We’re first-time buyers and need help with a solicitor – what’s involved?
As a first time buyer, Maria had a bunch of questions about what is required as far as solicitors are concerned.
We took her through the step-by-step process of what's involved and which stage she needed one to make her dreams of home ownership a reality.
By the way, you can grab your hot-off-the-press copy of Homebuyers Secrets by visiting our website - www.homebuyerssecrets.co.uk - if you want to arm yourself with never-before-revealed knowledge and information to fast-track your property journey.
If you want to be part of the property revolution and you like what we’re about, please help us to help others by liking, subscribing and sharing this video with your friends on social media.
We look forward to seeing you on a future webinar very soon.
We took her through the step-by-step process of what's involved and which stage she needed one to make her dreams of home ownership a reality.
By the way, you can grab your hot-off-the-press copy of Homebuyers Secrets by visiting our website - www.homebuyerssecrets.co.uk - if you want to arm yourself with never-before-revealed knowledge and information to fast-track your property journey.
If you want to be part of the property revolution and you like what we’re about, please help us to help others by liking, subscribing and sharing this video with your friends on social media.
We look forward to seeing you on a future webinar very soon.
Members In This Video
No users are tagged in this video
Tags
No tags available yet
There are lots of discussions regarding 'factory conveyancers' and firmsThis video was shared on LinkedIn where I asked the following question:
There are lots of discussions regarding 'factory conveyancers' and firms charging low fees as being one of the main causes of the problems in conveyancing. Many blame it on those estate agents who recommend solicitors based on referral fees (and vice versa) rather than how well they will do the job. Obviously not all agents/solicitors operate in this way, but enough to have an impact on property transactions and the delays many experience.
The problem for us homebuyers and sellers is most of us don't have a clue how these things work. We don't know that the solicitor an agent recommends for example, is going to be a nightmare. We trust that if they've made this recomendation they would only be doing so because they know they have a good reputation, have worked with them before and will be working with them on the property we are about to buy or sell through them. Why would they jeapardise their own transaction?
Most of us wouldn't know a good or bad estate agent or solicitor if we fell over one. Yes, during an agent's valuation we might get to know a couple of them and start to build trust. But how do we know they are not expert manipulators and that trust we feel is based on lies?
My question to all you estate agents and conveyancers out there is what would you recommend to be the steps we inexperienced home movers should take to select a decent agent/solicitor. Is there any place we can go that would 100% guarantee that the agent/solicitor we select will be a good one? What are the warning signs? Finally, what do you currently do in terms of educating us on these things? More ...
Sarah Thomson Consultant Property Solicitor
Ask the agent why they recommend the solicitor inBelow are some of the responses from LinkedIn members:
Sarah Thomson Consultant Property Solicitor
Ask the agent why they recommend the solicitor in question. And ask if they are being paid for the referral. And never never never sign up for a conveyancer at the same time as signing the agents terms of business - that’s a sure sign you are being suckered into using a conveyancing factory who are giving a substantial kickback to the agent. When speaking to a potential solicitor I would also recommend asking who will actually handle the work - is it a named individual solicitor or a ‘team’. Teams can be great but be wary of a lack of continuity and the risk of only getting to speak with a junior staff member who cannot really help you sometimes. Ideally I would say you want a qualified lawyer looking after you all the way through with direct phone and email contact.
And don’t go for the cheapest quote - this is probably the biggest purchase of your life - don’t scrimp on the legal advice. A good solicitor will guide you through and be worth their weight.
Christine Soltvedt
Brilliant Sarah Thomson this is exactly the kind of quality service we want/need. So where do buyers/seller find those who operate in this way when they don't know where to start looking? Their experience into buuing/selling starts with the agent
Sarah Thomson Consultant Property Solicitor
I agree as a profession we are not good at direct to client marketing or education and that needs to improve (Law Society/ SRA please help us!!). Word of mouth from family and friends is a good starting point.
Christine Soltvedt
Sarah Thomson does your firm focus on conveyancing only or other areas of law? How open are those in your industry to trialling new initiatives that tackle exactly this problem?
Sarah Thomson Consultant Property Solicitor
I am a self employed consultant and I specialise in residential property work. I choose to contract with a firm called Setfords to provide my services to my clients. Setfords operate nationwide and cover all areas of law. I have spent the last 20+ years in more traditional ‘high street’ firm set ups and I think there is a desire generally to address this issue of connection to the public - the question is how to do it!?
