Purple bricks

eddddy

mover2020 said:

We’re currently buying through PB. I have direct contact with our seller and the PB agent. No complaints so far.
it wouldn’t put me off a property. Our seller has used a good local solicitor so I can’t see what impact it would have anyway 

Solicitors don't progress the sale - i.e. they don't negotiate, or chase people to get things done.

For example, if the survey shows that some significant repairs are needed, and you want to adjust your offer accordingly - your solicitor isn't going to get involved in any negotiations. (Part of an EA's job is to negotiate a compromise in difficult situations, sometimes with awkward buyers and sellers, to avoid sales falling through.)

Similarly, if the seller isn't doing something that their solicitor has asked - the solicitors will just wait for perhaps a week and send a reminder email. Whereas an EA would get on the phone and chase the seller.

mover2020

NinjaTune said:

mover2020 said:

We’re currently buying through PB. I have direct contact with our seller and the PB agent. No complaints so far.
it wouldn’t put me off a property. Our seller has used a good local solicitor so I can’t see what impact it would have anyway 

@mover2020 - that's reassuring, though I believe PB is a franchise so it can sometimes be potluck about the service they provide.  Did you have to book a viewing before you asked the seller questions, or was that not an issue as you viewed first anyway?

We spotted the For Sale sign before it went live on Rightmove/PB so I put a note through the vendors door. We viewed and offered so no one else viewed.
 Ours is a strange purchase as all we cared about was the price as the house style and location was perfect. We didn’t have any questions other than that!

NinjaTune

Thanks for clarifying @eddddy; I'm going to be a first time buyer at the ripe old age of 55 so I'm new to all this.