Best online conveyancers (assuming they exist)?

[flashbac]

Our local firms are not very good so looking elsewhere. I've heard bad things about online conveyancing but then someone mentioned good things about Bishopsgate Law on another thread. Thoughts on them or others?

The only experience of online conveyancer I have is through the first party in our chain.
They are the only reason why we still haven’t exchanged contracts, whilst all other parties in chain have been ready to exchange since the 22nd of March! Sadly, at the moment, I don’t know which online conveyancer they are using, but I will find out after exchange (if it ever happens...) to make sure I tell everyone I know to steer clear. It’s been utter misery and stress just caused by the fact they are utterly useless.

We used SAM Conveyancing starting at the beginning of the November lockdown and completed 1st of March so 100% through lockdown, and they were fantastic - assigned us a conveyancer about 400 miles away from us, who were excellent - organised the survey for us during lockdown 250 miles away - just brilliant all round. Can't recommend enough.

I think they're more like an online brokerage for Conveyancing and surveying though so not a true online conveyancer I guess. They connected us with a real firm up in Huddersfield, who were great.

@xiaoxiong

Ooh, what's the name of the Huddersfield firm?

Chadwick Lawrence LLP - our contact was Lashana Henderson and she was fab, very practical and straightforward. We had a fixed fee having come through SAM Conveyancing though.

Myhomemove. I've used these a couple of times and they were excellent. That is, once we got rid of the dead weight first conveyancer they gave us at first, after writing a pretty damning review. The second person we had could not have been better.

Rather than risk using an online company, why not just use a 'normal' one elsewhere? I've used a - fantastic - conveyancing firm in another city 3 times recently. It was of no consequence that they weren't nearby.

@letthecatin

How did you pick them?

A friend who is an estate agent recommended them and another company. I read through all the reviews which were outstanding, and then spoke to them for a quote. They were a bit more expensive than some others, but worth every penny

We had an awful 8 month experience with online Conveyancers.
Never again.
We used a local solicitor for our next purchase a and it was done and dusted in a couple of months.
We probably paid another couple of hundred pounds, but it was well worth it

I think you just have to go by personal recommendations. We used an online conveyancer who was amazing (personal recommendation from a friend who had bought a house about 6 months before us and used them). Our sellers used a firm of solicitors local to the village where we bought, who were very slow, hard to contact and held up the entire process by (as far as ours could tell) knocking off at 3pm every day and noon on Fridays. So it's not always as simple as online ones bad, normal ones good...

Honestly you don't need to go for someone who specialises in online conveyancing, everything is remote now! We sold our flat in London using someone based on Manchester because they were recommended by family, and it was seamless.

@Merrow

Honestly you don't need to go for someone who specialises in online conveyancing, everything is remote now! We sold our flat in London using someone based on Manchester because they were recommended by family, and it was seamless.

Agree! Historically conveyancers have had a bad rep in England, although the norm in Scotland.

Now everyone is remote it doesn't matter who you go with.

We’re using Fletcher Longstaff (online conveyancer) after getting a personal recommendation and seeing lots of positive feedback online. We haven’t progressed to exchange and completion yet, but I’ve been really impressed so far.

Much better than the traditional solicitor we used last time around who never bothered to return my calls or emails