A few Solicitor Questions

Kuztardd

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clairefun

I bought my first home 3 years ago with a solicitor a long way away, they weren't very good, and I found it incredibly annoying that I couldn't just go in and demand they talked to me, on the occasions when they weren't answering phones or promised calls back that never materialised.

We now have a solicitor for our sale and new purchase in our home town and although we've had no problems, we have popped in from time to time to drop off forms or ask / answer questions, and it's all felt much easier. We know that if there are any problems we can at least see them face to face to sort it, and I would say the peace of mind that's given us, is a very good thing.

I'm no expert & dunno what sols are supposed to do, but they do *all* the paperwork after you've chosen & offered on a house. The offering is done via estate agents that you've booked to view the house with. You ask agents questions to begin with, but sols will get the official questions with WRITTEN answers. Surveys are I think generally through your mortgage company as they need to do a valuation for mortgage purposes (to check the house is worth the money in case you stopped paying them ). You can choose whether to have a better survey done in more detail as well. EA can advise and we talked to three different independant mortgage advisors before deciding who to go with.

Don't know about list of questions I'm afraid as I never asked any, just went on recommendations...

Hope this helps some though! Oh, and good luck with it!

hlhassall

I would agree with the post above in terms of who does what.

The other things you may want to know are about what costs they charge and whether these are contingent on the sale going through. Don't want to be negative but sometimes sales will fall through and you need to be aware of how much you will be charged if that is the case as quite a bit of work may have already been done.

Last time we bought a house we had to go into the solicitors to sign documents but everything else was done via telephone/email.

ds1980

My solicitor is on the isle of wight and we have built up a rapport now which is amicable for the both of us.

I live in London and much prefer it this way as goign to see them costs me time and money.

I think ive found that you certainly get what you pay for and I pay that little extra but know im getting the service i want.

the best bit of advice my solicitor gave me is remember your paying me so if you have any questions..............ask!!! Im damn sure i do now!

Headintheclouds_3

Hi Kuztardd

FTB here too! If you haven't already, it's worth getting quotes and then arranging to pop in to/phone each one for a quick chat about the process (if they offer a free, no-obligation appointment) I had already genned up on the house buying process online but I wanted a) to ensure that I hadn't missed anything and b) that what I did know was confirmed by the solicitor off their own back. I also wanted to see the person I might be dealing with and their office. A bit cheeky, but if you're going to hand over lots of money for legal fees you want to make sure that they are on the ball and aren't working out of the back of a lorry.

I was under the impression that the sols would hand-hold me through the process of deciding on an amount to offer but that's not necessarily the case - it's mainly just the documentation side of things, dealing with tying up the mortgage arrangements and the seller's solicitors. Your mileage may vary depending on the sols, of course. I can only recommend that you get the process clear in your head so that you can concentrate on the negotiation with the seller/estate agent.

So, I'd ask how much they charge (and get a breakdown, including VAT), whether they charge if an offer is not accepted or if it falls through (as mentioned above) whether or not there is a team of people who deal with conveyancing (nothing worse than trying to get things done if your solicitor is on their hols), what is usually open for negotiation in a sale, and perhaps prod them for some info on how the local housing market is doing; so a local solicitor is really essential here. This is often quite an eye-opener - I found out that my price bracket is popular with buy to let-ers and I may want to bear in mind that these properties are snapped up quickly.

You'll probably think of things once you're chatting, anyway. Very best of luck!

yellowlawn

Well I've dealt with a few of them buying and selling Residentially and Commercially. If you think it's bad buying residentially, try commercially they really do shaft you. 99.9% of solicitors usually have large dorsal fins on there backs. And if there are any solicitors out there watching, sorry but you really live up to your reputation and seem proud of it.

If you have found a decent one chances are he or she will be booked up for several months in advance, believe me you've more chance of finding Lord Lucan than a good solicitor.

So if you do get to see them my best peice of advice is first ask how much they are going to charge you for the chat. Secondly, get a raft of questions together to ask them. They NEVER offer advice, unless you ask first.