Why you should use a local solicitor
Tue 17 Nov 2020
Comment by James Poyntz M.N.A.E.A M.A.R.L.A
You wouldn’t do a food shop 200 miles from home, you wouldn’t send your children to school the other side of the country and you certainly wouldn’t drive to Newcastle to view house’s if you are looking for a property in say Canvey Island?
So, the question I ask is why? Why would you use a solicitor or a conveyancer the other side of the country to buy on your behalf one of the most expensive purchases you are ever likely to make? It’s quite likely they have never even heard of the town you are buying a property in! More often than not they certainly are not any cheaper!
Its possible the Estate Agent or mortgage adviser has put you in touch with such a conveyancer and yes controversially it's likely in some cases they will be paid a referral fee for doing so. Again, the rules on this are clear this has to be declared and some of these conveyancers can be quite fast and some will have a good rapport with the Agent or Broker who recommended them. Some of them however don’t especially some of the national ones
Why though wouldn’t you use local?
Certainly, you will be helping out the local economy and in turn, this helps the other local businesses and shops but here’s the point a local solicitor or conveyancer would know far more of the local issues with regards to planning, and other local issues that come up. They would also have contacts with builders, planners, freeholders, local authorities and are in a much better place to iron out any potential issues that may delay a purchase or sale.
Furthermore, because they’re local you can speak to them in person likewise the Estate Agents locally speak to these solicitors/conveyancers several times a day and have much better rapports than some of the national ones.
Wouldn’t it be better to make the acquaintance of a local solicitor after all you don’t just need one for moving house but sometimes with boundary issues, matrimonial & Probate advice and sometimes you may need one to litigate against someone
Speaking for myself all we want is good service and someone we can easily reach and personally, all of the local solicitors are first class in delivering this.
You wouldn’t do a food shop 200 miles from home, you wouldn’t send your children to school the other side of the country and you certainly wouldn’t drive to Newcastle to view house’s if you are looking for a property in say Canvey Island?
So, the question I ask is why? Why would you use a solicitor or a conveyancer the other side of the country to buy on your behalf one of the most expensive purchases you are ever likely to make? It’s quite likely they have never even heard of the town you are buying a property in! More often than not they certainly are not any cheaper!
Its possible the Estate Agent or mortgage adviser has put you in touch with such a conveyancer and yes controversially it's likely in some cases they will be paid a referral fee for doing so. Again, the rules on this are clear this has to be declared and some of these conveyancers can be quite fast and some will have a good rapport with the Agent or Broker who recommended them. Some of them however don’t especially some of the national ones
Why though wouldn’t you use local?
Certainly, you will be helping out the local economy and in turn, this helps the other local businesses and shops but here’s the point a local solicitor or conveyancer would know far more of the local issues with regards to planning, and other local issues that come up. They would also have contacts with builders, planners, freeholders, local authorities and are in a much better place to iron out any potential issues that may delay a purchase or sale.
Furthermore, because they’re local you can speak to them in person likewise the Estate Agents locally speak to these solicitors/conveyancers several times a day and have much better rapports than some of the national ones.
Wouldn’t it be better to make the acquaintance of a local solicitor after all you don’t just need one for moving house but sometimes with boundary issues, matrimonial & Probate advice and sometimes you may need one to litigate against someone
Speaking for myself all we want is good service and someone we can easily reach and personally, all of the local solicitors are first class in delivering this.