same solicitor 30 March 2005 at 5:41PM edited 30 November -1 at 1:00AM in House Buying, Renting & Selling 8 replies 893 views

richwesthorpe

I have just had an offer accepted on a house i wish to buy. I now need to
get my self a solicitor.
Is it possible to use the same company as the seller, and if so would this make
the process run any smoother. Thanks

dougk_2

Unless things have changed, you can use the same company but not the same solicitor.

It does make things quicker as problems can be ironed out quicker and there is no need to post things back and forth.

Not sure its so "independant" though!

Bossyboots

No you can't use the same firm. This represents a conflict of interest for which the solicitor can be in considerable trouble.

frugal_dougal_3

It is not possible to use the same solicitor as the other party, but you may use the same firm.

If you wish to use the same firm they usually arrange it so that it is a solicitor in a different branch of the same firm. This is ethical so that the two individuals do not hear each other's phone conversations etc.

It is not guaranteed to make the process faster or smoother but it can help because they are not having to send the paperwork around the country.

If you are unable to decide it can be useful to speak to friends and see if they can recommend one

frugal_dougal_3

Bossyboots wrote:

No you can't use the same firm. This represents a conflict of interest for which the solicitor can be in considerable trouble.

This advice is definitely incorrect !

richwesthorpe

Thans very much for your help everyone

muckell

Yes you can definatly use the same FIRM of solicitors, i only know this as i have a house sale going through as we speak, and we are using the same firm as the buyers. It has proved to be quite helpful as any queries i've raised have been answered very quickly.

Elliott_Woods

yes you can use the same firm - but need seperate solicitors within that firm to deal with.

Yes it does speed things up.

I moved recently and did use the same firm as my purchasers and vendors.

payless

but a lot of firms won't do it unless you are both previous clients