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Seeing my first solicitor today - what should I ask them?
mr_fishbulb
Posts: 5,224 Forumite
I've got an appointment to see a solicitor today. First one I've seen so don't have any other to benchmark with.
Apart from asking them for a breakdown of their fees, are there any other questions I should be asking?
Thanks in advance
Apart from asking them for a breakdown of their fees, are there any other questions I should be asking?
Thanks in advance
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Comments
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Difficult to answer unless we have some idea what you are seeing him about!RICHARD WEBSTER
As a retired conveyancing solicitor I believe the information given in the post to be useful assuming any properties concerned are in England/Wales but I accept no liability for it.0 -
Haha - good point. Just a FTB looking to line up a solicitor to do the conveyancing on a move. Haven't found a house yet, but wanted to have a solicitor lined up.0
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they are human, just talk to them as to why you need their help. They are no different than a librarian or doctor.My posts are just my opinions and are not offered as legal advice - though I consider them darn fine opinions none the less.:cool2:
My bad spelling...well I rush type these opinions on my own time, so sorry, but they are free.:o0 -
a property lawyer charges £500 for up to 8 weeks of work, and that is a lot of money????
they are the cheapest part of a house deal compared to a surveyor, agent or lender, and they don't have any exclusion clauses.
if lawyers could charge a % like in the past then perhaps I would agreeMy posts are just my opinions and are not offered as legal advice - though I consider them darn fine opinions none the less.:cool2:
My bad spelling...well I rush type these opinions on my own time, so sorry, but they are free.:o0 -
If you are buying there won't be much that the solicitor can tell you about the property until he seen the papers, got searches and answers to any enquiries he makes.
When you contact a solicitor for an estimate it is quite reasonable to ask general questions about the process that you might not understand, e.g the difference between the roles of a solicitor and that of a surveyor. I don't think we would generally have a specific appointment unless there were some clear pressing issues that the buyer wanted to talk about.
For instance I recently had a client buying a house where a breeze block boundary wall was bowing and held together with metal strips. In order to understand my client's concerns I had to see the pictures to understand what he was on about and when I did it became clear that this could be a significant safety hazard to passing pedestrians if it fell! So he came in with the photos and his surveyor's report.
A lot of solicitors such as my firm have websites with explanatory material about the buying and selling processes and buyers can look at these to get an idea of what happens. If there is a particular point that the client needs to understand then it is important that they talk to their solicitor to get clarity.RICHARD WEBSTER
As a retired conveyancing solicitor I believe the information given in the post to be useful assuming any properties concerned are in England/Wales but I accept no liability for it.0 -
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As little as possible - they charge by the minute! Seriously, the more questions and issues you raise with them, the more work they have to do, which means a higher bill at the end.0
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Get a breakdown of costs and see what cost will be if the deal falls through...do you still pay solicitor? if so how much?0
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Get a breakdown of costs and see what cost will be if the deal falls through...do you still pay solicitor? if so how much?
Didn't you get a written estimate with all this in before instructing the solicitor?RICHARD WEBSTER
As a retired conveyancing solicitor I believe the information given in the post to be useful assuming any properties concerned are in England/Wales but I accept no liability for it.0
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