Online Conveyancing Companies

Tia_24

My partner and I have had an offer accepted on a house and we now want to get things moving! We've had several quotes from local solicitors which are frankly ridiculously expensive so we thought about using an online firm. We've had Simpson Millar recommended to us and I wondered if anyone had heard of them or used them before? Does anyone have any tips on which companies to use or avoid?

Thanks in advance!

jenny74

I wouldn't touch an online conyenancer with a 10 foot barge pole!!

Do a search on here, there are some bad stories about them.

We are due to echange soon and have used a local conveyancer, they have been very effiecient and I have been able to pop in to give them documents and show ID etc. Very handy to have them close by.

Good luck.

Phirefly

I used abode and can't recommend enough. I have no vested interest whatsoever in this recommendation.

LandyAndy

Tia_24 wrote: »

My partner and I have had an offer accepted on a house and we now want to get things moving! We've had several quotes from local solicitors which are frankly ridiculously expensive so we thought about using an online firm. We've had Simpson Millar recommended to us and I wondered if anyone had heard of them or used them before? Does anyone have any tips on which companies to use or avoid?

Thanks in advance!

Or do you actually work for them;););).

My personal opinion is that I wouldn't touch them. Conveyancing isn't something I would think was best entrusted to the lowest bidder.

My preference is for a real person with a real desk I can look across when there is a problem not an email address.:D

g_attrill

jenny74 wrote: »

Do a search on here, there are some bad stories about them.

There are also plenty of bad stories about local solicitors too!

To the OP - what prices have you been getting? An online company will be under £400+VAT for the legal part of the work. The one I used (Beaumont Legal) are online in as much as I booked it online, everything else was done by post, and I have always got through to the person dealing with my purchase when I have called.

That said, if you absolutely need a quick service then it might be best to pay more and make it clear that you need it done fast. Another thing to be aware, the sale/purchase is always as slow as the other solicitor, and you have no control over that.

supercarrie

We are in the process of buying a house and are using Beaumont Legal. Although a bit hesitant to use an "online firm" - when in fact they are not, they were simply found online at the cheapest price - they have proven to be 10x better than our seller's solicitors, and solictors up the chain, all of whom are local companies.

Tia_24

LandyAndy wrote: »

Or do you actually work for them;););).

My personal opinion is that I wouldn't touch them. Conveyancing isn't something I would think was best entrusted to the lowest bidder.

My preference is for a real person with a real desk I can look across when there is a problem not an email address.:D

No not at all!!!!!

They were recommended by a friend who used them to buy his first house with. They are cheaper but definately not the lowest bidder, that was Walstom Holmes but having read all about them on other threads on here decided not to go with them!!

Tia_24

g_attrill wrote: »

There are also plenty of bad stories about local solicitors too!

To the OP - what prices have you been getting? An online company will be under £400+VAT for the legal part of the work. The one I used (Beaumont Legal) are online in as much as I booked it online, everything else was done by post, and I have always got through to the person dealing with my purchase when I have called.

That said, if you absolutely need a quick service then it might be best to pay more and make it clear that you need it done fast. Another thing to be aware, the sale/purchase is always as slow as the other solicitor, and you have no control over that.

I think this company are like Beaumont then, they do everything by post as well. A quick service in this case isnt exactly what we need but there's no point dragging it out! Duly noted the tip about the other solicitors - thank you.

LandyAndy

Tia_24 wrote: »

No not at all!!!!!

They were recommended by a friend who used them to buy his first house with. They are cheaper but definately not the lowest bidder, that was Walstom Holmes but having read all about them on other threads on here decided not to go with them!!

We're a cynical lot here.:cool:

togarama

We went with a national conveyancing firm which we found on the internet and we regret it.

There's nothing wrong with using the web as a resource for getting quotes and looking for recommendations. The problem lies more in the physical difficulty of getting hold of your solicitor in a call-centre set-up, often having to go through a "case-manager" first, and there being no sense of any individual driving your purchase forward. When things go wrong, this can be incredibly frustrating.

Next time I buy, I would definitely go for a local firm so that when delays or confusions arise, I could physically go down to the office and see with my own eyes what the state of play is.

Good luck.

Chris

nicjp

I'm using simpson millar for my sale and hopefully for my eventual purchase. They were recommended to me by a work colleague. So far they have been really good, i've been able to talk to the conveyancer directly every time I have called. She also sends me everything by email that needs a response followed up by a letter. The only thing I'm not that impressed with is the online tracker as it doesn't get updated that often.

So far so good in my opinion