Conveyancing selection

ele26

Hello everybody,

I had our offer accepted and I need to choose solicitor/conveyancer. Initial I chosen the cheapest Nigel Broadhead Mynard 'NBM' . The estate agency came back saying that they had very bad experience with them. I asked them if they have a recommendation the suggested Cook Taylor Woodhouse Limited (in theory the seller is using one of their branches) but they are significant more expensive. As well as the suggestion of my adviser O'Neill Patient Solicitors and premiere lawyers.

After searching at the net all of them had some bad reviewers. We agreed on the property price based on completion at end of January, so I want to avoid major delays.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

CBeardsworth

What about a local solicitor? Do you know anyone that has bought/sold a house recently that you could ask for a recommendation?

ele26

a colleague recommended the premier lawyers but he was not in hurry for completion and he had a good experience. I guess depends on who is your assigned solicitor.

I have not clue about the local solicitors. Wouldn't they be more expensive?

Grenage

I have used premier property lawyers with a chain-free sale. It was ok, but not very quick.

When we purchased, I used solicitors with a local branch. It cost more, but the service was vastly superior. I would use the local firm again, every time.

You can save a few quid, but when you're screaming at the mailbox for updates, you'll probably wish you hadn't.

morwok

In my current chain premier lawyers have been beyond terrible but I think it all depends on who gets your case.... I had a good experience with O'Neil when I remortgaged.

Most will get the job done eventually but I suppose it depends how much you want to chase and if you want it moving quickly.

Davesnave

I wouldn't use the EA's recommended solicitors, unless they gave me several options. A single recommendation means it's likely the EA is receiving kick-backs for business generated.

The EA isn't your friend; he/she is on the seller's side.

Further, you are not really in a position to negotiate a price based on completion by a certain date. I think the end of January looks quite unlikely for most transactions starting now.

What would happen. for example, if your excellent solicitor did their job properly and found a problem with the title documents? It would then be up to the vendor's solicitors to get that fixed, and you'd have no control over the speed at which that happened.

marksoton

ele26 wrote: »

Wouldn't they be more expensive?

Good luck if you're looking to do the whole thing on the cheeeeeap....

JP08

ele26 wrote: »

I have not clue about the local solicitors. Wouldn't they be more expensive?

Probably - but those extra pennies are worth it when you can drop over paperwork the same day as opposed to the vagaries of the postal system, speak to someone about progress, get explanations while both of you can see the paperwork etc.

HHarry

Exactly as JP says.

My EA recommended a company, but they were based miles away and I suspected they'd be getting a finders fee.

I used a local company who, whilst £150 more expensive, are very convenient. I can drop in the paperwork and know they've got it. No excuses for holding the sale up due to the 'post'.

CBeardsworth

I've had a great experience with my solicitor. She's local so I can drop documents off; wasn't the most expensive and was only about £100 over the price of the cheap internet firm I got a quote from. Just email a few and get some quotes. At least if they get back to you quickly you have some inkling of their efficiency (to get your business).

AlexMac

Dozens of past posts on this, but my feeling is that in the absence of a personal recommendation, you should do a quick ring round local solicitors and make a selection on the basis of common sense criteria; mine are
- can you get through on the phone and speak to a conveyancer
- are they lucid communicators, and clear on costs or do they BS you
- do they immediately confirm their quote by email and do they say they are happy to use email for routine exchanges (snail mail can add weeks )...

The advantage of someone local is that you can pop in to sign stuff; another 3-4 day time saving compared with a bucket shop. You might save a few quid with some online operator at the other end of the country, but that may be a tiny% of the total cost of the biggest purchase of your life. Horror stories of delay and incompetence abound; our kids' last purchase was dealyed by months by their vendor'ssolicitors' incompetence; in the end they (the seller) had to switch firms...

Good luck!