Please advise, all you expert property buyers and sellers

[mrsmike]

My house is for sale. I have just received an offer which I am going to accept. The estate agents say I now must engage a solicitor so the sale can proceed. All makes sense so far ... BUT I have to buy another house, and have not made any offers so far, though will do very soon. So should I get a solicitor now, just to deal with the selling bit, and then when I have made an offer & it's accepted, get them to work on the purchasing bit? How does it work ? Or should I be waiting until I have had an offer accepted Suppose I am worried that the selling part might overtake the buying part and we will be homeless. Thanks for advice

Instruct a solicitor/licensed conveyencer now. You won't be homeless, if you are buying as well then you will be in a chain, so the people buying your property have to wait on you to buy somewhere. You will then all exchange and complete contracts at the same time and move on the same day. That's how it usually goes. It's really complicated but the solicitor/L.C will deal with it. I have always instructed a licensed conveyencer rather than a solicitor, they only deal with buying and selling properties.

Yes. The solicitor should coordinate time scales so that the sale and purchase go through at the same time, unless you are prepared to move out into rented or stay with family in the interim. That way you don't become homeless or get legally committed to anything you cannot fulfil.

Thanks ladies, I feel better already! Has anyone used an online conveyancing company - my estate agent is recommending My Home Move, sounds good to me, but how do they work if it's online, I mean don't you always have to be traipsing in and out of your solictors offices?

Get price comparisons, EA's get kickbacks for such recommendations and we found the oen we were recommended to more expensive than a local solicitor. It may be better to employ someone local , who is familiar with your local council etc, and whom you can visit if queries arise.

DON'T use an online conveyancing company - often the people working at conveyancing companies aren't fully qualified solicitors (just licensed conveyers) and you don't get the same service, things get lost in post, emails never arrive etc etc.

Ask friends who have moved recently who they have used and take up any local recommendations. With conveyancing you get what you pay for and it is worth using someone who will dot all i's and cross all t's. Don't worry about not having found a house yet, the solicitor will just start on that if and when you do find somewhere you like but, if you're not sure that you are going to find anywhere and you might end up staying put, is worth asking solicitor to go slow on job so you don't end up spending ££££s on full conveyance that is ultimately unused.