Online conveyancing

Gonk1967

Has anyone got any experience with online conveyancers? I got some quotes through Best Value Conveyancing and they seem too good to be true to me.

We have a quote from a local conveyancer which was £1,650 plus disbursements, whereas the lowest quote we got from online was £795 including the disbursements.

Any comments would be appreciated.

Sam_666

What is more important to you, value or quality?
Paying peanuts usually gets you …

Online conveyancers can be good, but finding good one can take effort.

Shadyocuk

I will put it this way , if I was buying and the seller was using an online boiler room I would reduce my offer by a good few grand to help counter the hassle.

glennevis

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6671871/online-conveyancing

When I sold my old house in Yorkshire I had already moved to Scotland so looked for a conveyancer online. I read the T&Cs of 4-5 firms before I found one in Norfolk that offered no completion no fee (apart from the fees for searches, as you would expect).

The fee was about half that quoted by the local conveyancer suggested by the estate agent.

They were just a traditional conveyancer who happened to advertise online. So although they emailed documents for me to read, the signed contract and other paperwork still went by post. When I had questions I could either email or talk on the phone and was given sound legal advice. The Scottish solicitor who had handled the purchase of my new house countersigned documents that needed authentication without charge (YMMV).

I encountered no problems with the process and completed within the 8-12 week timescale the conveyancer originally estimated.

jackieblack

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82029505#Comment_82029505

Following my recent experience, if I was selling (again) and my buyer was using an online conveyancer (again), I would withdraw from the sale and remarket the property

user1977

the lowest quote we got from online was £795 including the disbursements.

Are you sure you're comparing apples with apples? Many of the headline "fixed" fees have a lengthy tariff of "complications" (many pretty normal scenarios) with added charges. Think the era of air fares where you had unavoidable surcharges for fuel, checking in etc.

Albermarle

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82029517#Comment_82029517

But that is different to using a online conveyancing company, like the one OP is asking about. Sounds like a better option.

user1977

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82029683#Comment_82029683

I'm never sure people are talking about the same thing in these discussions.

Not all parts of the conveyancing process can be done "online", and your "local" conveyancer will be doing most of the job online and over the phone anyway - you're unlikely to spending much, if any, time popping round for face-to-face meetings with them.

It probably makes more sense to distinguish between small firms and big firms than offline/online.

Chief_of_Staffy

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82029517#Comment_82029517

As you said, that's a traditional conveyancer. An online conveyancer offers their services online only. Broadly speaking they're charlatans with little to no legal qualifications, offering the bare minimum legal compliance - or less, who don't know or care about the local market. Successful interactions with them are usually the result of them farming out the legal work to actual solicitors, and charging you extra for what you could have got at half the price.

My own preferences would be hugely in favour of the traditional, verified solicitor, and if that for some reason was not possible, I'd do it myself. No third option.

Tiglet2

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6671871/online-conveyancing

Compare the two quotes you have just to make sure the figures match.

For example, one quote might include the fee that HMLR charge for registering the property in your name. The other quote might not include this fee, but you will still need to pay it, so it will be an added 'extra'.

Tabieth

I used an online conveyancer (recommended by this site) when I bought my house. They were reasonably priced, very efficient, very helpful. I had no issues and would use them again.