# House buying advice please



## HEADPHONES (Jan 1, 2008)

When buying a house and getting a mortgage,I believe the banks require you to pay for a solicitor to act on their behalf as well as me needing to pay for one to act on my behalf.
Is there any disadvantage in going for the option whereby I go with the bank's appointed solicitors to represent both me and my bank?
Logistically I can see the advantage especially as I have no solicitor I know/trust in particular.


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## P1Daveyboy (Aug 2, 2007)

I know you need your solicitor when buying a house. Not sure you pay for banks though. Estate agent may recommend solicitor but could be tied with agents or agents get kick back for recommending them. Also sounds a bit morbid but some solicitors may throw a free will making service if you ask them for it. Google local solicitors in the area you propose to buy in then price match them. All the best


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## Dannbodge (Sep 26, 2010)

I was recommended a mortgage advisor when I bought my house.
In turn he recommended a solicitor.

They did everything including dealing with the bank and money transfer etc


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## S63 (Jan 5, 2007)

No such thing as far as I'm aware. As said, you will appoint a solicitor who will handle all the various agencies involved, including the bank. Do your homework engaging a solicitor some are much more helpful, faster and all round better than others.


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## Dannbodge (Sep 26, 2010)

If you can get one that is associated with an estate agent or company then you have some power at getting things done quickly


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## HEADPHONES (Jan 1, 2008)

Thanks for the advice peeps.
Have asked the agents to get back to me with a few local solicitors they recommend.


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## S63 (Jan 5, 2007)

Dannbodge said:


> If you can get one that is associated with an estate agent or company then you have some power at getting things done quickly


That can work both ways, EA's will often get a commision for recommending solicitors, surveyors etc, doesn't always make them the right choice. Ward and Partners here in Kent for example are part of a very large group serving the South of England, they have a "liaison" with a particular solicitors firm who handle much of their work, the solicitor is hundreds of miles away and dealing with mass conveyances, some of the tales of their practice are awful.

Personal recommendations and word of mouth are always the best place to start.


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## Dannbodge (Sep 26, 2010)

That's true also.
The one I used was based up north when I live in Portsmouth. They could have been better but having them recommended to us by the mortgage advisor made him look bad because of it so he gave them loads of stock and pushed them as soon as they got slow.

My best piece of advice is push. Ring them every other day if not every day and ask for updates and progress.


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## GleemSpray (Jan 26, 2014)

The Solicitor acting for a Bank or Building Society in mortgage related matters is often their own in-house legal team, so it would be unlikely that you could instruct them to act on your behalf and it wouldn't be a good idea if you could.

That's why the Lenders fees just say "Legal Fees" and don't mention a firm of Solicitors.

You need to find a local firm of solicitors and don't use any that are "recommended" by Mortgage Advisors or Estate Agents as the bill will go up by £50 to £100 to cover the kick-back the Mortgage Advisors or Estate Agents will be getting for the referral.

In terms of "pushing", just ring the Estate Agent if nothing seem to be happening, but really they should be pushing it along as they don't get paid until the sale completes.


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## Captain Duff (Sep 27, 2013)

Have a look for fixed-price conveyancing when looking at solicitors, then you don't get any nasty surprises. Also, if you are a union member check to see if they offer cut price fees for things like this as quite a few do as part of your membership benefits.


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## Darlofan (Nov 24, 2010)

Ask for recommendations from friends, colleagues or neighbours, if on twitter try asking a local site we have wrexham.com on twitter which reaches out to lots if re tweeted. 
As dannbodge says though keep on at them and estate agents. We moved in November and our solicitor was excellent but people buying ours was really slow. I used to ring agents and get them to ring the buyers daily if needed. Prepare for a wait though house buying never happens quick, half6 the night before we moved our solicitor confirmed it was going through the next day!!! 
Remember estate agents recommendations aren't always Un biased.


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## S63 (Jan 5, 2007)

It's very useful having a solicitor in your local area, because they refuse to move into the 21st century and use email for many docs and instead rely on the Royal Mail, I use to either deliver and pick up stuff by hand, quite a few and sometimes vital days can be saved.


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## MDC250 (Jan 4, 2014)

Old school conveyancing Solicitors are a gem if you can find one. Had remortgaged a few times on my previous property not one of the previous panel firms of Sols had picked up on the garage being freehold and others were leasehold (flats).


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