Using the same Law Firm as vendor when buying a house

m0bov

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 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.

Ditto what he said. I did the same.

Richard_Webster

So same solicitor acting for both - can he really tell the buyer that he should insist seller provides X document and at the same time tell the seller that he should refuse to provide it?

He should suggest a fair compromise, some might say.

What one person would call fair, someone else wouldn't.

It is very difficult to avoid conflicts of interest because simply don't know when they are going to occur. Not giving either side any advice is one way to do it - but that is simply unprofessional and not what we are paid for.

So I can't really see how you can act for both sides and advise either side properly.

kinger101

westv wrote: »

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.

Exactly! Run away for any solicitor foolish enough to act for both parties. They don't have a crystal ball, and certainly can't predict what might happen once a survey/searches come back etc.

You have to be pretty desperate for income to act for both parties. Not a good sign.

G_M

CathA wrote: »

We've sold two properties to our daughter, one 4 years ago and one at the beginning of this year.
....
It worked fine,. .

a) so a sale within the family. Trust between the buyer/seler I assume. Very different tobuying from a stranger.

b) worked fine for you. As no major issues arose. But what is an issue had arisen. As Richard says above, would one solicitor in a firm hold their ground against another (perhaps senior) solicior in same firm.....?

ethank

Some lenders do not like it and if you do it, they may insist on a seperate firm to act for them. Whilst you may be happy with the potential conflict of interest, the lender will be less likely to be so happy.

Mickygg

Well, facts are facts. 4 of us in this post have used the same solicitor for both parties and had a fine/good experience.

Everyone else are just throwing around views and thoughts without experience using the same solicitors.

Over to you OP.

rosie383

We did it and it turns out that the EA use a large firm with offices in different cities. So it's just like using two different firms.
BUT... the commission paid the the EA is huge which is why they will tell you it is the best thing to do. For example, our fees were £549+VAT for sale and same for purchase. Out of that, £125 went to the conveyancer, the remainder went to line the pockets of the EA. So £250 to the conveyancer who does all the work, and a whopping £850 to the EA for making a phonecall.
But it's your choice at the end of the day. Once I realised the commission involved I changed to a different online firm who were recommended by a few forum users here. They had the paperwork out to us by the next day even with Christmas post. EA was not happy. Do I care? Nope.

keeko

Thanks everyone for your replies.

Plenty of food for thought here.

Happy New Year everyone.

davidmcn

Mickygg wrote: »

Well, facts are facts. 4 of us in this post have used the same solicitor for both parties and had a fine/good experience.

The trouble is that you often don't find out whether you had a good experience until you come to sell, and then discover what your solicitor had chosen to turn a blind eye to rather than upset his other client.

Everyone else are just throwing around views and thoughts without experience using the same solicitors.

And some of us are solicitors who have practical experience of the problems which can arise if you try acting for both sides.

eddddy

keeko wrote: »

The company has been recommended by the EA...

Hi keeko

It's better to think of this as a 'referral', not a 'recommendation'.

The EA is not really saying "use this solicitor because they are good".

The EA is saying "use this solicitor because then they will pay us £400 or so, if you do"

That £400 will come out of the fee you pay the solicitor. I wonder if the solicitor will inflate their charges to you, in order to cover the £400 they pay the EA?

That is why I wouldn't use a solicitor [STRIKE]recommended[/STRIKE] referred by an EA. I don't want to pay the EA an extra £400 of my money.