using an online solicitor??

molly22

hi
im about to purchase a property.

are online solicitors the way to go?

what should i be looking for and checking on?

thanks
molly:)

ttd14

In short, no. Use a local conveyancing solicitor.

molly22

ttd14 wrote: »

In short, no. Use a local conveyancing solicitor.

can u give me the 'in long' version pls?:)

molly

ttd14

On-line solicitors won't give you the time or quality of work that a locally based conveyancer can and should give you. Being dealt with as a person and not a reference number means you will find local conveyancers easier to approach, not to mention more reliable.

There are too many problems that can occur with on-line solicitors and considering that you're intending to spend the most you likely have done in one single purchase, I know I'd want someone who I could actually talk to rather than e-mail.

geoffky

onine= false economy

face to face is worth its weight in gold..

Richard_Webster

Many "on-line" solicitors look very cheap because they advertise silly low prices for "conveyancing on a purchase." but don't tell you get charged as much again for "conveyancing in relation to the mortgage" and for extras for professional indemnity, completing the SDLT form, checking searches and raising additional enquiries, archive fee, expedition fee (for completing in less then 3weeks when the average is 1-2 weeks), etc , etc. They often end up being no cheaper than ordinary "high street" solicitors.

All these extras often appear in turgid and lengthy terms & conditions which you are supposed to read.

They will often offer to provide regular updates by text or e-mail or enabling you to log onto their website. However if they simply tell you that something has happened and they don't tell you the significance of it you may get confused and think things are further on than they really are.

pmlindyloo

OK going to give you another point of view.

We searched online for reviews from people who had used online conveyancers. We chose one who wasn't necessarily the cheapest but had excellent feedback.

Ours was excellent - professional, easy to contact (email and telephone) and no hidden costs.

If you read the various threads on here you will see people have problems with solicitors whether local or online. There will always be opposing views from those who have had a good experience and those who haven't.

In the end you have to make the decision. Just do as much research as possible.

Best of luck!

Leory

Nice to hear there have been some success stories about online sols.

i fear that this is the minority though. Difficult to contact, not knowing the local area, speaking to different people and repeating. less inclined to push things through are other sides of the coin.

I was buying my first house and felt that the personal touch of a local recommended solicitor was worth the extra cost. Gave us lots of tips, told us things off the record and gave general advice on homeowning. made things a lot easier to grasp and made us feel comfortable when making the biggest purchase in our lives!

pmlindyloo

Leory, have you used an online solicitor yourself or is this from friends' experiences ?

As I said, there will always be good ones and bad ones. Let's be honest, if it's a good experience for yourself you will recommend it and if you've had a bad experience, you won't!

Having sold online and used an online solicitor I count myself extremely lucky that I had good experiences with both.

I do recognise that using online might be done for purely financial reasons but all I can say is we saved a lot of money. Will shut up now before I sound sickeningly smug and people get pi**ed off!!!

Leory

No, not used them. I enquired about their services and that was enough to put me off;)

The thought of saving money was tempting but when it came to the first part of the service it worried me about what i would receive further on.

I guess local reputation can tell you about good/bad ones in the area, but its harder to sort the good from the bad online

......name the good one you used for OPs benefit

pmlindyloo

Thought I wasn't allowed to do that!

They can always pm me and I'll tell them.