House Buying - Choosing Your Solicitor

Buying a house is undoubtedly the major financial commitment that any of us are likely to undertake during our lifetime. For most people this is an infrequent and unfamiliar experience which can cause considerable worry and stress. It is therefore essential that any prospective buyer chooses the right solicitor who can offer expert guidance through the intricate steps involved in the house buying process, to avoid many of the pitfalls which might arise.

The following are some of the factors which ought to be considered when choosing a solicitor.

Locality

A glance through the Yellow Pages for this area will reveal a large number of solicitors, many of whom are based in the Midlands or North of England offering conveyancing services. These solicitors claim to offer “national coverage” but of course are extremely unlikely to have any knowledge of the area in which the property is situated. One must therefore query the merits of instructing such solicitors, thereby foregoing the opportunity to use a solicitor based in the locality who doubtless has a vast amount of local knowledge which he can bring to bear in dealing with the conveyancing transaction. Coupled with that, if you use a distant conveyancer, you will probably never have the ability to speak to your solicitor face to face about your property transaction. This is a shame because, with all the stresses involved, actual direct personal contact can often help to allay any nerves and explain some of the complexities which can arise in the transaction.

Fees

These can vary greatly but the thing to remember is that generally, as in the rest of life, you do get what you pay for. Local reputable firms will to a large extent charge similar fees. A prospective buyer should however be aware of firms offering low quotes, as these could be “bucket shop conveyancers” who, because of the volume of work which their low quote attracts, may offer a poorer service by unqualified staff, spending less time on YOUR transaction. A properly conducted transaction will often take about ten hours of a solicitors time to complete. It is questionable whether the same amount of time and care can be taken when the fee charged falls to a level that is clearly uneconomic if the same amount of time was spent on the legal essentials. When you look closely at all the costs of buying or selling a property, you will see that the fees charged by the solicitor are actually a very small proportion of the total costs involved. When looking at this, don’t include your search fees or registration fees because these are not charged by your solicitor but by other agencies. In real terms, the costs charged by solicitors in conveyancing have not changed since the 1970’s, when they were then roughly on a par with Estate Agent charges. How times have changed!

A prospective buyer should also be clear of what out of pocket payments will have to be made and whether there are any “hidden extras” e.g. additional fees charged for mortgage work. A lower upfront fee may be negated by various hidden costs which come to light later, giving you a nasty shock and cancelling out what you may have thought was the benefit of instructing the cheapest conveyancer. It is unlikely that there would be such hidden charges with a local solicitor.

Expertise

A prospective buyer should always be looking for a firm of solicitors where the conveyancing work will be undertaken personally by a qualified solicitor with appropriate back up staff. Quite a number of the “national” firms operate on the basis of a team of unqualified staff, under the supervision of a qualified solicitor. Dealing with those types of firms, one often feels that “the left hand never knows what the right hand is doing”, making the whole conveyancing process more lengthy and stressful.

Brooker Alexandra Speed prides itself very much in the speedy, energetic but nonetheless personal service which it is able to afford to all its clients. All the legal work is undertaken by its partners and fee earners, backed by experienced and capable support staff.

Paul Grindrod

Do you have a legal question? If so we will try to answer it.

Contact us online...or call 01344 862777

01344 862111
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Personal Injury Claims Divorce & Ancillary Relief Residential Conveyancing/Buying and Selling your home Commercial Property & Business Sales Probate & Estates Wills & Care For The Elderly Employment	All articles House Buying - Choosing Your Solicitor Buying a house is undoubtedly the major financial commitment that any of us are likely to undertake during our lifetime. For most people this is an infrequent and unfamiliar experience which can cause considerable worry and stress. It is therefore essential that any prospective buyer chooses the right solicitor who can offer expert guidance through the intricate steps involved in the house buying process, to avoid many of the pitfalls which might arise. The following are some of the factors which ought to be considered when choosing a solicitor. Locality A glance through the Yellow Pages for this area will reveal a large number of solicitors, many of whom are based in the Midlands or North of England offering conveyancing services. These solicitors claim to offer “national coverage” but of course are extremely unlikely to have any knowledge of the area in which the property is situated. One must therefore query the merits of instructing such solicitors, thereby foregoing the opportunity to use a solicitor based in the locality who doubtless has a vast amount of local knowledge which he can bring to bear in dealing with the conveyancing transaction. Coupled with that, if you use a distant conveyancer, you will probably never have the ability to speak to your solicitor face to face about your property transaction. This is a shame because, with all the stresses involved, actual direct personal contact can often help to allay any nerves and explain some of the complexities which can arise in the transaction. Fees These can vary greatly but the thing to remember is that generally, as in the rest of life, you do get what you pay for. Local reputable firms will to a large extent charge similar fees. A prospective buyer should however be aware of firms offering low quotes, as these could be “bucket shop conveyancers” who, because of the volume of work which their low quote attracts, may offer a poorer service by unqualified staff, spending less time on YOUR transaction. A properly conducted transaction will often take about ten hours of a solicitors time to complete. It is questionable whether the same amount of time and care can be taken when the fee charged falls to a level that is clearly uneconomic if the same amount of time was spent on the legal essentials. When you look closely at all the costs of buying or selling a property, you will see that the fees charged by the solicitor are actually a very small proportion of the total costs involved. When looking at this, don’t include your search fees or registration fees because these are not charged by your solicitor but by other agencies. In real terms, the costs charged by solicitors in conveyancing have not changed since the 1970’s, when they were then roughly on a par with Estate Agent charges. How times have changed! A prospective buyer should also be clear of what out of pocket payments will have to be made and whether there are any “hidden extras” e.g. additional fees charged for mortgage work. A lower upfront fee may be negated by various hidden costs which come to light later, giving you a nasty shock and cancelling out what you may have thought was the benefit of instructing the cheapest conveyancer. It is unlikely that there would be such hidden charges with a local solicitor. Expertise A prospective buyer should always be looking for a firm of solicitors where the conveyancing work will be undertaken personally by a qualified solicitor with appropriate back up staff. Quite a number of the “national” firms operate on the basis of a team of unqualified staff, under the supervision of a qualified solicitor. Dealing with those types of firms, one often feels that “the left hand never knows what the right hand is doing”, making the whole conveyancing process more lengthy and stressful. Brooker Alexandra Speed prides itself very much in the speedy, energetic but nonetheless personal service which it is able to afford to all its clients. All the legal work is undertaken by its partners and fee earners, backed by experienced and capable support staff. Paul Grindrod Do you have a legal question? If so we will try to answer it. Contact us online...or call 01344 862777
BAS Solicitors - Gingers Court, 36a High Street, Bracknell, Berkshire, RG12 1HE - Tel: 01344 862111 Fax: 01344 860157 BAS Solicitors is the trading name of Brooker Alexandra Speed LLP, a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales with registration number OC355668 and registered office at Gingers Court, 36a High Street, Bracknell, Berkshire, RG12 1HE. BAS Solicitors are authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. A list of the members of BAS Solicitors, and their professional qualifications, are available at the registered office. The term partner is used to refer to a member of BAS Solicitors. Service is not accepted by electronic mail.
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