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Original poster

Online Conveyancing solicitors for buying properties

35 replies

Smiths80 · 27/02/2023 10:37

Hello,

I would like to get some feedback from people who have used online conveyancing solicitors for buying houses please. Looking at the costs they seems to be reasonable priced. But do not know how reliable they are. Appreciate any inputs good or bad you had experienced with them. It will be helpful to know if anyone to avoid in particular. Thanks

OP posts:
midgemadgemodge · 27/02/2023 10:42

Our buyers used them

Dreadful - they only did anything when our buyers paid another person to keep chasing the conveyancer- false economy there !

GonnaGetGoingReturns · 27/02/2023 10:46

I used to work for a high street solicitors who did conveyancing.

They hated online conveyancing solicitors.

Basically the reason they’re so cheap is because it’s mostly paralegals/legal executives in one room overseen by one conveyancing solicitor so the knowledge and skills you get from a conveyancing solicitor aren’t really there.

They do get the job done but heaven forbid if there’s issues with your conveyancing as it could take longer and maybe cost you more.

Asummersday · 27/02/2023 10:48

Actually - I was just chatting about online conveyancer solicitors with my solicitor. Honestly they sound awful, just one huge call centre, never getting to talk to the same person, nobody knows what is going on and when you contact them, everything takes ages to chase up…

My solicitors say they have a client who has been waiting for 18 MONTHS in a chain because someone has used online solicitors and it’s caused insane delays

For the few hundred you “save” you’ll pay for it much more further down the line.

outdooryone · 27/02/2023 10:48

Brilliant, so much better than the traditional local one I used at the same time. I sold a BTL and bought a new house at the same time.
New house purchase was via local solicitor. Slow, had to be chased for everything, forgot to do a few bits and delayed purchase by three weeks until we threatened to not pay them as they were the only thing holding things up. They also wanted letter or fax(!) for everything, this was in 2018.
Online: I had a dedicated person with phone and email. They gave me a weekly update. They sorted a couple of minor issues and had the BTL sold a month before the other solicitor had my new house sorted.
I will need to go home and find the name from a letterhead, but they were good and much more automated/used technology.

Doingmybest12 · 27/02/2023 10:50

My mum used one, it was dreadful.

Oakbeam · 27/02/2023 10:53

I used one. Overall, it was painful. They took so long that I nearly lost my mortgage offer.

HyacinthineMacaw · 27/02/2023 10:54

We did go with them for our last sale and purchase because everything about the transactions was very simple - no chain above us, no worries about a mortgage as we were moving with an existing mortgage, and a cash buyer for our house. I am a surveyor so didn’t have any worries about what might come up, we knew the area well and work in allied industries so know about searches and what is worrying and what isn’t, and so on. We just needed someone to do the paperwork. We used the same estate agent to sell our home as the one we were buying from so there was very little that could go wrong or cause delays. Everything went incredibly smoothly, and we were able to see exactly where things had got to online, ourselves, instead of relying on messages. It was fast and efficient, in our circumstances.

This was in contrast to our earlier purchase, where the local solicitor couldn’t seem to keep tabs on where we had got to in the process, had to do the searches twice, and only realised they’d overcharged us and refunded the money seven years after we moved, when they were taken over by a larger firm who obviously were better at adding up.

So for our particular circumstances, it was a good choice. I can’t vouch for how it would be for more complex ones, though - for that a traditional solicitor setup might be better, if they come recommended.

Relocatingrose · 27/02/2023 10:55

We once had DC Law. I don't know if they still exist but they were absolutely awful. So bad we took legal action on them.

Lunapuf5 · 27/02/2023 11:02

What actually is classed as online solicitors? We have been looking at one that has their offices 20 minutes away from us and they have a website as do all local conveyancers. So so what makes a conveyancer be an online one just because they have an website or?

midgemadgemodge · 27/02/2023 14:28

Only online
No local office - same staff will do Cornwall and Carlisle

Original poster
Smiths80 · 28/02/2023 09:03

Thank you. Would you be able to tell me whom you have used?

OP posts:
Original poster
Smiths80 · 28/02/2023 09:11

Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences. I understand it is going to be challenging if a dedicated person has not assigned and we do not get the frequent updates.
@outdooryone May I ask whom you have used please?

OP posts:
CatOnTheChair · 28/02/2023 09:19

Avoid.
We sold and bought separately.
Not a single email went missing when both firms were local.
Several emails went missing, were "unanswered", not sent etc when an online company was used.

Chooba · 28/02/2023 09:54

I used an online one when I sold, and despite having a dedicated person they were woeful. I would not recommend at all.

toastfiend · 28/02/2023 10:01

Please don't. Honestly, for the sake of your own sanity and that of anyone else potentially in the chain, just don't.

