First-time buyer selecting a solicitor

Brokenlynx

Hi, 

I'm a first time buyer looking to buy a flat in London that is currently in the viewing phase of process. 

I'd recently viewed a property where its unlikely I'd make an offer due to a reasonably low remaining lease (under 80 years). This threw up a question for me as even considering an offer would require me to at least understand potential costs surrounding a potential lease extension. 

With this in mind, separate to the likely difficult to resolve situation above it seems wise to consider having a solicitor ready even at this stage. 

• What should I take into account when selecting a solicitor?
• Is it worth looking into this now, before I've found a property worthy of an offer?
• How can I give a solicitor the best instruction? What should I be looking to get out of them?
• Should I mainly consider solicitors that are near where I live (which isn't far from where I'm intending to buy) in order to help the pace of completion?

Slithery

Brokenlynx said:

I'd recently viewed a property where its unlikely I'd make an offer due to a reasonably low remaining lease (under 80 years).

If the property that you are thinking of purchasing has a short lease (less than 85 years) then you need to use a firm that regularly handles lease extensions as well as standard conveyancing as they are completely different processes.

Brokenlynx said:

Is it worth looking into this now, before I've found a property worthy of an offer?

It's always wise to have a conveyancer already lined up before you make an offer

Brokenlynx said:

Should I mainly consider solicitors that are near where I live (which isn't far from where I'm intending to buy) in order to help the pace of completion?

It all depends on the complexity of the purchase. For something easy you can go for any conveyancer (for example buying an easy property in London you might pay half for a northern conveyancer than what a local solicitor could cost). Whereas for other properties you'd be better off going for someone local that is familiar with any local construction types and planning nuances. Don't also forget that issues with someone local can usually be sorted by popping into their office rather than a lengthy email correspondance.

Horses for courses...

hpsauce86

I’d always say to pick one local to you also. Especially in London. If you need to drop papers off quickly for some reason then it makes a world of difference. 

Ath_Wat

Slithery said:

It all depends on the complexity of the purchase. For something easy you can go for any conveyancer (for example buying an easy property in London you might pay half for a northern conveyancer than what a local solicitor could cost). Whereas for other properties you'd be better off going for someone local that is familiar with any local construction types and planning nuances. Don't also forget that issues with someone local can usually be sorted by popping into their office rather than a lengthy email correspondance.

The problem is that you often don't know whether it is something easy until all the issues come out down the line.

Brie

Any friends/family locally recently made any purchases?  Who did they use?  I went with someone supposedly cheap but far away and a complete pain in the posterior.  I should have used someone a friend had recommended.

Tiglet2

Slithery said:

It all depends on the complexity of the purchase. For something easy you can go for any conveyancer (for example buying an easy property in London you might pay half for a northern conveyancer than what a local solicitor could cost). Whereas for other properties you'd be better off going for someone local that is familiar with any local construction types and planning nuances. Don't also forget that issues with someone local can usually be sorted by popping into their office rather than a lengthy email correspondance.

The vast majority of people believe their sale/purchase will obviously be simple, because there is no chain.  Nothing could be further from the truth and, as Ath_Wat says above, you won't know how simple it is until further down the line.

This transaction doesn't sound simple - the length of the remaining lease is low, has the advertised price taken this into account, will there be a need to start/complete the extension process before completion and will the lender be prepared to lend?

london21

I would say read their Google reviews etc before making a decision.

Local is nice but sometimes more expensive and a lot of things are done remotely nowadays. 

NameUnavailable

FWIW I have used expensive local firms and cheap online conveyancers, as have friends I know who bought/sold recently. They were all much of a muchness.

I never met the local solicitor and everything was done via email (I did drop some papers in which saved me the cost of a stamp).

As above, if you do go for the flat with a short lease you will want to make the lease extension part of the negotiation so choose a solicitor who can deal with that, otherwise I'd say just take your pick!

MysteryMe

Personal recommendation from someone whose opinions you trust are best when it comes to making a decision on who to appoint but for a first purchase and one that would likely involve issues with a lease I would go with a local firm of qualified conveyancing solicitors rather than the cheaper online options. It will be more expensive but it's like insurance, if everything is straightforward or you don't make a claim all are equal. It's when things become more complicated or you need to make a claim that the extra cost is money well spent. For future house moves, you will have the experience of your first move to fall back on you can then be more able to better judge the level of service you want and cheaper online services certainly have their place.

flashg67

I'd also make sure they are on the lenders panel for your mortgage provider - https://www.lenderexchange.co.uk/PanelManagement/PublicSearch/Search

Brokenlynx

Precisely the kind of feedback I was looking for from all of these replies.

I'm currently not too hot on looking at the short least property and instead will be putting some effort into a share of freehold property with a chain on the vendors side. 

That said I appreciate the replies and hope the process can go swimmingly from here, we'll see.