Do I Need To Use A Local Solicitor To Buy Or Sell My House?

There are a lot of questions you may be asking yourself when it comes to choosing your conveyancing solicitor. One of those will likely be: Do I Need To Use A Local Solicitor To Buy Or Sell My House? This article will hopefully help you come to a decision about this…

When it comes to conveyancing, the local knowledge of a solicitor could be useful, especially if there are peculiarities about your purchase or the particular area you are buying in. However, on the whole, conveyancing is quite a standard process wherever you are in the country. Personal knowledge of the area is not necessarily needed.

Whether you are the buyer, the seller or both, your conveyancing solicitor will obtain evidence of titles from the central Land Registry portal. This is the tool that solicitors use to check and prove title deeds. This has no bearing on locality and can be done whatever your solicitors proximity to you or your property. Quite often it is your knowledge and the information you hold that your solicitor needs so as long as you are contactable, again, locality has no bearing.

There are times during the conveyancing process where you could be called upon to review and sign documents. This does not need to be a problem in this day an age. If you are not local to your solicitor they can send you copies via the post, fax, email. Your physical attendance is not necessary. In fact, the conveyancing process can be speeded up considerably with the aid of electronic communication. Contact can be made at unconventional hours of the day such as out of hours and during lunch breaks when attendance would be impossible. So again, locality is not essential.

When it comes to making a decision on your conveyancing solicitor, this site has a wealth of information to help you choose. Remember, the cheapest quote will not always get you the best service and all quotes must be read thoroughly, even the small print, to ensure they include everything at the outset. Please see our page on choosing a conveyancing solicitor for full and comprehensive information on making this important choice.

Let us look a bit closer at some of the factors that may come into the decision making process when choosing an online vs local conveyancing solicitor:

Price

Online Conveyancing is often quite a bit cheaper. The online conveyancing market is far more competitive than that of a local solicitor one. Plus, when gathering quotes from different conveyancers it is far easier to make the comparison online. This is because sites like ours demand that all regulations are adhered to before your quote is even generated and all services and costs are listed as per regulations. This means the quotes you receive are transparent, competitive and provided quickly.

To make sure you understand what should be included in your conveyancing quote, please see our article on comparing solicitors quotes.

Communication

Some people like to communicate face-to-face with the person responsible for the legal process of house ownership and transfer. If this is the case you might be leaning towards using a local conveyancing solicitor, though this might not be the most prudent choice.

Chances are, you are only likely to meet your solicitor in person once or twice anyway. Most communication is done over the phone or via email anyway, regardless of location. Many people expect online Conveyancers to have an excessive workload, with less time to dedicate to your individual case. But a local solicitor might be handling many other, more complex cases, making your house purchase their lowest priority. It’s swings and roundabouts. Online conveyancers often run bigger operations with several support staff to help you with any questions.

Specialisms

Most conveyancing solicitors are highly specialised in conveyancing and property law. Others are not and conveyancing is just one of many legal offerings they pursue. A conveyancer (as opposed to a solicitor) only handles conveyancing cases, making them specialists. Conveyancing solicitors may be more qualified to deal with any further, more complex legal matters should they arise. The objective here, is knowing exactly what you can expect professionally from your conveyancing provider.
Each professionals credentials should be accessible online. Reviews and testimonials may give some insight into their specialisms. In this respect the internet is again, a useful tool when choosing your conveyancing specialist.

Accessibility

Online firms rarely have issues with staff absence. Holiday or sickness cover is neither here nor there because they employ a number of conveyancers meaning cover is not an issue. A Local solicitor might struggle with cover. If your local solicitor takes time off or cannot spend time on your case for any reason, you might lose out on the property. This would be a disaster!

Mortgage Lenders Panel

If you are buying your property with the aid of a mortgage, you need to make sure your conveyancing solicitor is a member of the ‘lenders panel’. Mortgage lenders will only deal with certain solicitors and conveyancers that are on this panel. Our online conveyancing firms are all members on a lenders panel, but a local solicitor might not be. If you choose a solicitor that is not on the lenders panel, then you will normally have to pay the lender additional fees. In this respect, online conveyancing is the safest option, especially a conveyancer found through our search tool.

Hopefully this article will reassure you that online conveyancing is safe, effective and reliable. By searching our database of lender panel solicitors you will receive a fully comprehensive and transparent quote and your property transaction will run as smoothly as possible.