Edinburgh solicitors recommendations?

[Wombats67]

Anyone recently bought or sold in Edinburgh & really rated their solicitors?

Got a modern (ish) 2-bed flat to sell off Leith Walk & haven't had much notice.

How's the market generally?

I would normally just make enquiries but I see people discussing Edinburgh a fair bit & it's always interesting. 😁

I'm not local anymore & I'm aware things have changed.

Stay away from McEwan Fraser Legal! We sold with them in 2021 and they were rather pants.

Generally the market is slowing a bit - far fewer things going to closing dates and stuff sticking around more. Still lots of places going for 10-20% over home report though! At least in the bit I'm in. I think interest will likely perk up a bit now the tram works down the walk are nearly done.

Connor Malcolm. Old style traditional firm.

Or Simpson & Marwick

I watched with interest when McEwan Fraser first entered the marker, they were more a buying/investment company then.

I'm pretty sure I used Simpson & Marwick for work donkey years ago, always assumed they were a bit bigger than I needed. Will have a look at both. Ta.

Jeez, I'd forgotten how patriarchial (or pick another word of your choice) the Edinburgh property scene is. A day of looking at quotes of surveyors and solicitors and I've had to lie down in a dark room...

We used McEwan Fraser to sell in late 2020 and they were hands down the most efficient estate agent we'd ever used in Edinburgh. Photographer was excellent, they were great with updates and we got an excellent price.

However, if I were you I'd go on espc and see who has property for sale in your area. Looks like Warners, Connor Malcolm, Andersen Strathearn, Gillespie Macandrew sell loads in your area. It's a bit of a hassle but look at sold prices in your area through something like zoopla and then see who sold those properties. Look to see who writes decent schedules and takes good pictures. Make sure you choose someone who advertises through ESPC.

Don't make the mistake we once did of selling our first time buyer/modest house in an average area through one of the top name estate agents (like Rettie but not them). They couldn't have been less interested if they tried and I'm sure we got a bad price.
Good luck!

Yep, agreed, it's a lovely flat but very much bottom-end pricewise and it's horses for courses...

At least it's easy to value.

I'm actually a property super-geek, so trawling sold details is right up my street.

VMH, they have an office/branch on Easter road.
We used them for all 4 of our houses.
Pay the espc fee as most people check that for property.

As someone else said stay away from McEwan Fraser legal. Completely unprofessional.

@Wombats67 just wait 'til you get the valuation done.

I had a stand up row with our surveyor when we sold our family home (my siblings were very cross with me)

I'm also a property geek and obviously know the area we were selling in really well as it had been "home" for 30 years. Surveyor didn't and had just looked at online prices for other houses on the same street. There are about 4 different floor plans on that street, and plot sizes vary massively. The street is also hugely desirable due it's proximity to an excellent primary school and the house styles. If you can't afford one of the huge victorian properties then it is (in my slightly biased opinion) the best of the bunch and houses appear for sale rarely. Most people move in with young kids and move out in a box or to a care home.

Ours was biggest floor plan, biggest plot size and I thought he hideously undervalued it.

It sold for 2K more than the price I'd named. Although this was 50K over valuation. I won the sibling sweepstake on price (we might be adults but we are still children).

It was also fascinating to see the offers come in (this was in the post covid, move to suburbia marketplace, which this house was in spaces). Those who were local were all in the right ball park. Those who weren't local were way off. One couple even offered under the offers over and home report valuation....

I think you have to be fairly local to understand how offers over works plus know how the local market is. It's its own special world, the Edinburgh property market. 😁

I have already instructed a home report, people are not happy about this...

Actually, I usually don't get quotes (used same guy for years) but have this time & it's a fairly wide range. Bit surprised it's so wide a range of selling costs.

The flat sold.

We used Neilsons in the end, excellent transaction from start to finish. Very happy with the team of women that handled the work. Would recommend them.

I second Connor Malcolm. Scott is the guy that works there. Seems very organised and on the ball. Fees seem much cheaper than big names and much better service!

Just saw this and was coming on to say not Simpson & Marwick! Glad you found a good one and had a good experience 😊

Yes, really good experience.

Very busy with viewings, went to closing quickly and had really good offers.

As I said upthread, I was really surprised with the range of fees, literally 2k difference between top and bottom quotes.