Cheap solicitor / conveyancing

flatulantyounggoat

FTB. Offer accepted. I need to appoint a conveyancer. Any tips for shopping around for this service. Are there any cheap deals to be had online, or is it all the same to just appoint a local one at the nearest solicitors?

Thanks

G_M

be aware many cut-price online firms quote attractive rates but then add 'extras' in the terms and conditions for things that a decent firm includes as standard.


so always check you are comparing like-for-like. See


https://www.theadvisory.co.uk/conveyancing/conveyancing-fees-and-quotes/

mchale

Possibly the most expensive item you will purchase, so get a recommendation for a good solicitor to act for you, why risk the possibility of potential future legal issues for saving a couple of hundred quid.

Arthritic_Toe

Recommendation is everything! There are loads of terrible ones out there. Don't go with the one recommended by the Estate Agent - he's on a bung.

Geographical location of the solicitor/conveyancer isn't really important. Ask everyone you know what their last conveyancer was like and get quotes from three or so of those who were said to be good or at least ok.

comedyseeker123

Perhaps also stick with panel solicitors

Surrey_EA

Arthritic_Toe wrote: »

Recommendation is everything! There are loads of terrible ones out there. Don't necessarily go with the one recommended by the Estate Agent - he might on a bung.

EFA

At least 10 characters

pinkteapot

There's usually the solicitor's legal fee to act for you, then there's a few extra things such as the Land Registry fee, search fees, bank transfer fees. Generally it's the solicitor's fee that will vary as the others are fixed prices charged by Land Registry, your local council for the searches, etc.

When you get quotes, just make sure you know all fees are included in what you're looking at.

Confusingly, some solicitors will also put stamp duty on the quote, as they collect it from you and give it to HMRC. Again, just know what you're looking at so you can compare quotes properly.

Ring round to get quotes - they vary in how good they are at responding to emails. You phone, say you want a conveyancing quote, they'll ask you a few basic questions about the house, then give you a quote and send it over in writing by email as well. Then you just tell whichever one you want to use that you want to use them, and give their details to the estate agent. The EA will issue a 'Memorandum of Sale' which lists yours and the vendor's details, and those of each of your solicitors, and it's sent to all parties. The solicitor receiving the Memorandum will trigger them starting to do stuff and sending you a bunch of forms to fill in.

ACG

Prices can vary massively.

Assuming a £150k purchase of a freehold property, you could be looking at around £900 up to maybe double that. We use a company that basically has about 15-20 firms who generate quotes for us, the service from them varies massively but we have now found one who is generally quite good, so we send all of our cases to them now. They are never the cheapest, but rarely significantly more and we are confident they will do a good job - as above, recommendation is never a bad thing.

Tony_Par

WOW! You want cheap?! Is your house cheap? I would try to find the best you can and pay want they want. Cut costs in other areas, but not the person handling the biggest purchase of your life!

ethank

You get what you pay for. Cheap does not necessarily mean quick or effective.

Mutton_Geoff

I’ll second what others are saying. Are you really looking for the cheapest option for the most expensive purchase of your life?

Cost also rarely bears relation to performance so personal recommendation often helps. I would also use a solicitor rather than a conveyancing conveyor belt firm. Someone with local knowledge can be advantageous too.