The house buying process is awful at times. As exciting as it is to be able to find a new home and start fresh, there’s a whole process before you’ve got those keys in your hand. The legal side of things is a minefield, and it’s something that you’ve probably never given any thought to until you’ve done it yourself. It’s such an important step as you need to make sure that what you’re buying is legally sound, and that all of the checks are done (this is everything from making sure you’re not buying a property on an old mineshaft or a flood plain!) But even though it’s important, it doesn’t make it any easier when you’re the buyer going through it. Finding the right conveyancers who will get the job done quickly and keep in touch with you throughout the process can be surprisingly hard to come by.
You have the choice between a traditional high street firm, or you can try to save some cash by using an online setup. Most people just blindly accept whatever their estate agent suggests because they’re tired by the house hunting process and don’t know much about these kinds of things (after all, why would they?!) But because of that you can end up paying hundreds of pounds more for a service that isn’t even that good, just because it was the easiest option at the time. I wanted to see if there was actually a better way to handle this so I spent some time looking into a company called Conveyancing-Solicitor.co.uk where you can connect with pre-vetted, SRA regulated property lawyers who deliver transparent pricing and exceptional service.
Premium services without a premium price
The whole selling point with using a service like this is that you don’t have to compromise. You can get high quality legal work done for a fraction of the usual price. Now normally when a company says they offer premium service for cheap you’re right to be suspicious because that usually means they’re cutting corners somewhere. But this setup is a bit different, they aren’t actually a law firm themselves, they act as a matching service. They go out and find the good lawyers and then negotiate better rates for you. The reason this actually works is because of how strictly they vet the people on their panel. They don’t just let any random lawyer join, every single firm has to pass a five stage background check before they can even think about quoting for your business.
First they make sure the firm is properly regulated by the right legal bodies. Then they look at customer reviews, a firm needs a really high score on places like Trustpilot to get accepted. But they don’t just stop there, they actively monitor how these firms communicate with clients. If a lawyer is known for going completely silent for weeks on end they get booted off the panel. This is honestly the best part of the whole service because bad communication is the number one reason people end up hating their conveyancer. They also check that the pricing is totally transparent so you don’t get hit with hidden fees on the day you finally get your keys.
Getting a quote
Most comparison sites you put in your details and get a huge list of prices from companies you have no clue about. You have no idea if the cheapest option is actually any good, or if they’re just trying to hook you in before adding loads of extra charges later on. This service does things differently, you can still get an instant quote online to see the rough prices. But from there you can speak to one of their team members on the phone, a real person who understands the property market. They ask you all sorts of questions about your specific situation. They want to know if you’re a first time buyer or if you’re dealing with a messy chain of five different properties or if you’re trying to buy a leasehold flat with annoying management rules. Once they have the full picture they match you with a specific lawyer from their vetted list who actually has experience with your exact type of move.
This is so much better than just blindly picking a name off a list. If you’re a nervous buyer who needs everything explained to them then they will match you with a patient lawyer. If you’re an investor who just wants the deal pushed through as fast as possible they will find you someone who works incredibly fast and doesn’t waste time. It’s tailored to you which isn’t easy to find in this kind of industry.
Saving money
Everyone promises savings but very few companies can actually prove it. This company publishes actual data reports showing exactly how much money people save. They tracked nearly two hundred real quotes recently and the numbers showed that the average person saved over eight hundred pounds compared to getting quotes directly from standard law firms. When you’re buying a house every single penny counts. Saving eight hundred pounds might not feel like much when you’re dealing with a purchase costing hundreds of thousands but think about it realistically, £800 could pay for your entire moving van or buy you a new piece of furniture for your home.
They’re able to do this because they send the law firms a large amount of business so they get access to bulk discount rates that you would never be able to get if you just phoned the law firm yourself. They also have a no move no fee guarantee so if your sale randomly falls apart because the seller changes their mind or can’t secure the mortgage they thought, you don’t have to pay the legal fees. That alone removes so much stress from the whole ordeal as this alone is probably the worst part of buying a house. Ending up losing the house you wanted AND being out of pocket.
Pros and Cons
Every service will always have downsides so you need to know exactly what you’re getting into before you hand over any money.
Pros
- The vetting process really is fantastic as you have total peace of mind knowing the lawyer actually knows what they’re doing and won’t just ignore your calls.
- The savings are real and completely transparent too. You get a fixed base fee so you know exactly what you need to pay right from the start.
- The matching process means you get a lawyer who fits your specific situation rather than just rolling the dice on a random comparison site.
Cons
- There’s an extra step as you have to speak to the matching team before you get passed to the actual lawyer. It doesn’t take long but it is an extra phone call.
- You have to use whoever is on their vetted panel so your lawyer might be based in a totally different city.
If you’re moving house and you don’t want to get ripped off but you also don’t want to deal with a useless cheap lawyer then this is probably exactly what you need.
