Solicitor or this other company?

[beckslovestimmy]

We are in the process of selling our house and looking to buy something bigger. I was informed of a company today that will instruct solicitors on our behalf with only a £25 fee to start with. Working on the lines of no sale no fee. They will get our contract ready so we can move quickly when we get an offer on our property. All fees for selling and buying will come to roughly £2000 (excl stamp duty). Does this sound like a good deal or should we find our own solicitors. This company was recommended by the estate agents?

[Yambabe]

does that fee include the estate agent's fees? As when we sold our house last year the solicitor/conveyancing only cost about £400..... so that seems high to me!

[Nappaholic]

Sounds a bit dodgy to me...bit of a scam perhaps? I believe many firms charge based on the sale/purchase price. You could email local firms, give them some information and ask for a written estimate without much hassle?

They'll need to know what the sale & purchase prices are, whether they are freehold or leasehold, whether there are mortgages and with which lenders (some are fussier than others), and whether the sale/purchase is in joint names, and whether there is a chain.... phew, that should cover it!

Approach three firms - try to include a licensed conveyancer too, if there are any nearby (although these days, there is less necessity to be local).

Then you'll have an idea if this firm is okay, or just exploiting your lack of knowledge, or time.

[OliviaBenson]

We sold and bought using a local solicitor. Fees came to less than £2k and that included stamp duty!! Sounds expensive to me.

[Thymeout]

If the company was recommended by the estate agents, there's a good chance that the agents have a financial interest in the company. I think I saw a programme on this, where agents were prioritising clients at an earlier stage in the buying process, giving them advance notice of properties etc, on condition that they used their legal services.

I would avoid it, if I were you. Doesn't sound particularly cheap, either.

[beckslovestimmy]

Thanks for the advice guys, I thought it might be a bit of a scam for naive house buyers/sellers. I'll be getting some quotes from local companies.

[specialsubject]

I bet they were recommended by the agents! That is HUGELY expensive.

get quotes from reallymoving.com - don't pick the ultra-cheap ones. Can't work out percentages at this time of day, but reasonable fee is £600 or so for a £600k house, plus searches etc, plus stamp duty. Bit more for buying but not much.

never use estate agent tie in solicitors.

[Seabright]

You can instruct solicitors before you have a buyer - in fact, it makes everyone's life easier & the transaction run smoother if you do.

You can get all the forms (Seller's Property Information Form, Fittings & Contents form, leasehold information form) filled in & ready to go in advance & then it give you time to get copies of any documents that have got lost along the way & which hold up transactions.

For example, make sure you have copies of all the planning consents (and those from before you purchased - check your local council's website), building control approvals, FENSA certificates guarantees for replacement windows, re-wiring, boiler installations etc.

It's those sort of things which usually hold up transactions - not weighty & complex legal issues. Your lawyer will love you if you get all that sorted in advance - well, I'd love you, if you were my client!

Oh, and if the estate agent is recommending someone - they've be getting 1/3 - 1/2 of the fee you pay the lawyer, for doing zero work.

[beckslovestimmy]

I've had 2 quotes of around £4000. This is for selling our house at 160000 and buying a house at 230000 including stamp duty. Does this sound about right?