Online Conveyancing

ManicMum

Hello

I am looking to use one of these. I have read lots about the benefits of using local solicitors but as I am 500 miles from the property I am selling I can not see I will get any benefit from that. Not as though I can pop in to their office to give them hassle if things aren't going quickly enough! And as I live in Scotland, no point using one here as different legal systems.

I have had good quotes from Abode and Lawcomm. Anyone used them?

I have also found firm called 'iconvey' who have a very good website. They too are competitive and the lady that called me sounded very professional. They are part of BPL Solicitors who specialise in conveyancing. Can't find any mention of them on here though.

any advice appreciated.

Richard_Webster

1. Make sure you check all the small print for extras.

2. Also consider using a solicitor local to the property you are buying as sometimes local knowledge of the area etc helps.

ManicMum

thanks Richard. I am not buying just selling so hopefully will be straightforwards (touch wood). Will look through t&Cs with fine tooth comb.

jesse_freespirit

I am having a good experience with iconvey at the moment. The reason I am using them is because they seem to offer the best of both worlds and are competitively priced (but not cheap). My service so far has been outstanding, my emails have had instant response as have my phone calls and I have received all the papers in the post remarkably quickly. I am in no way associated with the company, and yes I am only at the start of the process, but my solicitor has answered all of my "stupid" questions and has been helpful with "outside of the box" advice too. I will of course keep posting throughout the process and when we complete. The reason I felt compelled to write this review is because when I was searching and searching through forums for advice I would have loved to have got a recommendation and I think this company deserve it! So far.........

mrcol1000

This website gives you the best of both worlds. They do fixed fee no visit neccessary conveyancing but will find you one local to the property. We went through these and ended up going with a local firm we had approached directly but through these only paid half what they quoted us direct!

http://www.savemoneyconveyancing.co.uk/

timmyt

online are cheapos so you get what you pay for. good luck, you'll need it

go local solicitor every time. clever movers do.

Eric1

ManicMum wrote: »

They too are competitive and the lady that called me sounded very professional.

They all sound very professional and quick, both local and online ones, before you sign the contract

DVardysShadow

jesse_freespirit wrote: »

I am having a good experience with .... at the moment. The reason I am using them is because they seem to offer the best of both worlds and are competitively priced (but not cheap). My service so far has been outstanding, my emails have had instant response as have my phone calls and I have received all the papers in the post remarkably quickly. I am in no way associated with the company, and yes I am only at the start of the process, but my solicitor has answered all of my "stupid" questions and has been helpful with "outside of the box" advice too. I will of course keep posting throughout the process and when we complete. The reason I felt compelled to write this review is because when I was searching and searching through forums for advice I would have loved to have got a recommendation and I think this company deserve it! So far.........

Hmm the smell of sizzling :spam:

timmyt

jesse_freespirit wrote: »

I am having a good experience with iconvey at the moment. The reason I am using them is because they seem to offer the best of both worlds and are competitively priced (but not cheap). My service so far has been outstanding, my emails have had instant response as have my phone calls and I have received all the papers in the post remarkably quickly. I am in no way associated with the company, and yes I am only at the start of the process, but my solicitor has answered all of my "stupid" questions and has been helpful with "outside of the box" advice too. I will of course keep posting throughout the process and when we complete. The reason I felt compelled to write this review is because when I was searching and searching through forums for advice I would have loved to have got a recommendation and I think this company deserve it! So far.........

what you mean is that like the rest of online conveyancers none of them know what a 'contract' is let alone able to convey a person's house so it is resaleable - and only on a resale is it discovered at that point that they have done a crap job?

clhs

I have to leave this review of my experience with iConvey.

Originally I was quoted a timeframe of about two months to exchange and complete. The actual time was almost four months. During that time I would routinely (perhaps once a week) email my solicitor and ask for an update. Around half the time my solicitor just didn't get back to me at all. On one occasion I emailed him to ask if he could undertake the work necessary to draw up a will for me; that email was also completely ignored.

At one point the vendors threatened to pull out, purely because their solicitor had been unable to get my solicitor to respond to any emails or return any calls for so long.

When I escalated my complaint further up the chain within BPL / iConvey, I was fobbed off with an excuse about their email system having been down, so they hadn't received any of the many emails that I had sent.

Eventually we were ready to exchange and I was only waiting for my solicitor to send me a completion statement, advising how much money I needed to transfer in view of the service charge prepayment. I was promised that this would be with me the next morning. This didn't happen. I gave it another two days, and then, on the fourth day, called my solicitor. He attempted to avoid my call but then I asked to speak to his manager and, lo and behold, I got through to him. At this point he apologised and said he was just about to email me, but had literally only just been emailed the figures from the vendor's solicitor that he required to complete the statement. When I eventually went to pick up the keys to my new property, the estate agent showed me the email that the vendor's solicitor had sent to my solicitor with the figures he needed: not the day my solicitor had said, but four days earlier, delaying the date of exchange by four days, unnecessarily. It also meant that I had been lied to, which may be normal practice in conveyancing, I don't know, but I didn't enjoy it.

I asked my solicitor why everything took longer than he had thought: were there any difficulties? He said no, not really, these things always take a long time. A bit wrong, then, to have quoted me two months when it was always expected to take four.

Anyway, just thought I would share my honest experience.

ruggedtoast

Its all fine unless things go wrong and you only have an email address and 0845 number to try and sort it out. In my experience the standard of conveyancers in general is not great. Choosing a cheap online one is only going to make things worse.