Your choice of conveyancing solicitor can certainly affect the process of buying and selling a house. Their job is to take on the ‘heavy lifting’ when it comes to liaising with the other party’s legal team – to ensure paperwork is filled in properly and in a timely fashion, resulting in your transaction progressing efficiently.,
Conveyancing is a complicated balancing act – one that most of us couldn’t fathom taking on alone, and for good reason.
Pre-internet, conveyancing was almost always carried out by a local firm. Now, however, with so many of us used to working remotely and technology having moved on leaps and bounds, there has been a steady rise in the number of firms offering online conveyancing services – but what is the right choice for you? Read more below.
Local
Local conveyancers are the most well informed on the nearby and surrounding areas. They can give each client more time and attention and a more personal experience, as they are often aware of legal points that require consideration in the local area.
As with any local business, building relationships within the community is a local firm’s main source of recommendation. In Gloucestershire, for instance, the long-established firm Willans.co.uk offers clients an extensive understanding of the local property market. They have formed collaborative relationships with almost all of the estate agents, and are able to share their local insights with their clients to ensure the best possible conclusion for their client.
You can no doubt appreciate that this expertise – that is, one founded on the local area – is incredibly beneficial during the purchase or sale of property. While, broadly speaking, conveyancing looks the same in any part of the country, there is always something to be said for understanding the area inside and out, rather than as another dot on the map.
It’s also easy for you to check in on progress with your lawyer as you will deal with the same one throughout the moving process. This means that they will be familiar with the specifics of your transaction and they will not need to refer to another colleague or third party before they can discuss matters with you.
Online
Online only conveyancers i.e. one that you will never meet in person and with whom communication will – the majority of the time – be via email, are billed as the ‘convenient alternative’, but, in reality, that makes things far more protracted which can lead to delays and errors being made.
Online only conveyancers can take on more cases than a local law firm as much of their process is automated and lacks the personal touch. As a result, it’s not uncommon for clients to feel like ‘just another number’ and to find that, when they have questions or concerns, they need to wait (and be extremely patient) before they are able to speak to someone who has an insight into the specifics of their case.
In England, an average of around 1,700 house moves occur each and every day, but it is vital that you remember that each one of those moves is a unique, legal transaction – with its own needs, and therefore a personal, bespoke service should be provided by your lawyer. Automating that process, and turning each client into a number, drains so much of the expertise and care out of conveyancing, and it’s not something we believe any buyer or seller would benefit from, and is therefore not a process we would recommend a buyer or seller proceed with.
