Estate agent recommended solicitor

user1977

Postik said:

hazyjo said:

That's part of the problem though. They're not going to want to jeopardise that relationship, so may ignore non-essential issues or play them down. I would find my own local one, and then perhaps ask if they have dealt with them and see if there's a name they recommend.

For buying yes, but I see far less risk when selling.

Probably less risk in the sense that you're not going to be lumbered with an expensive problem with the property which you only discover years later when you sell, but their advice about, say, negotiating various points with a buyer might lean towards getting the transaction completed (and the EA getting their fee sooner) rather than whatever is in your best interests.

Lavendyr

Genuinely do think this varies. First time I bought, I used an independent conveyancer recommended by word of mouth. They were pretty rubbish and just did nothing unless chased. Incredibly, we ended up with a locum conveyancer when we exchanged and completed, having had no notice that our contact was going on leave, but the locum did a far better job of chasing everyone up and getting things sorted. 

In contrast, the second time I bought we used the EA's recommended solicitor. They were responsive to emails and phone calls and progressed the sale in good time. The fee was also very reasonable compared to the three other quotes we obtained. I do also have to say that our EA was very on the ball and chased the solicitors as much as we did. 

pinkteapot

Agree with those saying the answer is hugely variable. I've normally used a solicitor I found myself, but for one particular sale we needed it to go through extremely quickly. Our buyer had just had a purchase collapse the day before exchange, offered on our house in a panic, and had to get completed within about 6 weeks or the chain below them would fall apart (buyer further down had a baby due imminently!).

I asked the estate agent we were selling through for the name of a local solicitor they'd dealt with recently who had been efficient, responsive, and able to push things through fast when needed. Went with their recommendation and the solicitor was superb. On that occasion we could have used a slightly cheaper solicitor (I did get a few quotes to make sure they weren't totally OTT) but we were selling a >£600k house and relocating over 300 miles so were happy to pay a few quid more for a good service and stress-free experience (the solicitor part of it at least!!).

Decent EAs with dedicated sales progression staff will be talking to every local solicitor almost daily and will know which ones are good. 

However, had my EA been one of the big chain ones (part of the Sequence Groups, Bairstow Eves, Foxtons - all the ones with awful reputations) I wouldn't have asked them for a rec as they tend to have tied conveyancing farms. 

ka7e

We used the recommended solicitor's as they had local offices and the EA said they had a close working relationship with them, with often daily interaction. Our first sale fell through and a second buyer was introduced who was presented as a cash buyer living in rented accommodation. On Googling their (unusual) name I discovered this buyer was actually employed by the firm of solicitors we were using, though not in the conveyancing department. I was aware this was a potential conflict of interest though the EA made no mention of it at all - I thought I would "keep my powder dry" and not raise the issue at this time.

First red flag was that the EA always referred to them by their Christian name, implying they were well known to each other. Second red flag was when we offered on a house and said we had a cash buyer and the seller's EA phoned us to inform us that our buyer had a 2nd property to sell before they had funds to proceed.

We confronted our EA, who replied that we had always known 2 people were involved in the purchase. But there had been no mention of the necessity of a second property being sold - I think they were on the verge of exchange and thought the sale would complete before we found out. However THAT sale fell through and we told our buyers we were putting our house back on the market as we weren't prepared to wait for them any longer. Conflict of interest was now moot, but we made EA aware we were going to change agents as their actions meant we had no longer had faith in them working in our best interests.

Luckily the EA managed to unearth a 3rd buyer (just as we were about to dispense with them altogether) and that sale completed successfully. We did stay with the recommended solicitors because we had established a good working relationship with them and they remained professional even though one of their colleagues lost out.

LHW99

Also beware if both sides of a transaction are with the same agent, both parties could end up using the same solicitors which may give rise to conflict of interest.

Lavendyr

LHW99 said:

Also beware if both sides of a transaction are with the same agent, both parties could end up using the same solicitors which may give rise to conflict of interest.

No, this wouldn't be allowed to happen unless restrictions were put in place at the solicitor to ensure independence i.e. different solicitors, different teams and ethical walls in place between. If the appropriate precautions could not be taken then the solicitor would not take on both sides. If any solicitor does agree to act for both sides without appropriate independence restrictions in place, then I would not engage them and I would not imagine they would be appropriately regulated. 

user1977

Lavendyr said:

LHW99 said:

Also beware if both sides of a transaction are with the same agent, both parties could end up using the same solicitors which may give rise to conflict of interest.

No, this wouldn't be allowed to happen unless restrictions were put in place at the solicitor to ensure independence i.e. different solicitors, different teams and ethical walls in place between. If the appropriate precautions could not be taken then the solicitor would not take on both sides. If any solicitor does agree to act for both sides without appropriate independence restrictions in place, then I would not engage them and I would not imagine they would be appropriately regulated. 

Firms really shouldn't be allowed to act for both parties at all, even with those types of mitigations in place. It's just asking for trouble. It's not allowed in Scotland (except in very narrow exceptions).

You have the choice of thousands of conveyancers, why choose the same one as your buyer/seller?

Lavendyr

user1977 said:

Lavendyr said:

LHW99 said:

Also beware if both sides of a transaction are with the same agent, both parties could end up using the same solicitors which may give rise to conflict of interest.

No, this wouldn't be allowed to happen unless restrictions were put in place at the solicitor to ensure independence i.e. different solicitors, different teams and ethical walls in place between. If the appropriate precautions could not be taken then the solicitor would not take on both sides. If any solicitor does agree to act for both sides without appropriate independence restrictions in place, then I would not engage them and I would not imagine they would be appropriately regulated. 

Firms really shouldn't be allowed to act for both parties at all, even with those types of mitigations in place. It's just asking for trouble. It's not allowed in Scotland (except in very narrow exceptions).

You have the choice of thousands of conveyancers, why choose the same one as your buyer/seller?

Quite and indeed. 

LHW99

Lavendyr said:

LHW99 said:

Also beware if both sides of a transaction are with the same agent, both parties could end up using the same solicitors which may give rise to conflict of interest.

No, this wouldn't be allowed to happen unless restrictions were put in place at the solicitor to ensure independence i.e. different solicitors, different teams and ethical walls in place between. If the appropriate precautions could not be taken then the solicitor would not take on both sides. If any solicitor does agree to act for both sides without appropriate independence restrictions in place, then I would not engage them and I would not imagine they would be appropriately regulated. 

It certainly shouldn't happen, but whilst "ch1nese walls" can be put in, you'd have to be confident that there would be no leakage across. I wouldn't risk it.