Pressured to use estate agents preferred solicitor

Just_another_saver

Hi all. Just after a bit of insight/advice. 

I made an offer on a property which was subsequently accepted. I am a ftb with a large deposit. 

On initial contact with the ea, I was told If I speak with their in-house broker then I will be in a stronger position ect. I asked if I was obligated to use them and they said no. 

When ea called to inform me I’d been accepted, I said I had my aip and was happy to go to my lender direct. They said they were happy to waive the mortgage advisor fee in the interest of achieving a smooth transaction they can oversee. 

All good so far 

Since the acceptance of my offer, the broker is trying to pressure me into using their preferred solicitor. The seller is also using this same solicitor. 

The issue being the price they have given me seems high in comparison to other quotes if received. Their price is £2000. It’s not a leasehold property an I’m not using any buying schemes. I only have a LISA. 

I’ve been told that the seller is keen for all parties to use the same solicitor, and basically insinuating that my offer was accepted with this in mind and if I instruct my own solicitor, it might affect the vendors decision to proceed. 

Should I stand my ground?
 

Is it worth paying above the odds as it’s the same solicitor vendor is using?

I’m not looking for dirt cheap but I’ve found it for at least half their price, and I had to pay well above asking so not much spare money left. 

Thanks for any help

theartfullodger

I would insist on using someone other that in house broker or preferred solicitor.  

They both will have more loyalty etc etc to estate agent than to you.  You are more likely to end up being sold pups.

Thank them politely for their kind help, but no.

Just_another_saver

Thanks for your response. 

Is there much likelihood they could/would advise seller to use someone else? Or the seller would care if I use my own?

It’s been a stressful process so far and I don’t want to lose the property 

TripleH

Some of the fees you pay are a 'backhander' to the estate agent for them passing your on as a client.

Stick to a firm you trust. If the estate agent gets funny, go to the buyers direct, say you wany to buy their house but you prefer using xyz firm because you / family mrmber have used them in the past and you trust them to do a thorough job.

This is about estate agent trying to maximise their fees not selling the house.

Swipe

The EA gets a kick back. They are just after their commission. Tell them you prefer to use your own.

GoogleMeNow

Depends on whether the 'preferred solicitor' is one that they recommend because they have a good reputation, are easy to get hold of and do the work quickly, or is it a conveyancing factory (e.g. PPL) that pays them a referral fee for every client they sign up from this particular EA.  Also, two clients using the same firm does not make it quicker because there will have to be two solicitors/licensed conveyancers acting on each side in much the same way as if it were different firms.  The only difference might be that paperwork can be delivered quicker, but most of it is by email now anyway.

LHW99

I would think there could be a conflict of interest if both you and the seller use the same solicitor. Who are they going to be protective of? If something detrimental to the sale came up - would they be prepared to tell you with the risk it would fall through? (they should, but having your own solicitor means you know they only have your interests to consider)

Disjoint

1. Duck the estate agent's broker. Go straight to bank if you have it, check online to see what rates you could get, and if in line deal with bank direct. Will be easier. Santander is slow, Woolwich is great in my experience. HSBC is the worst, Nationwide is OK.

2. Solicitor from the same law firm is not advised for a multitude of reasons. Using the solicitor that the EA recommends is the worst you can do. Given how pushy and scummy the EA has been with you to date I wouldn't trust them in the world. I've seen plenty of solicitors losing their license in the past. 
Where I do agree, using the same firm will likely make the process faster, because you can chase your solicitor who can chase their colleague a lot more easily. If you don't feel comfortable use your own solicitor. 

I hate agents who try to take everything from you, visibly this is the case with this one. No house is worth bending over for an agent. I am appalled by it all to be frank. I've done many deals in the past - just come prepared with your own solicitor. If the concern is that you might delay things because you don't have a solicitor lined up, yes it's a concern - so address that.

Drawingaline

We used a solicitor recommended by the EA. However it was a local firm not an online one (we were stung the previous time with that!) It worked well in that the sales progress or had a good relationship with the firm and was able to help move things along. But I didn't agree to use them until I had done my own research. Our mortgage broker also recommended one but they managed to spell my name wrong on the quote so I wasn't filled with confidence!

When we lost our buyer we agreed to look at offers who had sat down with the EA broker as a possible plus point. BUT this was because we lost our initial buyers due to an absolute clanger dropped by their broker (they were buy to let, and there broker applied to the incorrect firm, and then the interest rate was wrong, just a massive headache) so we felt happier that the EA had that in house so to speak. Now we wouldn't have rejected anyone who didn't want to use them, but if there had been a lot of offers it may have tipped them to the top.

As it was our new buyers was a FTB who was very happy to be led by the EA, used their broker and one of their recommended solicitor, unfortunately an online one who I worried about. It worked in the end.

If you are happy to find your own solicitor then just smile and say no thanks. A seller is very unlikely to care one way or the other, our situation was a little unique.

Flugelhorn

Get your own solicitor, you need someone on your side - I have used the same one 5 times now, recent professional  fees on leasehold property just under £500K was under £1000 

user1168934

I have yet to see an estate agent who is not an absolute degenerate. They always play these dirty tricks right to the end. Buckle up, this is just the beginning.

I would never go for the same solicitor as the seller especially when they were recommended by the EA. There is a simple conflict of interest. I am sure they will tell you all kinds of reasons why it is better but in my experience it is absolute no no.

Also £2000 for a solicitor is way more than I have ever heard. I recently completed a purchase and I paid roughly £1000 to the solicitor. I am in south east.