No sale, no fee conveyancers and chains falling through

Peter.Siffredi

Hi,
The other half and I are looking to buy our family home. We don't have a property to sell and we're looking to buy a place from an older couple who want to release some equity (their kids have grown up and moved out).

The couple were at first very keen, but have since cooled and some things they've said have given me  pause for concern. Initially they said they'd be happy to move out whenever and they're flexible, but a couple of weeks later they mentioned they've found a property and are part of a chain (the place they want to move to are also in a chain). The other things which made me curious is how the home owner mentioned they never had curtains, but I can see where they've taken rails out and they mentioned they want to take the light fittings - I'm happy for them to take expensive fittings, but I don't want to move into a property with bare electrical wires just dangling out of the ceiling.

Whilst we're happy to wait 2-3 months, we're not happy to wait 6 months or more. I've got quotes from solicitors, one recommended by an estate agent and one by a friend. The estate agent's solicitor is more expensive around £400, but they offer a no sale, no fee. How many sales fall through? Should I go for the more expensive no sale no fee conveyancer?

Thanks

soolin

I’ve asked the forum team to move this to a more appropriate board for responses. This is the boost your income board. 

chanz4

Peter.Siffredi said:

Hi,
The other half and I are looking to buy our family home. We don't have a property to sell and we're looking to buy a place from an older couple who want to release some equity (their kids have grown up and moved out).

The couple were at first very keen, but have since cooled and some things they've said have given me  pause for concern. Initially they said they'd be happy to move out whenever and they're flexible, but a couple of weeks later they mentioned they've found a property and are part of a chain (the place they want to move to are also in a chain). The other things which made me curious is how the home owner mentioned they never had curtains, but I can see where they've taken rails out and they mentioned they want to take the light fittings - I'm happy for them to take expensive fittings, but I don't want to move into a property with bare electrical wires just dangling out of the ceiling.

Whilst we're happy to wait 2-3 months, we're not happy to wait 6 months or more. I've got quotes from solicitors, one recommended by an estate agent and one by a friend. The estate agent's solicitor is more expensive around £400, but they offer a no sale, no fee. How many sales fall through? Should I go for the more expensive no sale no fee conveyancer?

Thanks

the £400 will be the estate agents commission, check small print

Jonboy_1984

It is generally thought around 1 in 3 sales fall through.

You want to find your own solicitor to represent and protect your interest. We originally asked 4 to quote and the quality of their reply’s was quite revealing.

You can reasonable specify in the contracts (if not already there) that any light fittings removed must be replaced with a (new!) bayonet fitting and bulb as a condition of the sale.

EssexHebridean

It's a standard term these days that if light fittings are being removed, then a flex and bulb must be left. 

If there are any "posh" radiators in the property, rather than just standard basic ones, just clarify that those actual radiators are the ones which will be remaining too... 

RHemmings

Jonboy_1984 said:

It is generally thought around 1 in 3 sales fall through.

I'm sure that the data doesn't exist, but I would like to see a graph of the likelihood of a sale falling through versus the length of the chain that it's in. If it's 1 in 3 overall, then what will it be for properties in long chains?

eddddy

Peter.Siffredi said:

The estate agent's solicitor is more expensive around £400, but they offer a no sale, no fee. How many sales fall through? Should I go for the more expensive no sale no fee conveyancer?

Is the estate agent's solicitor a firm in the Simplify group (My Home Move Ltd) - such as Premier Property Lawyers, DC Law, JS Law, etc?  They all advertise "No Sale, No Fee"

I've never used any of them, but quite a few people seem to complain about them on this forum.


I think Estate Agents often recommend them for 2 reasons...

• 1. They pay a big referral fee to the estate agent (which really means you pay a big fee to the estate agent)

• 2. They offer estate agents a portal to keep track of your conveyancing progress and exchange info with your solicitor

Some people seem to like bullet 2 above - they like the idea that the seller's estate agent can interact with the buyer's solicitor. So the buyer can leave them both to get on with it.

But I think it's an appalling idea. I don't want the seller's estate agent to know anything about my dealings with my conveyancing solicitor - unless I choose to tell them.  There's scope for lots of conflicts of interest.

Whether I was buying or selling, my instructions to my solicitor would always be not to interact with the estate agent in any way.

Peter.Siffredi

Thanks for the feedback, we've got for the independent solicitor (not associated to the estate agent), hopefully the rest will go smoothly