Conveyancing Solicitors - 3 things to look for when choosing yours

A good firm of Conveyancing Solicitors is vital for a successful property transaction so how do you make the right choice?

Below we’ve set out the 3 most important things to look for:

1.  A “No Completion No Fee” guarantee

2.  “Fixed Fee” quotes

3.  A firm that is a “conveyancing specialist”

Let’s look at each of these in more detail to see why they’re so important:

1.  A “No Completion No Fee” guarantee

If your sale falls through you still have to pay your legal fees – unless you have a “No Completion No Fee” guarantee, in which case you don’t pay a penny!

And unfortunately, since poor legal work is a key reason for delays and failed transactions, this is an important way of protecting yourself.

Perhaps more importantly, having a “No Completion No Fee” is a great incentive for a firm to do a good job.  If the sale falls through because of poor legal work then they don’t get paid – and the number one priority for law firms is getting paid!

Because most solicitors will never make this offer it says a lot about a firm that does.  It means that they are confident that they will do a good job and that they can make the transaction succeed.

2.  “Fixed Fee” quotes

The next thing to look for is a "Fixed Fee” quote.

In other words, you have the "peace of mind" of knowing how much you'll be paying – however long your transaction takes.

An added bonus is that it also incentivises your conveyancing solicitors to get things right quickly and first time.  Quite simply, if they make mistakes or take their time they end up costing themselves money.

And since speed is often vital in getting your sale or purchase through successfully this is a real advantage.

Expenses

On a related note, make sure that your quote includes “disbursements”.  This is just a fancy term used by solicitors to describe expenses, such as the cost of property searches.

On a conveyancing transaction, disbursements can add up to as much as the legal fees themselves, so make sure you know what they are in advance.  (Most disbursements will be known in advance so there’s no reason why these can’t be provided.)

3.  A firm that is a “conveyancing specialist”

Watch out for online "law factories" offering cut price (and cut rate) conveyancing.  You get what you pay for and having your legal work handled by underpaid paralegals working in a call centre is not the way to a speedy and successful transaction.

Instead, choose a firm that is either a specialist in conveyancing or has a specialist conveyancing department.  

All of the firms on our panel of recommended conveyancing solicitors meet the three criteria we've set out above.

Click here for a free instant Conveyancing Quote from each of our panel of Conveyancing Solicitors.  All quotes are fully itemised and no email is required.