The estate agents solicitor versus my own?

I think I'd prefer to use my own family solicitor, especially if you are on good terms and trust them. The EA will naturally want to "push" their own but I can't see any benefit because usually solicitors are professional enough to talk only to their client.
Cheaper isn't always good, though you could research for your own online.

They’re all after their cut!! 😉 I saved loads by getting my own Energy Performance Consultant to come and rate a house we sold. The Estate Agent said they would sort all that for me and when I told him I had sorted it he asked why and I said I saved a lot of money and he was a bit sniffy.

Use your usual solicitor if you have confidence in their ability, as you obviously do. Estate agents receive payment from firms they recommend (a despicable practice imo) and you are unlikely to be looked after by a qualified solicitor if you pay a low fee. Firms recommended by EAs also have a conflict of interest - the EA wants the transaction to proceed as quickly as possible so they get their commission and the firm wants further recommendations from the EA. Corners are cut and unbiased advice isn’t always given, I have seen it in practice. I strongly advise you not to go there. As they say, you get what you pay for. Never more true than in the choice of lawyer,

I would stick with a solicitor I know and trust Wyllow. Buying and selling property is stressful at the best of times and anything you can do to mitigate it is well worth it.

Good luck.

I'm really happy to hear what all you people have to say here and very thankful! Hadn't thought of all the snags but it seems to me that using my own I get a lot more support as they will act in my interests.

Now Primrose I hadn't actually thought of that at all, in fact never heard of it? what does it cover, things like insulation and so on? the attic has fab insulation, but its angle brick walls with rendering so no double walls to be filled/insulated.

single brick walls

Do get a full building survey, not just the cheaper Home Buyer’s Report. It’s worth it, believe me.

Good advice Wyllow. Your choice of solicitor is the way to go - especially if s/he is local and you can visit/ drop things off / sign documents if needed. It also lessens the possibility of email hacking which is an increasingly worrying crime, used at the time of exchange to seize funds from the purchaser.

It's either an ordinary flat GSM or a retirement flat so a slightly different situation.

Wyllow3

I'm really happy to hear what all you people have to say here and very thankful! Hadn't thought of all the snags but it seems to me that using my own I get a lot more support as they will act in my interests.

Now Primrose I hadn't actually thought of that at all, in fact never heard of it? what does it cover, things like insulation and so on? the attic has fab insulation, but its angle brick walls with rendering so no double walls to be filled/insulated.

I assume you are selling a property Wyllow. All houses for sale (and indeed for rent) need to have an up to date EPC.

Covers things like lighting, types of heat, loft insulation, cavity wall insulation etc. the more you have, the better your rating and they also tell you what you can do to improve your rating.

We had to get one when we sold my late Mum’s house and also for a property we rent out. I just googled EPC providers and a woman not far away came up. She was able to come asap, arrived on time, was very efficient and I think I saved £60+. That is obviously the cut the EA would have got.

Retirement flats can be difficult to sell. Your solicitor will advise you. Very different to ordinary flats. Annual costs can be much greater too.

Germanshepherdsmum

Retirement flats can be difficult to sell. Your solicitor will advise you. Very different to ordinary flats. Annual costs can be much greater too.

Yes, gone into that. But you buy what you need and pay for levels of support etc.

Wondering why the valuer didnt mention the EPC. On the list.

Wyllow I used my own solicitor she was great and from the start said if a buyer pulled out me there would no extra cost to me. And the price she quoted was the price I paid. I had 2 buyers pull out on me. I know some on the buying and selling thread their solicitor charged them extra when their buyer pulled. With the estate agent I wanted at fixed price for them selling my house as I wanted to know from the start what the end fee would be. The estate agent organised the EPC it cost me £80 this was in 2018.

I had a good surveyor so I had no surprises when I completed on my bungalow. I had the mid price survey can't remember what it was called but cost £450 in 2018. So I had already decided what to have done first when I moved.

I know Franbern on buying and selling thread brought an apartment can't remember if it was just in a block or classed as a retirement one. But most of the residents are older people . She can probably give you some pointers . I know she's very happy to where she lives. And has got a garage which came with the apartment.

Hope this has been of some use.

Thank you.

A bit different - but when I sold my DF’s house, the EA had ‘a deal’ with a local solicitor. As we were selling, we were happy to use him. It’s the purchasers solicitor who (I feel) has to work harder? Buyer beware and all that.
However, in 2012, when I bought a new build to rent out, the builders offered a legal deal I was happy to accept, as did most of the other buyers. I renewed the EPC there last year and it was under £80.