Our buyers used online solicitors recently. It was a fucking nightmare. They were totally uncontactable (for our buyers, the people paying them, as well as by our solicitors), caused multiple delays, did no aspect - even the most simple - of their jobs correctly, missed really key things left, right, and centre, and almost caused the collapse of the whole chain several times. The stress they caused all of us was huge.

By contrast, ours and our vendors' local high street solicitors were fantastic - quick, responsive, accountable, thorough but able to apply common sense. They were amazing and it was well worth the extra money, which was such a tiny proportion of the overall house buying process, it just seems a weird thing to skimp on when it's them that ultimately stand between you and successful completion.

MoneyInTheBananaStand · 28/02/2023 10:05

I used one to sell a house - no chain, we weren't living there so didn't care how long it took especially, the buyers were developers so they didn't need to move either. It was ok - they had an app where we uploaded documents but our day to day contacts were call centre/secretary people not qualified solicitors.

I'm both buying and selling now and I have gone with a small specialist firm for conveyancing. Probably 2x the price but we have deadlines to meet and I wanted good service. The online was ok but I wouldn't be comfortable with using them for this purchase in case anything goes wrong

FuzzyPuffling · 28/02/2023 19:53

I used one a few months ago to sell and buy.

Excellent.

Very fast, very clear, online portal so I could see every communication. I had a named conveyancer and communicated with her all the time. She replied to emails within a couple of hours (at least).

The estate agent I was buying from was also very impressed and called her speed "amazing".

And two days after we'd moved in, the solicitors sent a "welcome box" of tea, coffee, cleaning product etc. Not an essential, but a nice touch.

From my initial reservation, I would thoroughly recommend.

Cordlesscushion · 28/02/2023 21:09

We've used ours for two purchases now, they were absolutely excellent. You just have to choose one with decent reviews.

thebellagio · 28/02/2023 21:16

Our sellers used online estate agents and their recommended solicitors. Absolutely awful. Ridiculously slow, didn’t know anything, couldn’t answer any questions and nearly caused the chain to collapse three times.

it’s a call centre, so you never get the same person dealing with the file. They’ll basically only look at your file once every few weeks (if that), and if they haven’t got what they need, they won’t chase anything till they next get round to your caseload (and repeat infinitely).

selling and buying a house is the biggest investment you’ll ever make, why on earth would you risk it by cheaping out on the one part of the process that makes the sale happen?

our experience was so bad I genuinely judge anyone who uses an online estate agent or solicitor. They really are that bad.

MissWired · 28/02/2023 21:34

Why are you using an online one? Just go in and do everything face to face. Don't be cheap on what will be the biggest purchase you ever make.

StillWantingADog · 28/02/2023 21:40

MissWired · 28/02/2023 21:34

Why are you using an online one? Just go in and do everything face to face. Don't be cheap on what will be the biggest purchase you ever make.

I don’t know a single person that would want to go in and do everything face to face

most people want to be in email communication with a solicitor. And I mean a solicitor not a paralegal or admin person that doesn’t know what they are doing.

DoratheAurora · 28/02/2023 21:51

MissWired · 28/02/2023 21:34

Why are you using an online one? Just go in and do everything face to face. Don't be cheap on what will be the biggest purchase you ever make.

No need to do anything face to face. We used a localish conveyancer with a fantastic reputation. She was brilliant, and we've since used her twice more for probate sales, one of which was a leasehold, so more complicated.

We've never met, everything was done by email, apart from posting the contracts. She used an online tracking system which meant we always knew exactly where we were, but she was always available on the phone for any urgent queries. That's the perfect combination for me.

We once sold to someone who was using Purple Bricks' online conveyancing. They were desperate, absolutely useless. Our solicitor said that her heart sank whenever the other party was using them.

thebellagio · 28/02/2023 22:11

@DoratheAurora our solicitor said the same thing about the purple bricks conveyancers. He also said when completion happened he had no way of knowing when we would get the keys because they don’t really care, so completion day delays are made worse because they don’t bother to confirm that funds are released

Igmum · 01/03/2023 03:51

My sister and I used one to sell mum's house after she passed away. They were very good. Great portal which tracked everything, always up to date, sorted very easily.

Very different to my experience with an in-person solicitor recommended by my estate agent. Absolute nightmare. All the work was done by paralegals who changed regularly and hadn't the foggiest idea what was happening. Lots of misinformation and errors. Never again.

Blueuggboots · 01/03/2023 05:47

Don't do it! Pay the money for a good one you're near. It's worth every penny.

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