Do we need two solicitors to sell a house?

[JosieRay]

My DM’s will left her house to all my siblings equally. We are all in agreement that the house will be sold and we are all in agreement about the sale price. One sibling lives near to the house whereas three others live at least 2 hours+ drive away. The estate agent has said that for dealing with documents that may need to be signed etc we will all need our own solicitors to deal with this. Can that be right? I can’t find anything online. A few enquiries have indicated that this would cost me alone over £1000. Surely one solicitor could act for us all?

Of course they can! You'd need to drive up with your id though so they can physically witness your signature.

As long as no conflict I think you're fine with one, we've done similar but just 2 siblings. As others say be prepared to travel in person to show ID.

Surely the executor sells the house so only their signatures are required?

I sold my mum's house recently, dealt with it all myself and transferred the funds after thee sale proceeds hit my account.

Thanks for the replies, I’ve been told that my ID etc can be sent over if it’s verified by a solicitor. They will do this apparently for £10 per item which will be cheaper than driving over, although we could drive if necessary.

Are you all executors?

No, only two are executors so it looks like only one solicitor would be needed. One executor would have to travel though.

Former property solicitor here - no you don't need separate representation, as long as you're in agreement I'm assuming from your wording that you're joint executors?

Two joint executors, but everyone is in agreement, no disputes.

In that case the two executors can jointly instruct one solicitor to act for them both. Distance shouldn't be an issue either, most solicitors these days have systems to verify ID online or may accept it being verified in person by another solicitor.

P.S. some estate agents tell people a lot of things that should be taken with a pinch of salt IME!

Thank you, it didn’t seem right to me. It was going to cost a lot of money when it didn’t need to! Thanks everyone for your advice.

I agree with the post above. As long as you are all aligned in what you want and not giving the solicitor differing instructions, one can act for all of you. Many solicitors can verify ID remotely. Documents can be signed by post where a wet ink signature is required.

Thank you 👍