Conveyancer in or near London recommendations?

mbmatey

Hi,

We've just had our offer accepted on our first house in london and now need to appoint a solicitor Can anyone recommend one here?

Our estate agent have recommended their one called Conveyan but I have heard generally not to go with the agent's one as it could be a conflict of interests?

Our mortgage broker recommended Grindeys which seems about £1000 cheaper but Ive read mixed reviews about them?

How important is it for them to be local?

Any comments or recommendations appreciated!

Thanks

Malmo

It is rarely in the buyer's best interests to take up services "recommended" by estate agents. Don't believe them when they say that it will make the process "easier" or "smoother" if you use their recommended mortgage adviser and/or conveyancing service. The main driver for any "recommendation" from the agent is their commission or referral fee. You don't benefit in any way. It is best to keep everything independent.

Read [URL=" https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4767543this useful and informative MSE thread[/URL] on how to choose a conveyancing solicitor, before you do anything.

Then read this article to understand what "good" looks like for conveyancing quotations and what to expect from a good quotation.

Don't just stick to one quote. Get at least 3 including a local solicitor or 2 near to you. Personally, I have found it useful and convenient to drop off paperwork after business hours at my local solicitors, when they've needed originals on file.

al25

mbmatey wrote: »

Hi,

We've just had our offer accepted on our first house in london and now need to appoint a solicitor Can anyone recommend one here?

Our estate agent have recommended their one called Conveyan but I have heard generally not to go with the agent's one as it could be a conflict of interests?

Our mortgage broker recommended Grindeys which seems about £1000 cheaper but Ive read mixed reviews about them?

How important is it for them to be local?

Any comments or recommendations appreciated!

Thanks

I can recommend you someone whom I used for a transaction few years ago and last month for a mortgadge we took recently. He offers a very fair price too, He however,no longer works from London, he is in Kent but told us it doesn't stop him from working for us because of the location.
But then he had all our personal details from the first transaction.

Elfbert

When I bought my flat in London I used a solicitor in Devon. Because I knew him, and he was experienced in the sort of transaction I was doing. We didn't meet face to face once during the conveyancing (well, we did, at a mutual friend's wedding!), all went fine, and was considerably cheaper than a local one.

Definitely look a little further afield for a quote if someone recommends a firm.

mbmatey

Thanks all. I've come across RMNJ solicitors which have good reviews and recommended on this forum, they also had a competitive quote with my others so think I might go with them even though they're outside London.

orcocan

don't go with the estate agent's recommendation, also i think all this obsession with the 'local solicitor' is way overrated. I got several quotes and all the London based ones were significantly more expensive (for obvious reasons), one even lied about being on my lender's panel.

Eventually i appointed one up north which gave me a quote 700 quid cheaper than the one the estate agent's recommended. They've been very good so far, sending documentation over mail has never been a problem, it took me 10 minutes to go to my bank branch to have something certified as true copy of original, wouldn't certainly pay hundreds of ££ just for being able to "drop things off at their office".

Now the London based vendor's solicitor is holding things up even though the "vendor want to move quickly and will only accept your offer if you can move quickly blah blah blah"

good luck