Does Covid-19 make online conveyancing a more appealing option?

KPyro

Up until now we had been debating whether to go with my home move, or to pay the extra £350 to use a well recommended solicitor who is literally just around the corner from us. I have to admit as FTBs we had settled on the idea of going local, but it's now likely to be a slow sale (vendor is still house hunting) and everything will need to be done via phone and email anyway. Do you think there is still an advantage in paying the extra money for local solicitors or is there an argument to be made for going with the company who are already set up to do everything remotely?

oldbikebloke

Covid 19 is utterly irrelevant to your question.
Either you are happy to pay for a "local" / "personal" service or you want to save money and pay for something "less".
Nothing else influences that choice.

Thrugelmir

Far easier to discuss matters in person. Meetings are ok if held at suitable social distancing. 

davidmcn

Even if you use a "local" solicitor, the vast majority of the work will be done online/by phone anyway, if you meet them at all it's likely to be a brief signing session. I would focus on the quality of service anyway rather than where they are.

KPyro

davidmcn said:

Even if you use a "local" solicitor, the vast majority of the work will be done online/by phone anyway, if you meet them at all it's likely to be a brief signing session. I would focus on the quality of service anyway rather than where they are.

Bit difficult to compare quality though, if online reviews are to be believed then both have mostly positive  reviews with a few peeved people in between, and some people who seem to voice their opinion loudly on the inferiority of online services without ever having actually used them. It's just been a bit difficult to get a real picture of what either are like.

oldbikebloke said:

Covid 19 is utterly irrelevant to your question.
Either you are happy to pay for a "local" / "personal" service or you want to save money and pay for something "less".
Nothing else influences that choice.

I don't think covid is entirely irrelevant, because it looks like it's going to have a big impact on how "local"/"personal" the service can possibly be. IF the extra money is about  a service being more accessible, and something else gets in the way of that accessibility is it worth spending the extra money?

For the most part the negative reviews I have seen regarding my home move have been focused on it being a bit slower and sometimes difficult to get hold of people - but I don't think fast is going to be an option in our situation regardless of who is doing the conveyancing, and we are also unlikely to get that personal touch that we thought we might achieve by paying the extra money by going locally. 

davidmcn

KPyro said:

davidmcn said:

Even if you use a "local" solicitor, the vast majority of the work will be done online/by phone anyway, if you meet them at all it's likely to be a brief signing session. I would focus on the quality of service anyway rather than where they are.

Bit difficult to compare quality though, if online reviews are to be believed then both have mostly positive  reviews.
I don't think covid is entirely irrelevant, part of what made it feel worth spending the extra money was the idea that they'd be right on our doorstep and if we did need to chase anything we could just walk round the corner and pop into the office.

Randomly popping into the office to "chase" something should really be a last resort (and not necessarily likely to produce better results, especially if your solicitor is waiting for another party to do something) - your solicitor isn't likely to be twiddling their thumbs waiting to see you, they could have just started a lengthy phone call or meeting. More efficient to phone or email if you want an update. Even if they are working from home now, your local solicitor is still likely to provide a better service than the conveyancing factories, but there are good and bad in both sectors.

wjr4

I've used my local solicitor and everything has been done via email and post. I have not met them once. 

Owain_Moneysaver

I would (almost) always use a local solicitor, especially for buying, as they are more likely to be aware of any local idiosyncrasies about the property or area. Assuming they're competent, of course. 

KPyro

davidmcn said:

Randomly popping into the office to "chase" something should really be a last resort (and not necessarily likely to produce better results, especially if your solicitor is waiting for another party to do something) - your solicitor isn't likely to be twiddling their thumbs waiting to see you, they could have just started a lengthy phone call or meeting. More efficient to phone or email if you want an update. Even if they are working from home now, your local solicitor is still likely to provide a better service than the conveyancing factories, but there are good and bad in both sectors.

Owain_Moneysaver said:

I would (almost) always use a local solicitor, especially for buying, as they are more likely to be aware of any local idiosyncrasies about the property or area. Assuming they're competent, of course. 

Thank you, it appears I've got the wrong end of the stick when reading recommendations for sticking with local solicitors, I had jumped to the assumption that it was a combination of convenience of location and people liking being able to deal with things in person, the local knowledge hadn't factored in quite as much. This makes a lot of sense.

MovingForwards

I'm using a local solicitors to where I live / work, not where I'm buying. It was for ease of dropping in original paperwork, everything has been done by email so far, at some point there will be a phone call and a quick meeting to sign whatever paperwork I need to.

Never even thought about using an online firm as I do want to know my purchase will be done by the person instructed and his secretary.

I prefer the idea of being able to pop in, if I need to and certainly wouldn't have felt comfortable posting original documents.

Kyresa

Local solicitors aren't closing, they will be operational, just not always in the office to "drop in" on.