online conveyancing ?

jarl69

Hello everyone,
i have just agreed a sale price of 133400 for my freehold outright owned property. Has anyone had any dealings with online conveyancing solicitors ? thanks in anticipation of any replies

hazyjo

The majority will recommend that you choose a local solicitor. Choose one you feel comfortable with - pop in or ring and compare a few. Online ones are often more of a conveyancing farm and you might not deal with the same person, or an actual qualified solicitor for the majority of the process. I'd usually get local recommendations too. Not advisable to use one linked to or associated with the EA.


If you are getting a mortgage on your purchase, they will need to be on your lender's panel.


Jx

Mrs36

I have just done a remortgage with an online conveyancer. Although they were not quite as bad as I was expecting, it was essentially a call centre. The timescales were acceptable, but it did require daily pushing to meet our deadlines and constant handholding.

If you have any option to use a local conveyancer I would go with that every time.

Davesnave

I'm very glad I didn't go on-line. There were things that an on-line conveyancer wouldn't have picked up + other things that two people poring over the paperwork could ID more easily.....and they all needed sorting-out by the vendor prior to purchase.

Others had purchased the property without these errors and an unfair clause coming to light, so even using a poor 'real world' solicitor, or not exercising due diligence oneself, might lead to an issue later on.

G_M

jarl69 wrote: »

Hello everyone,
i have just agreed a sale price of 133400 for my freehold outright owned property. Has anyone had any dealings with online conveyancing solicitors ? thanks in anticipation of any replies

If you are genuinely looking to be moneysaving, why not do the conveyancing yourself?

* freehold property - tick
* no mortgage - tick
* sale - tick

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Which-Guide-Conveyancing-Consumer-Guides/dp/085202813X

But if you don't fancy that, use a conveyancer you can visit if you need to.

Dawn248

My worry with local firms is their quotes tend to be 'estimates' and then if there is any extra work needed I might be charged £195 per hour for a solicitor to sort it out. I'm buying a leasehold flat so I need to make sure the lease is problem free and don't want to spend a fortune on it.
They also tend not to be 'No move, No fee' unlike the online forms or large brokers.
I'm getting nowhere on my search for conveyancing so will be watching this thread for any tips!
Sorry to hijack the thread OP. Hope you get sorted.

G_M

Sorry Dawn - but..... rubbish!

You are far more likely to have to pay 'extras' on the final bill with a cheap online conveyancing outfit. That's one way they can give low quotes! Hidden charges in their T&Cs that are on top of the quote.

As long as you get a fixed price quote, and it includes all the relevant factors, there will be no extras from your high street solicitor.

So make sure his quote includes:

* dealing with the freeholder & lease
* acting for the mortgage lender (check he's on their panel)
* completing th SDLT form
* providing the exact local authority. Although this disbursement charge will be the same whoever you use, without knowing the LA, the quote will always estimate this as different councils have different charges,
etc

You can ask for a 'no move no fee' contract - some will agree (for an extra cost) some won't. Bear in mind you nearly always still have to pay the disbursements even with no move no fee, whoever it's with.

T21JMF

A friend of ours used an online firm, was quoted £350 on a £135000 buy, her end bill almost 15 weeks later was nearly £1300!!!!

We decided to go local with our sale and now purchase. Did cost a bit more - sale of our house of £240000 was £700 + VAT (not to go over that price too). Much preferred he knew the local area, and liked the fact we were able to meet face to face to go through any issues that cropped up and sign. Would definitely use local every time.

eddddy

As you're selling rather than buying, it's lower risk.

If everything goes smoothly, perhaps an online conveyancer is fine. They can just go through the process, fill in the forms and tick the boxes.

The challenge may be if problems arise, and some 'non-standard' action is required. An online conveyancer may not be in a position to offer advice, or do anything beyond the standard processes.

That might increase the likelihood of a sale falling through.

But it's hard to guess in advance whether problems are likely to arise.

Mrs_CP

We have gone with an online conveyance as we had assumed, being a small terraced property in big demand, we would sell quickly and the process would be relatively simple. It would have been, had the first buyer actually seen the process through, but he pulled out and we had to put the house on the market again. We are now being harassed daily by our vendors' vendor for updates, progress and promises, and this is where the service falls down because they cannot respond quickly and when you are under excessive pressure, the last thing you want is to speak to a different person each time, quoting your reference number... it has added to this exceptionally stressful time. So my advice would be go with someone you can actually see, touch and feel!!

Davesnave

Mrs_CP wrote: »

go with someone you can actually see, touch and feel!!

Bearing in mind that they will know the law, I think it might be wise to avoid the latter, unless you have their consent, preferably in writing.