Conveyancing quote reasonable?

timmyt

jahudson72 wrote: »

I am buying and selling and using the same guy in London, I used him before and he was awesome. He came recommended to me and I wouldn't use anyone else for anything he's that good. He charges 625.00 + VAT so a bit cheaper than your guy but he's south east. So, all in all sounds good. You generally get what you pay for so it's worth the extra cost I reckon. Good luck.

What makes your chap 'that good' so we all know the qualities to seek out?

johnno71

johnno71 wrote: »

I would say £725 plus vat for legal fees is on the high side, but not outrageous. You can get it a lot cheaper online, though of course there is the risk that you may not get the same level of service.

As for the disbursement costs (searches, etc) they should be fixed based on the local authority, etc, so should not vary from quote to quote. If they do vary it means someone is trying to pad their bill by overcharging on the disbursements.

Just to follow up on the above post, the office complex I work in has a small firm of conveyancing solicitors downstairs. I know they're good and are very busy, but they're also really quite expensive.

Two months ago I helped my aunt with a sale and purchase and we ended up using an online conveyancing solicitor, because it saved her over £700 compared to the guys downstairs (who would have been our choice had we gone locally).

Since most of the communication ended up being by phone, going online didn't make a lot of difference in the end - apart from the price. We found the firm we used through the website househop.co.uk (scroll to the bottom of the homepage and there's a link that lets you get quotes).

timmyt

johnno71 wrote: »

Just to follow up on the above post, the office complex I work in has a small firm of conveyancing solicitors downstairs. I know they're good and are very busy, but they're also really quite expensive.

Two months ago I helped my aunt with a sale and purchase and we ended up using an online conveyancing solicitor, because it saved her over £700 compared to the guys downstairs (who would have been our choice had we gone locally).

Since most of the communication ended up being by phone, going online didn't make a lot of difference in the end - apart from the price. We found the firm we used through the website househop.co.uk (scroll to the bottom of the homepage and there's a link that lets you get quotes).

Don't EVER use online. :eek:

johnno71

timmyt wrote: »

Don't EVER use online. :eek:

Bit of a generalisation, don't you think Timmy?!

I know there are some horror stories, but our experience was fine and the solicitors were very pleasant to deal with. Both sale and purchase were completed inside 5 weeks.

timmyt

johnno71 wrote: »

Bit of a generalisation, don't you think Timmy?!

I know there are some horror stories, but our experience was fine you haven't sold yet and the solicitors they were not 'solicitors' were very pleasant to deal with. Both sale and purchase were completed inside 5 weeks. irrelevant, as one solicitor can only go as fast as the other will allow

generalisation by definition, as the post is about online. either high st or online - high street every time.

G_M

johnno71 wrote: »

Bit of a generalisation, don't you think Timmy?!

I know there are some horror stories, but our experience was fine and the solicitors were very pleasant to deal with. Both sale and purchase were completed inside 5 weeks.

You're in good company - many of us have commented about... er ...'Timmy's' ....generalisations in the past.

(I hesitated as he has corrected me in the past. It seems 'Timmy' is not actually his name! :rotfl:)

jahudson72

timmyt wrote: »

What makes your chap 'that good' so we all know the qualities to seek out?

Puts his client first. On a buy I had with him he knew I was a FTB and he stood up to everyone and told them that he would not back down for his client, 25 years in the game, came recommended. Personable, trustworthy, went beyond the call of duty. I would never use anyone else They are like any trade, when you find a good one, clasp them, CLOSE! :-)

mimimt

jahudson72 wrote: »

Puts his client first. On a buy I had with him he knew I was a FTB and he stood up to everyone and told them that he would not back down for his client, 25 years in the game, came recommended. Personable, trustworthy, went beyond the call of duty. I would never use anyone else They are like any trade, when you find a good one, clasp them, CLOSE! :-)

Hi Jahudson

Could you recommend your solicitor to me? I'm struggling to find one and the quote provided by the agent's solicitor was too high.

Thanks

mimimt

jahudson72 wrote: »

Puts his client first. On a buy I had with him he knew I was a FTB and he stood up to everyone and told them that he would not back down for his client, 25 years in the game, came recommended. Personable, trustworthy, went beyond the call of duty. I would never use anyone else They are like any trade, when you find a good one, clasp them, CLOSE! :-)

Hi, I'm a new member, so can't post PM for another 60 mins. I'm in SE London, SE16 to be exact. Thanks

DizzyDasher

I actually paid a bit more than that (Central London) - but was very glad to have a really high level of service and access (particularly as a first time buyer, and also as we had some survey hold-ups, so the fact that the solicitor was really efficient and quick helped keep everybody on board). The quote sounds very professional.

In terms of what happens if the sale breaks down, I asked ours about that and she said that they have an hourly rate that they will log their hours at (they gave us their rates, yours should be able to do the same?) and if it fell through that would be the starting point (if we put a further transaction through them, then they said they would try to give us a discount on the second one: so effectively we'd get a bit of a discount off their standard rates on the work for the incomplete one, if you see what I mean!)