Good Conveyancing Solicitor in London

HNHN

Hi everyone,

I am a first time buyer and just had my offer for a property in London accepted. I now urgently need a good solicitor as I want to move quickly. However, it seems very difficult to find a good solicitor who operates based on a no sale no fee basis. My friends recommend 5-6 solicitors but I called them multiple times and could not get hold of anyone. Those I found from local search don't operate based on a ''no sale no fee'' basis. My mortgage broker recommended one in Manchester who has very bad reviews, mostly 2-3 stars. Those I found online from conveyancing index seem very dodgy as their quotes are so low and they don't have many good reviews. I am so lost now. This will be my first home and I don't want the sale to fall through or delayed just because of solicitor mistates. I want to find one that I am absolutely sure will be efficient and can handle things quickly. Could anyone please help me with this. I am sure a lot of experts on here have a lot of experience with solicitors. Could you please recommend me a good one, preferably in London, who operates based on ''no sale no fee'' basis. I need to instruct a solicitor by Monday so I only have the weekend to find one. Thank you!

eddddy

You might not find a 'good' solicitor who offers 'no-sale, no fee'. And conveyancing solicitors are so busy at the moment, I guess they don't have to offer 'no-sale, no-fee' in order to win business.

Why are you specifically looking for a London solicitor?  FWIW, when I last needed a conveyancer - I used a solicitor in a sleepy, low-cost northern town, because their legal fee was a 1/3 of the cost of a London solicitor. And I got much better service than I generally get from London solicitors.

So maybe look outside London as well.

btcp

You don’t need one in London to buy a property in London. 

HNHN

Thank you very much for your reply. I thought a solicitor in London would be better as I can always drop by their office if needed. However, I am very inexperienced in this thing so any recommendation would be greatly appreciated.

Weathergirl_76

Hello, the conveyancer I am using is very good, he is based in Kent. He was recommended to me via a friend, plus I saw his name was put forward many times on a local Facebook group when people have asked for recommendations.  His office should give you a quote. You don’t need them to be local, plus you are probably paying a higher fee for a London based conveyancer. I can send you details if you wish. Good luck. 

musehead

Have you looked at "conveyancing solicitors" on trustpilot? There's a lot of very well reviewed companies. Some of them are "online", some are traditional solicitors but all can be instructed on a remote basis, although some of them are in or near London too.

Top Rated Conveyancer Companies on Trustpilot

The conveyancer I am using doesn't offer "no sale no fee" by default but they offer a £40 insurance policy to cover any fees if the sale falls through.

HNHN

musehead said:

Have you looked at "conveyancing solicitors" on trustpilot? There's a lot of very well reviewed companies. Some of them are "online", some are traditional solicitors but all can be instructed on a remote basis, although some of them are in or near London too.

Top Rated Conveyancer Companies on Trustpilot

The conveyancer I am using doesn't offer "no sale no fee" by default but they offer a £40 insurance policy to cover any fees if the sale falls through.

Thank you for your reply. It's great that they offer an insurance policy to cover the fees. In this case, I don't think I would need a no sale no fee solicitor.

LAD917

I wouldn't trust a "no sale - no fee" solicitor.  My most recent buyer used one. Late in the process, when the management pack finally came, it was revealed that the basement flat had found Japanese knotweed 1.5 metres from the building.  My solicitor fully expected the buyer to back out or ask for a significant reduction / retention.  Even without a solicitor, I would've backed out - whatever you think of knotweed (I'm in the camp that it's exaggerated), there's a stigma. The buyer accepted the condition as-is, and the solicitor signed off for the mortgage company.  Either the buyer really really loved the flat, or they didn't understand how serious this point was and did not get good legal guidance. I'm betting on the latter because they were very picky in other areas.

I am not sure you're ever going to get completely honest feedback from a "no sale - no fee" solicitor.  Go the insurance route, or else accept that you're going to spend 500-1000 to avoid a mistake in the tens of thousands.

HNHN

LAD917 said:

I wouldn't trust a "no sale - no fee" solicitor.  My most recent buyer used one. Late in the process, when the management pack finally came, it was revealed that the basement flat had found Japanese knotweed 1.5 metres from the building.  My solicitor fully expected the buyer to back out or ask for a significant reduction / retention.  Even without a solicitor, I would've backed out - whatever you think of knotweed (I'm in the camp that it's exaggerated), there's a stigma. The buyer accepted the condition as-is, and the solicitor signed off for the mortgage company.  Either the buyer really really loved the flat, or they didn't understand how serious this point was and did not get good legal guidance. I'm betting on the latter because they were very picky in other areas.

I am not sure you're ever going to get completely honest feedback from a "no sale - no fee" solicitor.  Go the insurance route, or else accept that you're going to spend 500-1000 to avoid a mistake in the tens of thousands.

I am so glad that I have asked on here. I always thought that it's best to go for a no sale no fee solicitor and did not really think much about what you just mentioned. I did not even know that there is an insurance route to cover the fees if the sale falls through. Thank you for your advice!

Tiglet2

Juno Property Lawyers are London based and operate a no sale no fee structure.  Google reviews are pretty good too.  I haven't used them so have no personal knowledge, other than a former work colleague went to work for them. 

teachfast

A bit like trying to find a fun funeral.