay where they forgot to act on an enquiry altogether and having my conveyancing file swapped from one person to another, neither of which seem to know what they are doing. Hopefully will exchange in a couple of weeks after an arduous 4 months.

manub

Yeah - not impressed so far. Left a voicemail around lunch time, called back an hour ago and somebody said that "she'll give you a call back" but haven't heard from her. And they say that the conveyancor will be in touch with you as soon as possible to discuss next step. If I knew that I would have gone for somebody else... gosh!

moon_river

Our vendor uses PPL unfortunately, offer was accepted back in January. We haven't had any responses from them since February..our solicitor keeps chasing, even our EA tried chasing up too.

It's a supposedly straight forward no chain house sale..we are at our wit's end with their total non response! :mad:

Can anyone advise please...

manub

I know only that in the appointment letter I received not only my conveyancor was listed but also her supervisor. I know who to talk to if I can't get hold of her...