Can you do your own conveyancing with a mortgage provider involved?

perma

Hi Guys

Just wondering the above, would be great to save some fees.

I have heard from other posts on here that you can do the bulk of the conveyancing work yourself (after reading a few books on the subject) and then hand the papers into a solicitor to check them and submit them to a mortgage provider for a fixed fee, this in turn gets around the mortgage provider wanting a qualified person dealing with the application.

Has anyone on here done this successfully and got a mortgage from a lender this way?

I am a first time buyer using Nationwide for a mortgage product which we should be accepted for soon.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

ACG

Why would you want to do that?
Do you not have enough to worry about with the normal house buying process?

The solicitors fee is a fraction of the overall cost (around £300-400), so if your then having to pay a solicitor anyway is it really worth the hassle for what you will save?

perma

I have some time off work at the moment and the prospect of learning a new skill and saving £2-300 appeals to me that's all.

AndyGuil

The conveyansor needs to be an approved one for the bank if not then the bank will require you to pay for one that can act for them as well.

ACG

Fair enough, im not saying your wrong im just kinda checking your aware you would not be saving the full cost.

perma

No worries fella I know what you mean just got to be more careful with the pennies, lots of bills coming out at moment for various things

kingstreet

The lender will appoint a solicitor to act for it, so you are usually better off finding a firm to act for you as well, so at least you get some input in proceedings.

Your savings will be minimal and you may have to suffer a corporate conveyancing warehouse miles away which drives you mad.

perma

I have already had a quote for around £490 inc VAT for the solicitor fees. I am seriously considering this but was just wondering if anyone had successfully done it themselves, more to satisfy curiosity than being hell bent on doing it myself.

I take it it is easier when mortgages aren't involved?

kingstreet

You can completely DIY with no mortgage involved.

Goldiegirl

There's nothing to stop you doing your own conveyancing, but if there's a mortgage involved, the lender insists on a solicitor from their panel to be appointed to look after their interests. The mortgage applicant pays for this. Most people therefore find it easier to let the solicitor act for them and the lender, and it probably saves a bit of faffing around too.


If there's not a mortgage, you are completely free to do everything yourself. Even though I'm comfortable with filling in forms and doing administration, I would still want a solicitor for a house purchase. It's one of the biggest purchases of your life, I personally would prefer the back up of someone who knows exactly what they are doing.

perma

Yep prob going to go down the solicitors route now, thanks all for your input