Buying a house remotely in another city. Solicter?

mrbg07546

A friend from London wants to live in my area in birmingham. He has seen a house he wants to put a offer on. I am doing viewing. If he goes for it should be choose a solicter closer to him? Or near the house.

thanks

Robin9

Close to where he lives  - 

eddddy

A London solicitor might be much more expensive than a Birmingham one.

FWIW, I got quotes for a property transaction from a south London solicitor, and a solicitor from a 'quiet northern town' - the London solicitor's legal fee quote was 3 times greater than the Northern solicitor.  (Plus the quality of service I got from the Northern guy was far better than I get from London solicitors.)

But I'm not sure the same would apply to a Birmingham solicitor.

The main challenge with using a remote solicitor is ID checking - if you can't get to their office during office hours with your ID documents, you have to get certified copies etc.

mrbg07546

If he knows a teacher. Can they sign ID and it can be sent in? What’s best way to do remote ID checking?

greatcrested

mrbg07546 said:

If he knows a teacher. Can they sign ID and it can be sent in? What’s best way to do remote ID checking?

different solicitors have different requirements - there's no 'standard' process, so check with any solicitor you approach for quotes.

Yes, London solicitors tend to cost more.

Yes, pre-COVID I always advocated using a local solicitor, but now....?

AskAsk

it doesn't really matter where his solicitor is located.  people use online solicitors who are located far from the property.  i prefer a solicitor close to me so i can bring my ID etc to them and not have to get them certified and send over, but it is not a really big deal to be honest.  you are talking about £15 to certify a copy of your passport for example.

davidmcn

All other things being equal, a solicitor local to the property may be more familiar with local council practices, types of property and title quirks etc (as well as more likely to know their counterpart acting for the vendor). And anyone who isn't in London is probably cheaper than somebody in London.

eddddy

mrbg07546 said:

If he knows a teacher. Can they sign ID and it can be sent in? What’s best way to do remote ID checking?

That's unlikely.

Pre-COVID, solicitors generally wanted copies of ID certified by another solicitor. And it's sometimes difficult to find London solicitors who will do certified copies (because it doesn't earn them much money!)

However, with COVID, some solicitors now do stuff like Zoom sessions where you hold up your passport etc.

When you request quotes from solicitors, explain that you are a long distance away, and specifically ask them how they want to do ID checking.

Thrugelmir

mrbg07546 said:

A friend from London wants to live in my area in birmingham. He has seen a house he wants to put a offer on. I am doing viewing. If he goes for it should be choose a solicter closer to him? Or near the house.

thanks

With or without a mortgage?

mrbg07546

He has a MIP. 

carriesmonkies

We have a local solicitor but haven’t seen her once and we are due to complete on Friday.  We did our ID check using an online identity checking app which was really simple.  

We have only communicated via email and it hasn’t been an issue.