Should I use the conveyancers recommended by my estate agent?

Lunapuf5 · 2023-02-27T10:59:32+00:00

They haven't forced us but they did recommend their conveyancers without even asking and send our details to them. Is thus a good idea or is there conflict of interest?

dreamersdown · 27/02/2023 11:33

No conflict of interest, but they’ll get a financial benefit. Best to consider them but alongside other, independent and well reviewed options.

Aaron95 · 27/02/2023 11:36

Absolutely not. The estate agent has only recommended them because they get a commission. Ask around and shop around and select a solicitor with a good reputation.

Nellieinthebarn · 27/02/2023 12:24

We used an online firm recomended by the Estate Agents. Absolute nightmare, couldn't get hold of them, really slow, and not cheaper than a proper solicitor. I would always use a local law firm in the future.

YankeeDad · 27/02/2023 12:24

Bad idea. There could actually be a conflict of interest if the firm is a partnership, because if the conveyancing lawyers receive an indirect share in the commissions of the estate agent then they have a strong interest in closing the transaction even if there is something a little bit wrong with the property.

You want a solicitor who works for you and only for you.

Can2022getanyworse · 27/02/2023 12:33

I sold through the estate agents recommended conveyancer last year.

Would never, ever, EVER use them again. Turned an already difficult time into the most traumatic period in my entire life.

GoChasingWaterfalls · 27/02/2023 12:37

Nooooooo. They're essentially a call centre type set up. Your case will be handled by someone with no legal training who will get the one solicitor to sign everything off. Stuff will get missed and you'll be chasing stuff for ages. Friend is a conveyancer and told me about one horror story where the "call centre" type casually forgot to forward the money through on completion date, causing the whole chain to collapse. Use a local firm who knows the area!

CasperGutman · 27/02/2023 12:47

An estate agent's recommendation of a conveyancing solicitor means slightly less than nothing. It certainly doesn't mean they will be any better than another practice which doesn't have to resort to paying commission to estate agents to get enough customers through the door.

Whether there will actually be potential for a conflict of interest depends on what you mean by "your" estate agent, though. An estate agent acts as an agent for the seller, so I would usually understand "your" estate agent as meaning the agent you are selling through. There wouldn't be a conflict of interest in one person working on your behalf recommending someone else to work for you.

If you actually mean that the vendor's estate agent is recommending a solicitor to you then yes, this could give rise to a conflict of interest. You would be allowing someone on the vendor's side to propose someone to represent your interests against those of the vendor. All involved may act with the best intentions, but there is certainly potential for conflict.

ThreeFeetTall · 27/02/2023 12:48

No. Because if they were good they would have work via word of mouth and not have to enter a 'deal' with the estate agents. Our vendors used a firm that was recommended from estate agents and they were very very slow.
You get what you pay for with conveyancing imo.

Any estate agent who tell you you have to use their conveyancer or finance people is lying.

lovelypidgeon · 27/02/2023 12:51

I'd be very cautious. When I bought my first house I used the conveyancers linked to the Estate Agents on the basis that it would be quicker, easier and cheaper than using a separate solicitor (they heavily suggested that this would be the case). In reality they were slow and I found out when we came to sell the property that they had not properly alerted us to several issues that might have made us question whether to buy the property. They were not completely missed as they were in some of the paperwork but very much brushed off as nothing to worry about. When we came to sell it caused complications and our solicitor seemed unimpressed that we hadn't had the issues identified very clearly when we bought.

Basecampzero · 27/02/2023 12:51

Don't do this. We had estate agents pushing us to use their conveyancer rather than a solicitor who was a family friend! They said he'd take longer. Their conveyancer (who represented the vendor) took ages and didn't come up with the required info for ages. We were ready to exchange well before them. They only do it for the commission.

Original poster

Lunapuf5 · 27/02/2023 12:52

CasperGutman · 27/02/2023 12:47

An estate agent's recommendation of a conveyancing solicitor means slightly less than nothing. It certainly doesn't mean they will be any better than another practice which doesn't have to resort to paying commission to estate agents to get enough customers through the door.

