Is it too late for new solicitors

jaffs

I have just started the process of purchasing a property and as it all happened so fast i didn't have a solicitor lined up, my estate agent therefore suggested that i go with their recommendation and asked me for £300 to start the ball rolling!! (Which i assumed was to start searches and things)

I have applied for my mortgage and they wanted to know the name of my solicitor so rang the estate agent as the solicitors pack hadn't arrived.

Well i have done a bit of research into the solicitor as i stupidly thought it would be a local firm, no it seems to be some kind of call centre set up where most of the work is done by admin staff. Also it seems this £300 was nothing to do with the solicitors, more likely an introduction fee to the estate agent. Well the solicitors pack has arrived and the quote inside is more than i was expecting, especially for work done by admin staff.

My question is, is it too late to change to a local firm, and is it just a case of ringing for a quote and letting the estate agent and bank (and other solicitors) know.

I know i have been nieve and shouldn't have just gone with the estate agent, and will probably wave goodbye to the £300 but would rather have a proper solicitor or at least conveyancer.

Also i dont want to upset the estate agents as obviously i may need their help in the purchase, but do kind of think i have been misled.:mad:

shar46y

No, it's not too late!

When we bought our current place as naive FTBs, we changed solicitors twice!

The first lot were accidentally appointed by our mortgage provider - there was the option for them to appoint solicitors (big call centre type thing), which we didn't want but the advisor ticked the wrong box while filling in our details on the computer :huh:

The second lot were the ones we chose because they were a local firm, so we thought we would get good personal service. They turned out to be completely useless, slow and took forever to respond to things. Being as green and innocent as we were, it took quite some time for us to realise how bad they were but eventually matters came to a head when the vendor got sick of waiting and threatened to put the flat back on the market. And despite all our pleas the sols still seemed incapable of getting on with it:mad:

In desperation we asked the estate agent to recommend a solicitor, which they did. When he got our case file, he was shocked to find that although months had passed, the previous sols had not even ordered the searches yet. He basically went from ZERO to exchange in TWO weeks!:j

Needless to say, we have stuck with him this time for our sale and purchase!:)

Eric1

jaffs wrote: »

.. it seems to be some kind of call centre set up where most of the work is done by admin staff. ..
would rather have a proper solicitor or at least conveyancer.

From my experience with two local "proper" solicitors, most of their work is also done by admin staff.
Whoever you choose, read everything carefully.

Honest_EA

I don't know what the £300 upfront is for as I have never come across this before. However on your point about how you thought it would be a local firm, don't always presume that a local solicitor is the best option. Local solicitors have multiple cases going on at any one time and often they spend most of their day in a small claims court or giving advice to people who want to sue their local supermarket for being falsely accused of shoplifting a "Best of Jeremy Kyle Compilation DVD'. The call centre set up as you say is often organised in such a way that the conveyencing is done in the most efficient manner to enable a sale to go through smoothly and ultimately that they get paid quickly. Local solicitors dont seem to care how long a sale takes and delight in sending letters to each other to justify the work they put in rather than picking up the phone to solve a simple issue. The 'call centre setup' will still be a legal firm so don't worry too much. I would question your EA on what the £300 is for but apart from this I wouldnt be worried about using a legal firm that is not local.

jaffs

Thank you for your replies.

I understand that local solicitors will have multiple cases going on, but the letter i received yesterday basically said that my case will be handled by admin people, overseen by a fee earner who is not a solicitor, i just think that its such a big purchase i dont want to get it wrong, and think a solicitor or conveyancer should be involved.