There are several aspects that one should consider when choosing which solicitor to instruct. Ola Leslie Solicitors offer the following:
- Reasonable and Affordable Fixed Fees
- Discounted Fees for First Time Buyers
- Discounted Fees for Shared Ownership Purchasers
- Discounted Fees for Right to Buy Purchasers
- Constant direct availability by e-mail, landline and mobile phone
- Frequent updates via the above methods of communication
- A speedy and efficient service whilst maintaining due diligence
- A qualified solicitor solely dealing with your matter
- Instant decisions and advice on incidental matters
Obtaining Your Conveyancing Quote
We have come across so many firms in London and nationwide, who are not up front about their fees.
Not only are administration fees hidden but disbursements are mis-quoted and often enough not quoted at all. Some lawyers find it acceptable to surprise clients with these costs close to completion or on completion giving you no choice but to pay them beyond your means at the last minute to prevent your transaction from falling through or being delayed. Quoting zero to £250.00 for searches is not really good enough. If they have knowledge of the area in which you are purchasing they should know the exact cost of the searches and then include it in your grand total instead of making their quote appear to be at least £250.00 less than anywhere else’s.
For instance, with leasehold property purchases they are a range of fees that management companies can charge you for various administrative items that they require once you have completed. I have never seen a leasehold quotation from a law firm that details these or with an explanation as to what may be required. It is highly important for this information to be disclosed at the outset so that you know how much money to budget. We always provide estimates of such fees in our statements of cost.
There are also firms out there who dishonestly compile their quotations so that legal costs go into the disbursements section to make you believe that their legal fees are lower than other firms’. For instance, postage costs, ID checks etc. Ola Leslie Solicitors do not pass postage costs onto its clients for general UK Royal Mail deliveries. Such costs are incidental to overall legal fees.
Most instant online quotations are inaccurate. They do not quote all disbursements and quite often after you have instructed one of these firms and the process has begun, you will receive a revised statement of costs. By that time it would cause you too much hassle to switch solicitors and you will be lumbered with an unscrupulous lawyer.
Have you Found the Best Conveyancing Quotation?
As a general rule with law firms you get what you pay for. Factory conveyancers who charge much lower fees than qualified solicitors’ firms end up delivering a third rate service putting transactions into jeopardy and causing a serious amount of stress to all parties involved in a chain; estate agents and mortgage brokers included. It is often next to impossible to even obtain an accurate update on matters from these types of companies. Estate agents and mortgage brokers are ignored most of the time when all they are trying to do is help.
Who will really be dealing with your matter?
There are factory conveyancers who exist in London as well as around the country and the way to spot them is by firstly the low fees that they charge in comparison to other general high street firms, and secondly, by finding out if the person who will be acting for you is actually a qualified solicitor. If so, will they be carrying out the work or will they be palming it off onto a trainee which will result in them never taking your telephone calls or responding to your e-mails after you have instructed them. Ditto as regards providing estate agents and mortgage brokers with frequent updates to help them with their management of any chain involved.
It is common practice in some firms for clients who think that they are instructing a qualified solicitor to deal with their transaction but actually end up being lumbered with a trainee or secretary who has no knowledge or next to no knowledge of property law. This puts transactions at serious risk as it can make the opposite so fed up and frustrated, resulting in them withdrawing. Having an untrained or unqualified person taking estate agents’ phone calls and providing them with updates usually result in communication breakdowns as they don’t understand what they are saying some of the time and their supervising principals are too busy to help them. It is not always their fault, they are trying to learn and are only done as they are told. Unfortunately they don’t have any authority to make their own decisions no matter how intelligent they are which makes it difficult for them too.
Who Actually Provides you with a Quotation?
You must ensure that when you telephone for a quotation that you speak to the solicitor who would be dealing with the matter as everyone’s circumstances differ and it would affect the initial advice that you receive. Bulk conveyancing firms usually have telephone operators who generate standard quotations on quotation software and it does not always suit your circumstances. This is how you end up being quoted more later on in the transaction if your solicitor realises that you were mis-quoted at the outset as not all of the details were requested from you.
What is the Conveyancing Process?
We have a flowchart that we compiled for our clients so that you know what to expect as your transactions progress. This flowchart can be found by Clicking Here
Please call us on 0207 183 0084 or email us on property@olaleslie.com for a fixed fee conveyancing quotation and to ask us about any reservations or queries that you may have; we are always happy to assist.
We are Residential & Commercial Conveyancing Specialists !
Ola Leslie Solicitors
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