Christine Soltvedt
Hi Sarah, I can share how in a DM if that's OK? It's a radically different approach that will protect the public at the same time from choosing the wrong agents/solicitors. If you can send me a connection request I will fill you in tomorrow.
Bruce Martin
Lecturer in Business.
I am curious as to why you would open a discussion on a current market problem but then chose to offer the solution in a private DM?
Christine Soltvedt
Bruce Martin I am happy to share the solution in the post if people are interested. It's no big secret 😀
Christine Soltvedt
Sarah I can understand this plight. It's worrying that it is like this and makes sense now why so many are trapped in this downward spiral of low fees/referrals. Word of mouth appears to be currently the only reliable way for public to find a decent solicitor. But that comes at a risk to in some cases, for example, have heard stories where solicitor was recommended based on excellent will writing service they provided, but turned out their conveyancing service was total opposite and a nightmare! Word of mouth might be generating substantial work for some firms, but what about those who want to grow their business but operating in an area where competition is fierce. Do you think Word of mouth generates enough business for most conveyancers?
Christine Soltvedt
Sarah, Bruce,
It's a platform that joins up the industries involved in homebuying/selling and makes the public's journey as stress free, frictionless and safe as possible.
We're removing the barriers/pain points for buyers/sellers in particular starting with their search for quality agents/solicitors. For this reason we will only have solicitors/agents on platform who charge a proper rate for their services (no low fee/factory conveyancers or agents).
They become part of a professional online community and marketplace that are commited to providing a full service including first class communication and full collaboration throughout the transaction (the built in social technology makes this a breeze with all communication in one place).
An online learning centre provides free tutorials to educate buyers/sellers on entire process of finding/buying/selling property, the conveyancing process etc. So for those who don't have time to explain in detail to clients you can send them there.
We've created a level playing field. You don't need special tech, expensive integrations etc. Just a device and a good internet connection. So whether you're a one man band or bigger, the platform can work for you.
Chris Arnold Creating a persona for Estate Agents/Realtors that makes them stand out. @ And So The Story Began
The steps homeowners should take are to first allow enough time to get to know the agent. That is the key person in the process. Most agencies will introduce themselves at the appraisal and spent the first part breaking the ice, then delivery their pitch and finally hoping to convince & convert - all in the space of an hour or two. If any homeowners chooses the best agency in that short timeframe, it's more luck than judgement.
Invite the one agent round to discuss everything except the valuation, weeks before - if you don't feel intuitively they are a good fit, repeat the process with another agency.
When you find an agency that is transparent and communicates how they differ from others, ask them to appraise the property. Take their advice and help them achieve what they say they are going to do. A sliding scale fee is often the best way to figure out who believes what they say.
Finally, don't tie oneself in to a contract longer than four weeks - plenty offer zero week contracts.
Christine Soltvedt
You have a pretty slick process. Agree all should be working to a certain standard.
Louis Mancini LLM Residential Property Solicitor at Awdry Bailey and Douglas
I think if agents are referring to a certain solicitor then they should also have a duty to disclose to their client whether they are being paid a referral fee for making that introduction.
Tim Higham Conveyancing solicitor offering the very best conveyancing to the public.
Estate agents - I’d never recommend the usual corporate high street chain estate agents. Never. Only the higher value chain agents do I rate. For all other properties use an independent estate agent in the locality whose reputation is key to their survival. Whose badly performing office isn’t shielded by their central HQ somewhere in another part of the country.
Conveyancers - sadly too many bluster on LinkedIn about how to improve things but their own offering of conveyancing in their team is poor, so its difficult who to trust. Instead I’d ask friends and family to look out for CQS accreditation, Lexcel accreditation, a website that featured all the conveyancers’ personal work numbers and email (avoid if they don’t) and your very own single named conveyancer throughout.
Obviously I’d say use Trethowans but we can’t be on both sides so you’ll have to use others.
Shaun Adams
Knowing exactly what the agent does and how it benefits the seller. Most UK agents sadly do the same thing, value high, low fee photos and portals with not much care. 1. All valuing should be accompanied by comparable evidence and left with the owner. 2. Most agents don’t prepare all the info on the property in advance this means it doesn’t materialise until months down the line then buyers pull out leaving everyone high and dry. We get loads of info upfront https://cooper-adams.com/blog/upfront-property-information/9182
We also lock in a buyer at the start https://cooper-adams.com/blog/cooper-adams-secure-reservation-agreements/4616
What we do should be mandatory on all transactions. More ...