There will be a difference then between buying a flat where you have to sort most stuff (lived in one before and you had to do boiler elective and so on even new windows)

And McCarthy and Stone type where it’s their responsibility (hence huge charges)

Sorry boiler, electrics and windows etc

When selling my mothers house, my sister and I were pressured into using the solicitor’s recommended by the estate agent. It turned out they were part of a very large nationwide group. You never spoke to the same person twice, it was very slow and impersonal.

Last year, my husband and I moved. We used our own local solicitor and the difference was what you’d expect.

For us there’s no choice to be made. Local solicitors every time.

As Whiff stated, I moved from a house to my flat. Just a normal flat in a bloc, was very put off with Retirement flats due to their size, (particularly tiny kitchens), and maintenance costs. I have a 2-bed flat, large double aspect Living/Dining room, en-suite and guest bathroom, plus garage. Had EPC both for the house I sold and for this flat.

As Secretary of our volunteer Management Company, I deal with Solicitors when any of the 25 flats are being sold, I do find that so much of this is handed over to clerks in solicitors offices. I have no legal training, it has been a large learning curve for me - but find I am often now in the position of advising conveyancing solicitors (their clerks) on the appropriate forms and paperwork required. So much of the delays in this is caused due to the people landed with the job do not know what they are doing.

Do use a local company, one where paperwork can be handed in - not put in post, etc. Know the name of the person, nominally in charge of your conveyancing. Find out somethings about the Maintenance Company for the flat you are thinking of purchasing. Our maintenance charges include annual service of boilers AND a 24/7 contract with British Gas for repairs etc to Central Heating, etc. as well as including all water charges.

As a volunteer maintenance company we have a vested interest in keeping all costs as low as possible, and nothing is paid out in salaries or to shareholders.

Do beware that many of the Retirement flats have controls in their leases as to what alterations you can do in your flat, and even who you can use to carry out any work. Also, some can only be sold via the Company who take a percentage of each sale.

I know you stated you take what is best for you at the time. However, in any normal (not specifically retirement) flat it would quite simple to set up a help package - you do not actually need a house manage on site for this. And, they are usually only there 9 -5 Mondays - Fridays. A call alarm system can be put into any house or flat, at quite a small cost. Personally, I do not even bother with that, but would use Alexa should I require an ambulance or other assistance.

In any flat you will not require any building insurance (that is always part of any Maintenance charge, so only contents insurance.

If you wish to ask me anythings specific, please PM me.

If you are buying a flat it will be leasehold. There is so much more for the solicitor to go into - looking at service charges, whether there is a sinking fund for large items of expenditure, whether any such expenditure is planned in the near future and at what likely cost, all manner of things as Fran will know. All the more reason to have your own good solicitor and to be assured that they will be dealing with everything, not delegating to unqualified people to save money. It may cost more to have their personal attention but what I call a good firm doesn’t delegate things to unqualified people. Unfortunately it happens all too frequently because people want cut-price conveyancing. And it means that when you phone the solicitor for an update they don’t really know what’s happening and if there’s a problem you don’t get to hear about it until shortly before you expected to exchange because only then does the solicitor have all the paperwork in front of them and realise all isn’t well and more investigations are needed. I think I said above, you get what you pay for.

I agree with Germanshepherdsmum. Use your own solicitor. It will probably cost a bit more but you'll get more personal and attentive service. Buying an older property or a leasehold needs more attention to detail and a full survey may well be a good investment. I got my house price reduced by far more than the survey cost as a result of points raised by the surveyor.

I used my estate agents solicitor. Found like most solicitors they failed to realise that they were working for me and needed to act to my instructions. A couple of times they failed to do as they were asked. Because the vendor and I were in close contact we realised the both our solicitors were blaming each other for delays. We kept communication between us open and were able to speed things up copying each other into emails as evidence of documentation being sent. After completion I complained about the service to the firm and got a considerable reduction to the bill.
Whichever solicitor you go with, keep copies of everything. Try to keep friendly contact with the other party and realise a solicitor is working for you and needs to behave as such.

‘Like most solicitors’? You’re proving the point that using a firm recommended by the EA isn’t a good idea. Of course it appeals because they give a cheap quote. And you’re very unlikely to get the personal service of a qualified solicitor. Behind the scenes it will be secretaries and unqualified clerical staff.

I think most large firms of solicitors now hand their house transactions to conveyancing assistants. They are specialists in dealing with house sales. Solicitors specialise in divorce and other areas. It's no different. I had a personal contact.