Choosing solicitors, relocation from England to Scotland

Arfa__

I'm planning to relocate from London up to Scotland this summer and would like some tips/advice on selecting solicitors. The one we used when purchasing our current house was 20 years ago, can't even recall where we found them, though they are still in business.

1. I notice that in Scotland often estate agents provide their own solicitors for conveyancing. Is it conventual to just select the solicitor of the EA selling the house you're interested in? Any advantages in selecting their solicitor over someone else?
   
2. I've seen some solicitors on the Scottish borders extolling their experience of marrying up conveyancing timelines and key contractual points between sales in England and purchases in Scotland. Is this something I should seek out, or is it just marketing blurb and something any good Scottish solicitor will happily sort out?
3. Should I look for a single solicitor who can handle both the sale in England and purchase in Scotland? Do many even do this? is there any advantage?
4. More generally, how do you judge a solicitor, what should I look out for? Where should I look to find out? Can't find any on trust a trader! :-) Just Google one nearby and hope they're good?
5. Price-wise, what sort of ballpark figures should I deem reasonable? A local EA who evaluated our house reckoned ~£1400 for sale, ~£1700 for purchase. The first quote from a Scottish solicitor has come in at £3400 for purchase alone, however.

Thanks!

user1977

1. Other way round really - solicitors in Scotland traditionally have an estate agency sideline. Chances are that the solicitors will be acting for the vendors so you wouldn't be able to use them anyway. Though in any event they're likely to have some sort of arrangement to "recommend" another firm, but usual advice here is to be wary as that means your solicitor has a cosier, longer-term relationship with the "other side" rather than acting purely in your interests.
2. Probably more blurb than anything, most Scottish solicitors will have some experience in liaising with the English side of a client's move.
3. Pretty much non-existent last time I checked - there are dual-qualified solicitors but they tend to do more profitable things than residential conveyancing.
4. Ask around for recommendations?
5. Make sure you're comparing apples with apples - I presume £3400 included disbursements, not purely the legal fees? LBTT/registration costs are going to be the same for the house price no matter who is doing the conveyancing, so take that out of the equation.

Arfa__

user1977 said:

5. Make sure you're comparing apples with apples - I presume £3400 included disbursements, not purely the legal fees? LBTT/registration costs are going to be the same for the house price no matter who is doing the conveyancing, so take that out of the equation.

Yes, that included: Registration costs of Disposition and Registration costs of Standard Security. Have to admit I'm not familiar with exactly what these are (will have to Google this...). Yep, noted LBTT is fixed and not to be considered when comparing prices

tonyh66

When we did the move we rented first to get a feel for the area, it also made it less stressful.

jen245

I did the move from London to Scotland a couple of years ago, and used an English solicitor for the sale of my English property and a Scottish solicitor for the purchase of my Scottish property. I don't think you'll find any solicitors that will do both, and due to the different process of buying/selling property here in Scotland, I would keep them both separate anyway.
I'm currently in the process of moving house again, having sold a property and now buying another one, and I'm using Austin Lafferty solicitors (Glasgow area), and used them for the sale of my old house aswell. They were pretty efficient and reasonably priced, hence why I'm using them again for my purchase. I suppose it depends on where you're buying really. Just do a search and ring around and see who will give you the best deal. 
Conveyancing fees generally are based on the purchase price of the property. For example, I was quoted £1400 for everything except LBTT, for properties up to £250k.

user1977

Arfa__ said:

user1977 said:

5. Make sure you're comparing apples with apples - I presume £3400 included disbursements, not purely the legal fees? LBTT/registration costs are going to be the same for the house price no matter who is doing the conveyancing, so take that out of the equation.

Yes, that included: Registration costs of Disposition and Registration costs of Standard Security. Have to admit I'm not familiar with exactly what these are (will have to Google this...). 

It's the cost of registering your title (and the bank's mortgage) in the Land Register. Prices here:
https://kb.ros.gov.uk/fees/registration-fees

sheramber

I moved to Edinburgh area last year- but not from England.
 I used Inksters Soliciotors,  who   are based in Glasgow but have  an office in Edinburgh  i found them efficient and the  price was reasonable.
Make sure you are aware of the differences between  buying in England and Scotland. particularly time scales. I completed 4 weeks from offer being accepted.