Solicitors quote through estate agent?

Redbedhead

We received an offer on our house today (:j ) and needed to get a solicitor instructed.

The EA asked who we were going to use and I said probably xyz but I still needed to get a quote. He said, no problem, he could get one for me and would email through as the solicitor I mentioned was on their panel.

If I go directly am I likely to get a cheaper quote? Is the EA likely to be taking a commission for putting me in touch with the solicitor?

Thanks

Sydney_2910

We have been involved in a small chain since before Christmas. The lady at the bottom of the chain was advised to use the in house solicitor - it has caused us so many problems. The estate agent and the solicitor, we believe, lacked communication due to familiarity. I definately think there is commission involved.

We suggest recommendation or use a solicitor you are familiar with! But def get in more than one quote.

Hope you have more success than we did...:rotfl:

tifnstav

The Solicitor will probably hav to pay a fee to the estate agent, however they are guided by strict rules and cannot favour the agents interest over yours.
But surely if you are selling it is in the agent's interest to get the sale through by putting you in touch with a Solicitor they know can act in an effective manner? Perhaps that is the reason this solicitor is on their panel (a list of preferred firms).
After all, neither the agent or the solicitor will get paid until you complete.

dankes

Definitely shop around. I was offered a very reasonable quote for conveyancing by the EA I'm buying a flat through but I think it's very unwise to blur the lines in these kinds of cases so I went with another solicitor. Slightly more money - only slightly - but she's already told me that if there are any costs that come up that aren't included in the quote she'll let me know before carrying out the work so I can say yes or no to it. If only I'd had someone that upfront when I was buying my first flat.

Do try to find someone else and then you won't have that doubt that they may have any loyalties to the EA.

I'm sure they won't (!) but better to remove the risk of it at this stage.

Good luck with it.
D x

Redbedhead

Thanks. The reason I wanted to use this particular firm of solicitors is that I already have quite a few dealings with them through my work, so I know how they work and that the department I normally use does a good job, so I do feel comfortable with them.

I have got a 2nd quote and the difference was about £30 so not really here nor there.

Thanks all

kingkano

We have taken on a solicitors recommended by the agents. Same as you the quotes were pretty close from 2 other sols, we saw no harm.

Note this isnt an agent solicitor, but just one they recommended. I wouldnt touch the likes of mann countrywide solicitors or anything!!

Richard_Webster

It doesn't always follow that the solr is giving the ganet (sorry typo meant agent) a kick back (if he is he has to reveal it), but it is entirely possible.

Ask the solrs that you deal with whether this is the case - and approach them direct.

Of course it may be that the agent was genuinely trying to be helpful - but it is as well to check!

With HIPS coming in, sellers will be faced with little choice of solr if they use the agent to get the HIP - you will be stuck with whoever the agent recommends. If you don't want to be put in that situation, then you need to get your chosen solr arranging the HIP before you approach agents to market the property.

As a conveyancing solicitor I believe the information given in the post to be useful but I accept no liability except to fee-paying clients.

Redbedhead

Richard_Webster wrote: »

It doesn't always follow that the solr is giving the ganet (sorry typo meant agent) a kick back (if he is he has to reveal it), but it is entirely possible.

Ask the solrs that you deal with whether this is the case - and approach them direct.

Of course it may be that the agent was genuinely trying to be helpful - but it is as well to check!

With HIPS coming in, sellers will be faced with little choice of solr if they use the agent to get the HIP - you will be stuck with whoever the agent recommends. If you don't want to be put in that situation, then you need to get your chosen solr arranging the HIP before you approach agents to market the property.

As a conveyancing solicitor I believe the information given in the post to be useful but I accept no liability except to fee-paying clients.

I am sold already so don't need to worry about the HIP.

It is a local solicitors firm and not their in-house ones. I have approached them directly and been told I would get the same rates so i have gone with them.

lynzpower

When I was an EA if I recommended the solicitor ( not in house) I got a bottle of jacobs creek - somewhere around the fiver mark.

As you can imagine, it wasnt enough for me to hard sell it - if you like the sols, then you might as well use them through the EA- it makes for a smoother transaction in my experience

Rick62

Maybe not in this case but frequently the EA would receive £100 or £200 for the lawyer recommendation (unless countrywide, who I bet take more).

specialangel

In my experience, if your agent recommends someone to do the conveyancving, then they're not doing it out of the kindness of their heart!
One solicitor was trying to charge me an extra £200 introduction fee to be paid to the agent who recommended me. I thought the money they were charging for the sale was more than enough so I politely declined the offer!