Estate Agents Solicitor

ed67812

We are shortly, within weeks, putting our house on the market. We've chosen a local Estate Agent after meeting a few. They seemed the best and a number of friends who sold with them have been very positive.


This EA has told us that as part of the deal they will pay for some specified local solicitors to carry out the selling conveyancing.


We are currently looking for a new house but could end up selling before we buy and moving in with parents (lucky to have options like this) whilst we carry on looking / waiting on a new build.


What are the pitfalls of using this solicitor for our sale? Are there more pitfalls if we do find somewhere and so need either that or another solicitor when we are buying?


The EA does offer £300 off their fee if we don't use the solicitor in question and find our own.


As ever, thanks in advance for any advice.

Surrey_EA

I'd steer clear, and find your own solicitor. There is too much potential for a conflict of interest.

Look for a good local firm of solicitors that has a specialist conveyancing dept.

kinger101

It's likely their "solicitor" is a conveyancing warehouse such as Premier Proptery Lawyers. If this is the case, the pitfalls are the conveyancing process will take twice as long as it should. And the longer it takes, the more likely the sale will collapse.

This is slight change that it's a proper local solicitor, but you need to ask. And find out what is included and what isn't. I bet there are lots of hidden extras. £300 for conveyancing is too cheap, and wouldn't even cover the EA's kickback. If it's sounds too good to be true......

BTW-, your EA will likely try to push this "solicitor" onto potential buyers too.

eddddy

ed67812 wrote: »

We are shortly, within weeks, putting our house on the market. We've chosen a local Estate Agent after meeting a few.
...
The EA does offer £300 off their fee if we don't use the solicitor in question and find our own.

Also bear in mind that many (most!) EAs' fees are negotiable.

If other EAs quoted lower fees, ask your chosen EA if they will price match.

ed67812

kinger101 wrote: »

This is slight change that it's a proper local solicitor, but you need to ask. And find out what is included and what isn't. I bet there are lots of hidden extras. £300 for conveyancing is too cheap, and wouldn't even cover the EA's kickback. If it's sounds too good to be true......

BTW-, your EA will likely try to push this "solicitor" onto potential buyers too.

It is a real local solicitor with a branch on the high street but I think I'll take the £300 discount, which makes this EA as cheap as anyone else.

I didn't speak to him today, as the other half was here for the valuation, but he told her that the EA and Solicitor are not linked. The EA offer the legals by not taking the referral fee and getting a discount on conveyancing from how much business they send to the Solicitor. Hence the £300 is about the difference that the EA has to make up in each case, which itself is covered by charging 1% and not the 075%-0.9% that a lot of EAs charge around here.