cheapconveyancing.co.uk - legit?

Legacy_user

Hi,

Has anybody used cheapconveyancing.co.uk before to buy a property? Price works out around £500 cheaper than everyone else and it seems a bit too good to be true. Spoken to the gentleman over the phone and he seems legitimate but it's always hard to tell I guess. Asked if there are any other fees and he said no.

If not to be trusted, can anybody recommend anybody else who is cheap from experience?

Thanks
Dan

Browntoa

It's parent company is

https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/06386356

I would say they do not do the work but act as an introducer to 3rd parties

They seem to have several similar websites

tom9980

You are about to spend the most money of your life and your worried about spending an extra £500 or so for most likely a lower quality service? it just does not make sense to me to not use a recommended local alternative you can speak to if/when something goes wrong.

You should not be looking for cheap you should be looking for value for money.

mije1983

danyalaziz wrote: »

@tom9980 - Unfortunately with the current housing market, every £500 helps. For some I guess £500 is significant, not for all - evidently.

I think the point being made is not whether £500 is or isn't a significant sum (and this is a money saving forum after all), but cheapest is very rarely best, or even good value for money.

Buying a house is already a stressful experience for most people, and do you want to subject yourself to possibly even more by using a production line 'stack 'em high, sell 'em cheap' type company? Or would you rather use one that someone you trust has recommended to you. If it's a local one even better, as there are benefits to being able to just pop into the office, or drop round some paperwork rather than having to post it etc.

I'm sure these companies are fine when the transaction is straightforward, but when issues arise (and they will, it's a property purchase after all!) I wouldn't be so confident. And that's when your conveyancer really earns their money!

theartfullodger

The company on 31/12/2016 (according to filed accounts) had net assets of less than £4k...

So if it all goes wrong....

davidmcn

theartfullodger wrote: »

The company on 31/12/2016 (according to filed accounts) had net assets of less than £4k...

So if it all goes wrong....

Given they're just an intermediary pointing you towards the conveyancing firm(s) they've got connections with, I'm not sure what variety of "going wrong" would make their assets relevant.

eddddy

That site seems to belong to a company called Professional Referral Services.

PRS say to solicitors/conveyancers that they work with...

At PRS we don't inflate the cost of your clients conveyancing quote with our own referral fee, we give it to you in exchange for placed search orders with our provider.

Rather than charge a referral fee per case. All we ask is that you place a number of search orders through our desired search provider allowing us to earn a commission and dissolve the need for a referral fee.

Link: http://www.prslimited.co.uk/about/

If I'm reading that correctly...

• It sounds like PRS don't take 'commission' out of the legal fees... which makes the legal fees seem reasonable/cheap.

• Instead they take 'commission' out of search fees... so the search fees might be more expensive than with other solicitors/conveyancers.

If that's the case, when buying a property and selecting a solicitor/conveyancer, I guess it becomes important to compare the cost of searches, as well as the cost of legal fees.

capital0ne

Use a local solicitor you can physically visit - many people have lost considerable sums of money by having their emails hacked and then transferring deposits/final payments to thieves.

diggingdude

capital0ne wrote: »

Use a local solicitor you can physically visit - many people have lost considerable sums of money by having their emails hacked and then transferring deposits/final payments to thieves.

But most people don't

eddddy

capital0ne wrote: »

Use a local solicitor you can physically visit - many people have lost considerable sums of money by having their emails hacked and then transferring deposits/final payments to thieves.

Why are local solicitors less likely to have their emails hacked?

Solicitors in my local town use email in much the same way as solicitors that are a long way away from me.

And phoning a solicitor a long way away to verify bank account details, is just as easy as phoning a local solicitor.

G_M

The only way to evaluate the quote is to read in written form, along with the full terms and conditions. You can then see whether it includes everything that other firms are including.

A classic example is an additional fee for the SDLT Return within the T&Cs - but there are others.

As others have suggested, ensure that disbursements (eg searches) are charged at cost, not with a commission added. This will be hidden in the T&Cs.

So much for the price. Now consider the service provided. In 70% of cases, everything goes smoothly. No issues arise. you understand what is happening.

But in those cases where something unexpected arises, or you need something explained, there is no substitution for being able to pop in and chat to your solicitor. So using someone local, and approachable, is worth its weight in gold in those cases.

Unfortunately it's impossible to predict in advance whether your purchase will be one of the 70% or the 30%!