Conveyancing fees?

ellives

It's been quite a while since I've bought a house.

A quick search suggests that the fees range considerably.

Is it a case of "you pays your money....." or is it because it is largely impersonal and done on line (which suits me)?

Yorkie1

Firstly you need to make sure you are comparing like with like.

Many 'low' fees have a lot of extra charges in the small print e.g. charge extra if you complete within 14 days of exchange, or for every letter they write / phone call you make them. And/or they charge for stuff which is included in the others' higher fees e.g. copying or completion of Stamp duty forms.

Secondly, online firms will have fewer overheads probably, but may use teams of people to do the work, so that nobody has continuity over your file from start to finish. Some members of the team may not be formally qualified solicitors or licensed conveyancers. You may not be able simply to phone with an enquiry. You can't just drop in with paperwork etc.

Thirdly, yes, some firms simply do have higher fees than others.

Best way is to get a personal recommendation from someone.

Ms_Scarlett_2

Whilst we're on the subject of solicitors/conveyancers, could I butt in just for a second on the same theme?

It was recently suggested to me that the smoothest way to get things done post-acceptance was to use the same solicitor/conveyancer as the sellers. I'm not sure if the person who said this to me meant just the same firm or the same actual individual, but wouldn't that be a serious conflict of interest?? It sounded like BS to me, but I could kinda see the logic from a time-saving point of view. What would your thoughts be on that???

Sorry if that's a total rookie question. What can I say - I'm a rookie!! Thanks in advance.

Evilm

Ms_Scarlett wrote: »

Whilst we're on the subject of solicitors/conveyancers, could I butt in just for a second on the same theme?

It was recently suggested to me that the smoothest way to get things done post-acceptance was to use the same solicitor/conveyancer as the sellers. I'm not sure if the person who said this to me meant just the same firm or the same actual individual, but wouldn't that be a serious conflict of interest?? It sounded like BS to me, but I could kinda see the logic from a time-saving point of view. What would your thoughts be on that???

Sorry if that's a total rookie question. What can I say - I'm a rookie!! Thanks in advance.

You have to sign a form telling you if you and your buyer/seller are using the same solicitors, whether that be within the same branch or just the same firm name but different locations. It does count as a potential conflict of interest in either case.

I believe using the same person is not allowed. Sometimes things will happen that require the solicitor to take a side and if they are acting for both of you and something comes up they will not be in a good position.

Its not advised to even use the same firm and to be honest it doesn't necessarily speed up anything. They still need to do the same work and its unlikely that the paperwork would get there any faster as it will still be sent using the post/DX.

Evilm

OP - If you go for one of the firms saying £399 you will get a totally inpersonal service, probably internet run with problems should you actually run into a problem.

You then have the mid level people or the ones who say 0.5%-1% of the purchase price. They should be more personal and better but you can't really tell.

You then get the ones who charge by the hour (normally really high value transations) who probably do conveyancing mostly for people they also do other business for and give a very personal service.

Price in this case doesn't necessarily mean Quality. As said by someone else above ask someone who you know moved recently and get a quote from the people they used (if they were satisfied with them).