Online Conveyancing Vs Local Solicitor
Should you go with an online conveyancing firm or find a local solicitor? Well there’s a number of factors that you should take into consideration.
A solicitor is a qualified lawyer. That means they have training in many different aspects of law, not just conveyancing. All solicitors must be members of the Law Society. A licensed conveyancer is only specialised in property law/conveyancing. Conveyancers must be members of the Council for Licenced Conveyancers.
The Price
Online Conveyancing is cheaper, that’s the simple truth.
The online conveyancing market is far more competitive than the local solicitor one. Quote prices from different conveyancers can be easily compared online. This drives each online firm to undercut each other, keeping the market competitive and prices down. To make sure you’re getting a good price, check out our average solicitor fees page.
Communication
If you like to keep things traditional and talk face-to-face with the person handling your case, you’d think that a local solicitor is the right option for you, but that isn’t always the case. You’d probably only see your solicitor once or twice anyway. Almost all communication for local solicitors is done over the phone or via email anyway.
Online Conveyancers are always accused of having a large workload, giving them less time to handle your individual case. But a local solicitor might be handling many other, more complex, legal cases; making your simple conveyancing case their lowest priority. Online conveyancers run bigger operations and have support staff to help you with any questions.
Specialised in Conveyancing
Most solicitors that handle conveyancing cases are highly specialised in conveyancing and property law, but some are not and just do the occasional bit of conveyancing for some extra income. If you choose a local solicitor, make sure he/she is a property specialist and knows what they’re doing.
A conveyancer only handles conveyancing cases, making them specialists. Each conveyancer handles hundreds of cases during their career. When it comes to conveyancing, they’ve seen and done it all and can go through your case quickly and efficiently.
Holiday/Sickness Cover
Online firms come on top, they rarely have issues with holiday or sickness cover because they employ a number of conveyancers and have cover staff on-hand. But a Local solicitor might struggle with cover. If your local solicitor get sick, has an accident, has a mental breakdown (it’s a stressful job), dies or can’t continue to work on your case for any reason… well you’re F###ed, and you might lose out on the sale.
The Mortgage Lenders Panel
If you’re using a mortgage to buy a property, you need to consider whether or not the solicitor or conveyancer you’re about to choose is on the lenders “panel”. Mortgage lenders will only deal with certain solicitors and conveyancers on their “panel”. Online conveyancing firms are normally accepted on to most lenders panels, but a local solicitor might not be. If you chose a solicitor that isn’t on the lenders panel, then you’ll normally have to pay the lender some extra fees.
Conclusion
95% of the time, an online conveyancer will do just fine:
- They’re cheaper
- They’re specialised
- The service offered is equal to local solicitors
- Communication is good
- They’re usually accepted by lenders
- Good Holiday/Sickness cover
