At what point should you get conveyancing quotes?

Istinne

Hi Everyone,


My partner and I are going for a second viewing on Tuesday for a house we are quite keen on. If we are still happy with it on the second viewing, we are probably going to make an offer.



My question is at what point you started getting quotes from solicitors - before you offered, when you offered, or when your offer was accepted? I understand that we'll need to instruct our solicitors to get the process moving, so would it be prudent to start requesting quotes now?

o202

I'd say when your offer is accepted - most solicitors/conveyancers working on a fixed fee structure use the property price to determine their costs

ACG

There is no harm getting quotes.
But you will need to know if the property you are buying is freehold or leasehold as that can affect the cost.

AdrianC

Figure out who you want to use in advance of making serious offers - the memorandum of sale won't be issued without solicitor details being confirmed to the EA, and it'll help you resist EA up-selling of their "recommendations".

Don't go by price alone.

eddddy

I would get your conveyancing quotes now - so you have time to ask questions, judge how helpful they are, google them, get an idea of their charges etc. - without an EA chasing you.

Use a benchmark property to get the quotes - e.g. A leasehold flat costing £x.

(The quote may have to be adjusted, if what you end up buying is substantially different from the benchmark you use.)

Istinne

Thank you all for your replies!


I have access to the Land Registry portal through my work and can see that the property we are interested in is definitely Freehold. I have a few solicitors who I've dealt with at work who seem to be good so was thinking of dropping some of them emails for quotes.



Would you use the price the property is marketed at for getting quotes, then? The property is on the market for £160,000 but we are hoping we may be able to get a couple of grand off.

eddddy

Istinne wrote: »

I have a few solicitors who I've dealt with at work who seem to be good so was thinking of dropping some of them emails for quotes.

If they are residential conveyancing solicitors (or larger firms with a residential conveyancing department), that sounds like a good idea.

Istinne wrote: »

Would you use the price the property is marketed at for getting quotes, then? The property is on the market for £160,000 but we are hoping we may be able to get a couple of grand off.

Solicitors usually use 'purchase price bands' when quoting fees - so a couple of grand either way shouldn't make a difference (unless you happen to be right on the edge of a 'price band').

Here's an example of price banding (and how fees might vary) - you'll need to scroll down: https://www.reallymoving.com/conveyancing/guides/explained-solicitors-fees-for-buying-a-house

(To be clear, I'm not recommending that website, because I don't know it and I've never used it - but the information on the site may help you to understand solicitors' fee structures.)

Istinne

Yes, they're all residential conveyancing solicitors that I deal with at work. Not a solicitor myself but have enough dealings with them that I definitely know the firms to avoid (and won't touch lenders free solicitors with a barge pole).


Ah okay, that makes sense with the bandings and from looking at that our property is most likely going to be in the center of the band rather than the edge.



We've just had a call from the Estate Agent to say we can't view until Friday now as they've had a staffing emergency but I'll use the extra time to start getting some quotes!

eddddy

Istinne wrote: »

Yes, they're all residential conveyancing solicitors that I deal with at work. Not a solicitor myself but have enough dealings with them that I definitely know the firms to avoid (and won't touch lenders free solicitors with a barge pole).

Although, you should make sure that the solicitor you choose is on your lender's panel.

In simple terms, solicitors have to apply to lenders and send all their 'credentials' in order to get onto the lender's 'approved list' (or panel).

If your solicitor isn't on your lender's panel, a second solicitor will need to be involved, which will increase your costs and possibly slow things down.

SunnyCat

We are in a similar position and I'd like to add to the question if possible

We are looking to buy in a different town that where we live - should we be looking for a solicitor near current home or the property?

Regarding the lender panel - we got an AIP from our bank (first direct, who don't work with brokers) but also from a broker. We haven't chosen a lender as we don't yet have an accepted offer and (understandably) neither the bank nor the broker were ready to discuss actual products for us to choose from. Is there anything we can do to pick a solicitor that will be on the eventual lender's panel?

What websites do you recommend for checking reviews of the solicitors?

davidmcn

SunnyCat wrote: »

We are looking to buy in a different town that where we live - should we be looking for a solicitor near current home or the property?

Local knowledge can be useful, and buying is more important than selling, so I would pick someone closer to your new property. That's if all other things are equal - it isn't a big deal (and occasionally can be useful to hand things in to your solicitor if running short of time etc).