Have you used and can you recommend an online conveyancing solicitor service?

[faraday]

Any pitfalls? Are they a no-no?

From your other thread, it seems that you are new to UK house-buying and really have no idea of what happens after your offer has been accepted (not being rude, you have admitted as much in the other thread!). In that case, I would not recommend an online service, you need a local, trusted solicitor. If you already live in the area where you are buying, ask some of your neighbours/school mums who they used when they were buying or ask you EA, whom you say is a "name" in the community. They may recommend someone who is a mate but they will only do so if they are also good at the job - they have no interest in the sale being held up/collapsing because of some incompetent solicitor dawdling over paperwork.

Get a local Solicitor, honestly don't pay for an online/call centre type one.

I used Fasttrac as few times for re-mortgages but would be very careful using for an outright purchase.

regards

Thanks very much all!

Will get an actual person.

And you're absolutely right annh, we are truly clueless but I know a lot more now than I did this morning! (We weren't expecting our offer to be accepted though it IS over the asking price!)

shoosmiths - couldnt fault them. really excellent.

Don't get involved in over bidding. We did that in 2009. If we were less keen we would have saved ourselves 100 to 200k. There is always another house and it is a (patient) buyers' market.

Nah, had to pounce here. We saw 4 suitable properties go on the market and disappear as sold within 2 days. This is the height of the 'school catchment' hysteria season so you get in their on the day it's advertised and put in an offer, if necessary a couple of thou over the asking price to secure.

Nethouseprices tells us the property sold for £235k in 2002. In 3/4 quarters of 2007 (height of market) it would have been worth around £415k. Now it's valued at 325 but they've added a conservatory and it's in good decorative condition so we're paying £336k.

We will also be 'saving' £400 a month in rental payment, the difference between our actual £950 rent and the paltry £400 odd we're getting in interest on our savings per month.

just to contradict the others, shoosmiths (online/telephone) were fantastic, open 8-6, responded very quickly to requests, gave us excellent guide to buying, told us exactly where we were in the process. after several house sales and purchases, i would definitely use them over archaic local solicitors.

We used Easier to Move for online/phone conveyancing and it was great. We ended up having a very complicated move and the solicitor we were allocated was fantastic throughout.

OK, I will get quotes on both services! THAT may be a decider!

Actually Fasttrac were good. I am perhaps, wrongly assuming that they wouldn't be good for non standard problems.