Using the same Law Firm as vendor when buying a house

keeko

Hello all,

Does anyone have any views on the pros and cons of using the same Solicitors (or Law Firm) as the vendor when buying a house.

The company has been recommended by the EA and the vendor has already signed up with them. EA recommends I do the same for the sake of a faster transaction.

Any views on reasons I should or shouldn't do this?

Thank you in advance.

mrginge

The EA has recommended them because they get commission. 'Faster transaction' is an excuse.
You should pick your own solicitor.

DTDfanBoy

I don't think you're able to use the same solicitor, I suspect there would be a conflict of interest, and even if you could I wouldn't, you want your solicitor to be looking after your interests not the other parties.

The EA is looking for a referral fee, rather than suggesting the same firm to speed the process up.

kinger101

Don't do it. Conflict of interest.

Mickygg

I used same as vendor last time round. Anyone that says this is not possible or can't be done they are simply wrong.

It did speed things up as the partners asked each other questions across the table.

It wasn't recommended by EA though. Find 3 local EAs and ask for quotes then decide who to use.

Mickygg

kinger101 wrote: »

Don't do it. Conflict of interest.

Not true. They use different partners for each case.

davidmcn

It's a potential conflict of interest, and if it turns into an actual conflict of interest then they'll have to send one (or both) of you to a different law firm at possibly an inconvenient time in the transaction. All of which is liable to make your solicitor try to avoid a conflict arising, by not giving you best advice.

It might prevent your solicitor from also acting for your lender, in which case you'll have additional legal costs (in order that your lender can be separately represented) and will slow down the transaction anyway.

We're not even allowed to do it in Scotland (apart from a few peculiar exceptions).

kinger101

Mickygg wrote: »

Not true. They use different partners for each case.

Only if you believe that partners in a firm are truly allowed to act 100 % independently.

G_M

Mickygg wrote: »

I used same as vendor last time round. Anyone that says this is not possible or can't be done they are simply wrong.

.

It is a potential COI.

It is legally permissable provided there is a 'firewall' between the solicitors within the firm (ie they do not have cosy chats across the table).

Where everything runs smoothly there is the possibility that it might marginally speed things up

Where an issue arises, the potential COI could slow things down and/or lead to your interests not being best served.

Worth it?

Your choice, but I wouldn't do it.

CathA

We've sold two properties to our daughter, one 4 years ago and one at the beginning of this year. We used the same firm of solicitors but different partners in the firm. Any issues or problems, all they had to do was walk across the corridor. It worked fine, went very quickly as no-one had to write to the other one and wait for replies. AND we asked for a discount as we were both using the same firm. Got the discount too, no quibbling!! If we were ever to do the same again I would have no hesitation in doing it this way again.

westv

If you aren't going to trust the solicitor to avoid any conflict of interest why would you trust them with anything else to do with the process?
I used the same practice as my buyer a few years ago without any problems.