Is there a "Trip Advisor" type of thing for solicitors?

spaniel-lover

The problem with the solicitor recommended by the developer is that they are neither near to where we live or near to the development (although a hell of a lot nearer to the latter than the former), we are relocating over 300 miles away - we have to because we live in a very expensive area & can't afford to buy a local property. I contacted a solicitor in the town where we're moving to, but they have no Google reviews, they are a well established firm who've been operating for about 100 years. I went in to a local solicitors & they seemed not very keen on doing the job & recommended me to go with the developer's recommended solicitor - plus their quote was expensive (but as I said - we live in an an expensive part of the country). The developer's recommended solicitor said everything can be done by email/post - but if I'm trusting someone with something so important & a large amount of money (we are cash-buyers) then I must meet with them in person. To make things even more complicated the developer insists that we are approved by a mortgage broker (even though we don't want or need a mortgage) & that broker is in yet another part of the country.

youth_leader

I can't remember the exact wording, but it is important that your chosen solicitor can work with your lender? 

youth_leader

Found it, it is in the conveyancing section on MSE.

"Some lenders (in England and Wales) will cover these fees – but only if you use one of their chosen solicitors that's on their panel. Others might give you cashback once the mortgage has completed. If you use your own solicitor, this will need to be okayed with the lender, as your solicitor usually does the legal work for you and it."

knightstyle

I also say go to the office and see what sort of reception you get.  IMO it is not the solicitor who does the work it is their assistant and team. Yes the solicitor is the name but they rely on the office staff so try to get beyond the reception area and have a look/listen.

user1977

spaniel-lover said:

The developer's recommended solicitor said everything can be done by email/post

This is certainly true and normal. Fair enough if you want to use somebody close enough for you to visit, though bear in mind even then, the vast majority of contact during the transaction is not going to be face-to-face.

To make things even more complicated the developer insists that we are approved by a mortgage broker (even though we don't want or need a mortgage) & that broker is in yet another part of the country.

Why is that complicated? If you really want to humour the developer (you can just say no!) then you can use whatever method of contact the broker wants - if you're not taking a mortgage through them then you don't need to trust them, do you?

user1977

youth_leader said:

I can't remember the exact wording, but it is important that your chosen solicitor can work with your lender? 

Yes, the solicitor would need to be on the lender's panel. But in this case, there isn't going to be a lender, so that's one criterion they don't need to worry about.

spaniel-lover

youth_leader said:

Found it, it is in the conveyancing section on MSE.

"Some lenders (in England and Wales) will cover these fees – but only if you use one of their chosen solicitors that's on their panel. Others might give you cashback once the mortgage has completed. If you use your own solicitor, this will need to be okayed with the lender, as your solicitor usually does the legal work for you and it."

We are cash-buyers.

youth_leader

Sorry I missed that you are cash buyers, good luck.

spaniel-lover

user1977 said:

spaniel-lover said:

The developer's recommended solicitor said everything can be done by email/post

This is certainly true and normal. Fair enough if you want to use somebody close enough for you to visit, though bear in mind even then, the vast majority of contact during the transaction is not going to be face-to-face.

To make things even more complicated the developer insists that we are approved by a mortgage broker (even though we don't want or need a mortgage) & that broker is in yet another part of the country.

Why is that complicated? If you really want to humour the developer (you can just say no!) then you can use whatever method of contact the broker wants - if you're not taking a mortgage through them then you don't need to trust them, do you?

It is complicated because of the location of their office, I'd rather see them in person, we have to prove to them that we have the funds (they then verify us for the developer) & I'd rather physically hand over a bank statement for them to look at & photocopy - I worry about the safety of emails (and I don't know how to do encrypted emails).

julicorn

spaniel-lover said:

To make things even more complicated the developer insists that we are approved by a mortgage broker (even though we don't want or need a mortgage) & that broker is in yet another part of the country.

Quite a few of the estate agents we put in offers with 'checked the funds' by us having to have a quick call with their mortgage broker, even though we already had an AIP. It didn't involve any credit checks or to be honest us handing over any actual evidence, we just said what the size of our deposit is + our income. It was a bit pointless really, because they didn't ask for any proof whatsoever, but it seemed to satisfy the estate agents.