Your choice of conveyancer can be make or break.
Without exaggeration, the person you appoint to handle your purchase can play a large part in how smooth, stressful, and successful the process is. There are some incredible conveyancers out there, but like with anything, there is the far other end of the spectrum too. Here are some helpful tips about choosing the right solicitor
Firstly, you have Duncan, a contactable person, who calls you to explain things in plain English and even exchanged on a house sale in just 4 weeks, almost a third of the time compared to the national average. For context, this move involved a mortgage, a first-time seller, a first-time buyer, and credit to both solicitors.
On the other hand, you have Nigel. A previous client of mine appointed him, leading to the single most painful conveyancing experience I’ve ever seen. Nigel had no direct line, so the client had to leave messages with reception every time. The seller only ever heard his voice once in the entire process – a voicemail after almost a year of selling, confirming by some miracle we had exchanged contracts. There were countless errors, and important paperwork not being ordered, subsequently leading them to have to find a new buyer too. But he was cheap.
So, here are some tips to find your Duncan:
Do you have any recommendations? – When receiving these, look for a specific person within a company, not just the company. Your experience will vary depending on the person, so working with the same person should offer you some assurance.
How important is reputation? – Google them, and look at Trustpilot, and Facebook reviews. Check everything. Commonly we are given conveyancer details as they often come out the cheapest on various comparison websites that they usually pay to be on. After a quick Google search, we see dozens of recent negative reviews, this is a strong indicator you could experience similar.
Is the conveyancer full-time? - If not, is there a point of contact whilst they are not in the office? You would expect part-time employees to have a reduced workload and if you find yourself in a chain, other parties waiting longer for information can eventually create some anxiousness and sometimes can make it more difficult to manage. Having peace of mind that you have someone to speak with throughout the week should be reassuring.
Do they limit their workload and what number is that? Speaking with conveyancers, around 60-65 files are manageable whilst providing you with a high level of service. On the other hand, the more high-volume companies- that are often the cheapest- will be trying to manage around 100 cases, which as you can imagine is far more difficult. That’s not to say they can’t provide a good service, but something worth considering.
Cheap can quickly become the most expensive. We've tried and tested plenty of companies and after much research, we have found businesses that align with our values. So, if you’re reading this and would like a recommendation on a conveyancer that we have only had positive experiences with and would genuinely recommend to our friends and family, then the team would be happy to put you in contact.
