Conveyancing Solicitors Near Me
09/03/2020
Conveyancing solicitors near me is very often the first thing you search for online when you've either had an offer accepted and/or you accepted an offer regarding selling a property.
You need to find a legally qualified person to handle the conveyancing for your sale or purchase, however should you search for a property conveyancer near me or property solicitors near me or some other term?
Also, do you need to use local conveyancing solicitors, or can you choose any solicitor you like regardless of where they are based?
With technological progress, you are no longer restricted to having to work with your local solicitor and more often than not an online conveyancing solicitor who specialises in just buying and selling property can be found. In fact it might be argued that a conveyancing solicitor you primarily conduct your business with counts as a 'conveyancing solicitor near me' for reasons which will become clear. In this article we run through some of the pros and cons of working with a local or national solicitor.
If you are looking for a local solicitor in your area then please call us on 0333 344 3234 (local call charges apply) and we may be able to help you or else you can click here to find a local solicitor.
* Fixed Fee – No Sale No Fee – We cover the whole of England & Wales
Property Conveyancer near me
When you search for conveyancing solicitors near me you may well wonder about the title of the legal professional you're looking to hire. Would property solicitors near me be more appropriate? How about just 'conveyancer near me'?
The fact is that day-to-day, the vast majority of legal tasks required for a house move are carried out by people termed paralegals and/or property conveyancers. These terms refer to the fact that these professionals do not have formal membership - and qualifications - required to be either a solicitor or licensed conveyancer or legal executive.
That said, that does not stop these people from carrying out conveyancing work; in fact many of these individuals have many years of experience. It is normal, however, in an established legal firm, for the overall responsibility for any particular conveyancing case to be placed in the hands of either a solicitor, licensed conveyancer or legal executive: they are the people who give ultimate 'sign-off'.
NB Licensed conveyancers receive their accreditation from the Council for Licensed Conveyancers. They are quite distinct from conveyancers/paralegals in that they are officially qualified. You can think of them overall as people who act as qualified solicitors but purely in the conveyancing arena.
In contrast, a qualified solicitor acting in the conveyancing field has the general training that a solicitor has - e.g. in employment law - but has chosen to specialise in conveyancing. They have to be a member of the Law Society in order to practise.
Property Solicitors near me
Before the advent of mass computerisation, the internet and online conveyancing solicitors, the accepted answer to the question of finding conveyancing solicitors near me would have have been either to consult your local phone book and/or business pages or indeed just to take a walk down your local high street to find your conveyancer near me.
In fact it would be quite easy to argue that you benefit far more from modern electronic checking procedures which are just as, if not more, rigorous and reliable and certainly far more speedy than they were prior to more modern times.
Although local knowledge becomes critical when it comes to a RICS surveyor who carries out a home buyers survey on your behalf, your solicitor in all cases, whether they're a 'conveyancing solicitor near me' or based 200 miles away will carry out their work by processing standard documents and forms, virtually all of which can be obtained and/or transmitted electronically.
There is genuinely no need for them to be based locally and you'll most often find not only that conveyancer near me will charge extra for business with you conducted 'in person' - such as ID checking - and that their time is better spent focusing on the documentation described. We welcome queries from our clients and act as the vital link between you and your solicitor which not only means you're kept in the loop but also that your solicitor is fully engaged in getting your move completed as quickly and efficiently as possible.
What are the Pros and Cons of using a solicitor near you?
The Pros of using property solicitors near me
- You may Know your local conveyancing solicitors - this is a huge benefit if you know your solicitor already, especially if it is a small community where you live.
- You can drop your documents and ID off - losing your original ID and documents is always a worry, so being able pop in to your local conveyancing solicitors office helps alleviate this issue (although with scanned ID and online ID checks the worry of loss passport is a thing of the past).
The Cons of using property solicitors near me
- Not on your mortgage lender's panel - local law firms are often smaller with fewer principals which may exclude them from working with certain major high street solicitors. Click here to read more about which mortgage lender panels solicitors can and can't work on.
- Taking time off from work - it isn't always easy to visit your solicitor and having to seem them 2 or 3 times during the conveyancing process may add a strain onto your work life, or may even be unachievable because you live abroad.
- Locally inexperienced - your local solicitor may not be experienced in conveyancing and may have a better legal knowledge in an other area of law.
- Less competition, higher prices - with less competition your local solicitor's legal fees are most likely going to cost more.
Find a local conveyancing solicitor near me
Click to find a local solicitor near me.
Are local conveyancing solicitors fees more expensive?
Local or high street solicitors conveyancing costs can often be more than those of online conveyancing solicitors and there are a number of reasons why. They may handle less cases or be working on a referral arrangement with a local estate agent - read our article on being forced to use an estate agents referred solicitor
Do you really need to instruct a conveyancing solicitor near you?
Our head office is in Sunningdale, however we have helped thousands of clients move home throughout England and Wales. From our experience being local has never supported ensuring our clients have good communication, exchange quickly and pay a competitive price. If you'd like a fixed fee conveyancing quote for your move then why don't you run a free quote now and see how much you can save in costs and gain in our experience of helping clients move home.
* Fixed Fee – No Sale No Fee – We cover the whole of England & Wales
FREE Online Conveyancing Process for Buyers
Includes online checklists, videos, downloads and tips - plus it is completely free to use from start to finish and saves your progress along the way.
