Using solicitor suggested by estate agents?

[Greenfairydust]

I finally got an offer accepted on a house today after months of search!

Estate agent suggested using a specific local solicitor to help speed things up.

Another agent, who is dealing with the house that my sellers will be buying, also e-mailed me the details of another local solicitor they said I might want to hire.

This is a small town and all the players (estate agents, conveyancers) know each other and collaborate so I wonder if there is any benefit to using one of them. Would that help keeping the small chain going better?

or should I just go for another local solicitor for local knowledge (I had someone in mind who seem to have good reviews) but who would be more independent since I was not referred to them by an agent involved in the transaction? I think that would be my preferred option, but wondered if people have any advice on this.

Like so many things in life, it depends.

I work as an estate agent and try to recommend local solicitors where I can, not because I am encouraged to do so, or because I receive a financial incentive, but because I know who is efficient and on the ball.

However, some other agents may recommend a different solicitor because it is financially beneficial to do so.

There definitely can be a good benefit to having an established working relationship between agent and solicitor.

@Mildura

Thank you for the insider knowledge.

I am going to look at the quotes from all 3 solicitors and spend some time reading reviews, but it is interesting to hear that it might not always be a bad thing to go for the agent's suggestion.

I used the solicitor my agent recommended. Never again. They were absolutely dire. Lost documents, gave the wrong advice, never responded to emails, got my name and title wrong repeatedly and finished by putting the wrong house price on the contract. The agent will have got a rake-off. I got high blood pressure. Get recommendations from someone who isn't being paid for it.

Don’t. The agent works for the seller. Your solicitor should be working for you. Please don’t do it. There are loads of good conveyancers around.

OK, thanks everyone!

I have emailed my preferred, independent conveyancer who is local, but not one that was suggested by the agent, and I am waiting for a quote :)

Don't use the solicitor recommended one use someone independent who will work in your best interests.

The two aren't mutually exclusive.

Word of mouth?

As pp mentioned there can be a financial incentive or could be that they are known to give a good service and get the job done.

Handy to stick to a local solicitor so you can drop off paperwork and nip in to sign documents.

We used a solicitor whose details were amongst the information from the developer, although they would be very careful to say they weren’t ‘recommending’. We weren’t local, so didn’t know better. Big mistake, never again.

I'm a lawyer (not a conveyancer) and would never use the EA's recommended solicitor. I'd always go by word of mouth recommendations.