Online conveyancing - anyone tried it?

[Dotty342kids]

We're hoping to move next year and my husband thinks we should use an online conveyancing firm as they're much cheaper.
This idea does not sound wise to me, I'd prefer a solicitor in my local town who we can actually go to to sign docs etc. Using an anonymous online firm sounds mad to me but am I being really old fashioned in this?
anyone else used one / heard anything about them?

Dotty,

I have always used a firm that is not in my area (apart from once). However, I am a mortgage consultant and the firm I used to work for used these particular solicitors all the time and they are ace. I would never use anyone else. To be honest there is little difference apart from the fact that you have to use the postal system instead of physically going into the firm. As long as you send things back promptly and they are completed correctly I don't see an issue.

used two different firms in 2005, one for buying this place, one for selling the old one a while later.
Firm we used for buying were really good, always answered the phone, called/sent things when they said they would, and I always spoke to the same person.
Firm we used for selling were ok, nothing special, needed a bit of chasing now and then.
Used a local sol for the current purchase and it's been fine, but all of these have been very straightforward, no issue, no chain sales/purchases, and I guess if there's a chance there might be issues, you might feel safer with a local.

We did it a couple of years ago and the firm we used, Simpson Millar, beat the pants off local companies I've used in the past. You have a named person dealing with your file and can call or email them with queries. They have an online progress tracker so you know exactly how things are progressing and, most importantly, they're cheaper. I'll be using them again.

we used Simpson Millar too. They were awful. They very nearly rendered us homeless!
The person who dealt with our purchase lost paperwork, failed to respond to very simple queries for days on end and promised us that we would be able to move by the end of July. We checked this several times to be sure before we handed in notice on our rental.

3 weeks before end of rental contract (and new tenants already sorted so no extension available) they suddenly said 'there's a problem with the onward chain'......we'd checked several times during the process and were told there was no onward chain. If we'd known there was we would never have handed our notice in.

Those last three weeks were awful. We had complained about the person handling our case on several occassions and been fobbed off, but at this point we had had enough and took our complaint right to the top. To be fair to them at this point someone very senior took over our case and dealt with it.

I don't know whether we were just unlucky to get a useless person dealing with our case, but the fact that numerous complaints were brushed off didn't impress me.

We used a local firm of solicitors for our move last year and they were absolutely dire! The move before that we'd used an on-line firm and they were absolutely brilliant!

I think it just depends on the quality of the people you deal with. Our local solicitor was still living in the dark ages and moved at snail's pace which we were not used to as our on-line firm had got us from first viewing to moving in in four weeks flat !

I've used both and I'd go local. Both were fine and did a good job. The difference is if you are in a rush you can go to your local firm and sign paperwork and don't have to wait on the post. Its not the online solicitors I wouldn't trust - it's the post!!!!!!

I work for a company called 1st Property Lawyers.co.uk and we are an online conveyancer. I've not been with the company that long, in fact it was my first job back to work after having my first child (now due with my 2nd!). Although we are online it doesn't take the personal touch away, we are open 7 days a week 8 till 8pm so there is always someone here and we update clients by phone, text and email, so it's all very quick and easy. Not trying to plug the company I work for but would just like to say that online conveyancing can be a lot quicker and easier than traditional methods. Feel free to contact me if you want anymore advice on online conveyancing. :-)

Thanks Cassie (and everyone else!), really useful to know!

We used an online conveyancer for our recent move and it was really hard work - I would definitely not do the same again (not that we're planning on moving for a very long time!)

It was very difficult, and on various times I was told I needed to get things checked over and signed by a local solicitor that they couldn't do remotely. A proper PITA. Plus once, they gave me incorrect advice and after trudging round 3 solicitors I was told it was the incorrect form.

I would definitely go with a local solicitor.

I would have to say that our online solicitor for our recent house sale was very good. Make sure you shop around online and DO NOT USE CONVEYANCING WAREHOUSES. You might get a cheap price of £99 plus VAT, but it's simply not worth it.

You'll be chasing them forever and you are never actually dealing with a solicitor or conveyancer, you're simply dealing with someone in a call centre relaying messages. You usually get hit for extra fees that they don't disclose to you until you've already signed up with them.

We used a solicitor from here www.theconveyancingnetwork.com/index.cfm/get-a-quote/ for our transaction. He was very good, always available via email and on the phone and gave us straight talking advice for a fixed fee quoted online. Would definitely use something like this again. Remember cheapest isn't always best. Do your homework and get a reasonable price. Shop around