Online conveyancing

Ecci

We're just about the sell our house and buy a new one. Can anyone recommend a good online conveyancer, or is it better to go with a proper solicitor? Thanks

G_M

In 80% of cases a remote conveyancer is fine.

In a minority of cases, it becomes hugely advantageous to be able to sit down face to face with your conveyancer to get something explained clealy, to resolve hurdles, to make a complaint etc etc.


The difficulty is not knowing in advance if yours will be one of the 80% or the 20%!


It is also useful to be able to hand collect/deliver paperwork fast eg when a signiture is required.

When comparing quotes, look out for exclusions and 'extras'!

SmashedAvacado

If:

You are buying freehold
A building over 10 years old
on a public street
that has had no extension recently
then get a copy of the title
if the legal title is blank in the property register other than the address and is blank in the charges register other than reference to a restriction relating to the mortgage (in favour of a bank) and a mortgage
then go cheap

in all other cases, don't

Surrey_EA

Online conveyancers can be very hit and miss, frequently more miss than hit.

I would recommend using a local firm, with plenty of good reviews, or a personal recommendation. Doesn't necessarily have to be a solicitor, a locally based firm of conveyancers is fine, but the 'call centre' type are best avoided if you ask me.

tori.k

As a buyer that had a house fall through, as the others have said unless your house has everything in order don't entertain a remote conveyancer
Our set up was a nightmare when we pulled out nine months on it was no further forward than the day the vendor accepted our offer.

davidmcn

"Proper" solicitors are also online, of course (and are likely to farm out the work to less qualified staff). The bulk of the job is done online and phone these days. Probably more important to check what standards of service appear to be.

shinytop

I went with an online outfit to sell my BTL. I never spoke to anyone, ever, and the whole experience was flawless. They used a portal that notified me when I had to look at anything or do anything. They also answered questions very quickly. I would have found it much harder to go and actually meet someone or even take time out of my working day to speak on the phone. Having said all that it was a single sale with no chain on either side.

G_M

shinytop wrote: »

I went with an online outfit to sell my BTL. I never spoke to anyone, ever, and the whole experience was flawless. They used a portal that notified me when I had to look at anything or do anything. They also answered questions very quickly. I would have found it much harder to go and actually meet someone or even take time out of my working day to speak on the phone. Having said all that it was a single sale with no chain on either side.

That's my point. You were one of the 80%


You did not need or want to speak to anyone so it worked out well for you.


But if something you did not understand had arisen, or an issue arose that would have benefitted from you getting a clear legal explanation, then the face-to-face option could have been a huge benefit.


My solicitor works in his own small local firm. Most stuff happens, as you say, by email or the phone- but he makes time to see me whenever I want (within reason!)

HampshireH

We used an online company and thry were very good. I spoke with them on the phone, had messenger chat available within our portal where they would respond to queries generally the same day, if not within 24 hours. They were also very good on email.... even if they had nothing to tell us they would at least tell us that when asked.

For us it was because they were more affordable by a mile compared to our local offices.

We were lucky to have had a good experience

MeepleH

I've used on line conveyancers twice and never had a problem. It suits me fine to communicate via email as I'm in an office all day and can't make phone calls.

Surrey_EA

MeepleH wrote: »

I've used on line conveyancers twice and never had a problem. It suits me fine to communicate via email as I'm in an office all day and can't make phone calls.

It's 2018, 'traditional' solicitors are perfectly able to communicate via email.

There are some good online only solicitors, but more bad than good in my experience.