Whether there will actually be potential for a conflict of interest depends on what you mean by "your" estate agent, though. An estate agent acts as an agent for the seller, so I would usually understand "your" estate agent as meaning the agent you are selling through. There wouldn't be a conflict of interest in one person working on your behalf recommending someone else to work for you.

If you actually mean that the vendor's estate agent is recommending a solicitor to you then yes, this could give rise to a conflict of interest. You would be allowing someone on the vendor's side to propose someone to represent your interests against those of the vendor. All involved may act with the best intentions, but there is certainly potential for conflict.

Yes I meant the estate agents selling our flat. The thing is I really don't trust anyone as last time we bought a property and were first time buyers and went with our brokers recommendation and they were absolutely awful

OP posts:

QueenoftheAngles · 27/02/2023 12:57

For balance we used recommended local solicitors, as per the usual advice and they were rubbish, terrible communication and expensive. Ended with a complaint and a reduced bill. Only managed to save the chain because all buyers and sellers started talking to each other directly and everyone was reasonable.

Friend recently used conveyancing firm linked to estate agents who were a huge “conveyancing factory” miles away so everything had to be done remotely- they were super efficient and cheap.

MinnieMountain · 27/02/2023 13:46

I work for one of those firms (not Premier Property Lawyers), although I’m a solicitor.

There’s no conflict of interest with the estate agents that I can see. They might use their influence to get dealing with a file prioritised but it would never be signed off for exchange unless everything had been gone through thoroughly.

We’re inevitably lacking in local knowledge in some parts of the country.

Look at reviews of whoever it is and base your decision on that.

Silversalt · 27/02/2023 14:16

GoChasingWaterfalls · 27/02/2023 12:37

Nooooooo. They're essentially a call centre type set up. Your case will be handled by someone with no legal training who will get the one solicitor to sign everything off. Stuff will get missed and you'll be chasing stuff for ages. Friend is a conveyancer and told me about one horror story where the "call centre" type casually forgot to forward the money through on completion date, causing the whole chain to collapse. Use a local firm who knows the area!

This happened to DS. He used a firm recommended by his mortgage broker. The whole thing was a nightmare and after completion I found errors which took 18 months to resolve including the fact that they failed to verify building regs.

However this was not because they were recommended by an EA.
When I sold DMs house the EA recommeded a solicitor who happened to be my late mother's solicitor and that all went smoothly.

ChampagneCommunist · 27/02/2023 14:27

The estate agent will be paid £400-£600 per case that goes to the firm they recommend.

How much do you think that sort of cash influences the estate agent's recommendation?

Igmum · 27/02/2023 21:36

No no no don't. I did (people pleaser) and they were an utter nightmare. Lost documents, gave the wrong advice, failed to reply and even put the wrong price on the contract 🤦‍♀️. Never again.

JTro · 27/02/2023 22:01

We used a conveyancing solicitor (large company) which was recommended by our estate agent - very good experience. We switched to this solicitors company because the previous one, local well-known company with great reputation, was absolutely rubbish, an unexperienced solicitor was assigned to our case and it was horrible.

Disco123456 · 27/02/2023 22:53

We went with ours and it was fine for us. Our estate agent had relationship with legal team and helped push through. With a couple of arsehole hurdles like gazundering from our buyer delaying slightly, we went on the market 9th September last year and we completed our chain of 3 on the 9th December. Solicitor were great in the end, they were a well known brand though.

saraclara · 27/02/2023 23:00

When my daughter bought, her mortgage advisor recommended the conveyancing company a few doors down the street.

We did exactly what everyone suggests, and found a solicitor independently. He was terrible and DD nearly lost the house. Turns out the conveyancer that was recommended is excellent, and the mortgage advisor's company recommends then because they WANT the sale (and the mortgage they make money on) to go through.

So yes. Don't discount the recommendation out of hand.

Blankscreen · 27/02/2023 23:19

I think it depends on who is being recommended. If it some bucket shop firm miles away I'd steer clear.

If there are a couple of names from local lawyers I would probably go with one of them.