Buying a house off a friend, is there anything wrong with using the same solicitor

gibbers

As in the title, i have agreed to buy my friends property that he is currently renting out to someone.

We were going to use the same solicitor to speed up the process, is there anything wrong with this?

Thanks

Alter_ego

Yes, it's called conflict of interest.

kingstreet

You are likely to be unable to use the same individual.

You may be able to use different individuals in the same office if you have an existing client relationship. Otherwise, it may be different individuals at different offices.

I don't see any great benefit in doing this and the potential for conflict of interest should be avoided.

comeandgo

Do you mean same company or same person? Very often the same company is used by buyer and seller, think small town with only one company, but different employees are used.

gibbers

Ahhh yes just seen it myself online

"You cannot use the same solicitor as the seller because the solicitor cannot act for both buyer and seller."

Mallotum_X

Unless you really want to both use the same firm, its best to find another.

Rollinghills

You could still use the same company / different person.

After instructing the solicitor I called the agent and unbelievably the vendor instructed the same one (they are not local so what are the chances!). The firm said it is not a problem for them but I went with a different firm to be sure they will act in my interest only.

Bart1

When I sold my place I used the same firm of solicitors as the buyer. The solicitors have to set up a Chinese wall

Mickygg

Rollinghills wrote: »

You could still use the same company / different person.

After instructing the solicitor I called the agent and unbelievably the vendor instructed the same one (they are not local so what are the chances!). The firm said it is not a problem for them but I went with a different firm to be sure they will act in my interest only.

I had this too! Couldn't believe it when the sellers had the same solicitor. We both used the same one and all went well, really quickly.

Yorkie1

Personally, I wouldn't do so.

Given that you're buying from a friend, you want that extra bit of neutrality between you if anything unexpected crops up during the transaction. Using the same solicitor's firm risks extra discomfort unnecessarily.

(I bought from a friend and wouldn't have used the same solicitor as them, for these reasons - if the issue had arisen).

ethank

Many lenders will not allow the same firm to act in their interests as well.

Find a different solicitor it will be far easier.