Must a solicitor be local?

wessexw

I'm buying a property in London but work in Hertford, I know people say that you should use a solicitor local to the area you're buying in but if I had a London solicitor I'd never be able to actually go in to their offices as I work in Hertford, but a solicitor in the town I work in I could drop in to any day of the week I needed to, plus I think a Hertford one might be a bit cheaper! Would I be a bit foolish to do this or does it matter really?

tiggerjj

When i bought my house (i complete tomorrow) the house is in wales, the solicitor is in hampshire and throughout the majority of the process i was working abroard!

In my experience it did not matter that the sol wasnt in the same town, she was wonderful.. I would say if you get a good recommendation i'd go with that above someone local.

just my 2pence worth!

jenny74

Now my 2 pence worth! ;-)

I used a local solicitor to where I live and was buying/selling.

I did so for 2 main reasons, 1) I could pop in with any documents she needed and was easy to go in to sign and 2) She knows the area and issues with the area.

IMHO reason 2 would have to be the more important reason, she was able to offer all sorts of advice that a convenyancer not familiar with the area would not have had a clue about.

I guess going on my advice, it depends whether 1 or 2 above is more important to you.

Good luck with it all!

lfc321

Used a non-local solicitor (a family friend) and it didn't cause any problems at all. In fact the knowledge that it was being handled competently and quickly by someone I trusted was much more important to me than local knowledge. Everything was done by post with, IIRC, 2 chats on the phone. No problems at all.

Not sure what local knowledge a solicitor might need(?). I knew the area and had chosen the house. The solicitor did all the necessary local searches etc. Job done.

clutton_2

i would always use a recommended solicitor in the area that the property you are buying is located.... there is nothing like local knowledge...

i did not meet my (now ex) solicitor for 5 years.. we did everything by mail....

kaych

currently using a non-local solicitor from Reading (am living and buying in Watford, Herts), whom is also the recommended solicitor from the developer.
Trust me, they are the last one you want to use!

lfc321

clutton wrote: »

there is nothing like local knowledge...

This is a genuine question - I am interested in what kind of local knowledge helped with the buying/selling process.

laughingcow81

When we bought, we used a solicitor based in Sheffield, whilst we were buying in Greater London.

We used her because she was highly recommended by family, and I must say she did a very good job. We were ftbs and so had no idea!

Whether you choose a local or a further away solicitor, there are pros and cons to both.

keith969

I used a solicitor local to me simply so I could eliminate the day's delay in responding to requests for documents to be signed etc. by dropping them off myself. It saved me four or five days delay in total.

Squish_21

Ive used a online company that were up North (Im South-West).

-It was a bit of a nightmare getting through there call centre.
-Never got to speak to the actual solicitor
-Mail took ages to get to them, be opened there end and be hand to the right person and deal with.

I am planning to go with a local agent this time so I can pop down with docs and to speed things up/get things done.

Welsh_Totster

We recently sold and bought - Sold in Bridgend S Wales, Bought in Newport SE Wales. Our solicitor was in Cardiff (inbetween) as we both work there and it was easy to pick things up or drop things off at the office if we needed to to save time and postage. It worked well for us.