Does your choice of conveyancer matter when buying or selling a property? Yes, absolutely it does! Making the wrong choice leaves you at risk of losing thousands of pounds.
Roughly 37% of all transactions in England fall through every year, which is a statistic that isn’t always shared. Many of these occur because of lawyer delays and back and forth between solicitors on both sides of the transaction over issues which could be fixed relatively quickly and cheaply with practical solutions.
With the help of our partners at leading UK conveyancing firm, AVRillo, part one of this two-part guide will help you choose the best firm for your transaction, whether you’re buying, selling or both. AVRillo’s top tips are designed to help reduce the risk of the financial loss and emotional turmoil that comes with being on the end of a transaction that falls through, even after a conveyancer and solicitor have been instructed.
When thinking about instructing a conveyancer, the main question to ask yourself is, how much would you mind if you failed to move in six months time? Spend a minute imagining how you’d feel after investing months with your estate agent to find your property or buyer and a further five or six months with the lawyer on the legal bits, to then be told your case was one of the one in three transactions that falls through every year.
If your transaction falls through, you’d likely need to start again and spend several more months on top of the time you’ve just invested to find and complete a new deal. Not only would this be double time, but it would also be double the cost, not to mention the emotional stress that comes with this.
So, how do you choose the right conveyancer for you?
This is by no means easy because of the amount of choice out there, but our first set of tips below should help point you in the right direction when getting started…
1. Don’t go cheap
Sometimes, going for the cheapest option can cost you more in the long run.
This is because cheaper solicitors may often have to carry more cases, with less time, to make up for their cheaper price. This can lead to overworked, over-stressed, and understaffed lawyers which can result in potential mistakes and delays, with cases left lingering for months, running the risk of things not going to plan.
So, when searching for your conveyancer, try to avoid typing the wrong keywords into your browser. Rather than typing in the words “cheap conveyancing” or “cheap conveyancing quote”, search for “best conveyancer” or “award-winning conveyancing”.
2. Ask yourself how much you’re willing to risk
Instructing your conveyancer is an important choice as far as your costs are concerned when trying to avoid a potential fall through. Of course, some things are out of our control, but picking a good conveyancer will help prevent potentially large losses of money. Bear in mind that as a seller, you may be running the risk of a new buyer offering you thousands of pounds less for your property if your first buyer falls through. As a buyer, you may also risk paying tens of thousands more months later for a different home if property prices go up if your first purchase falls through.
As well as financial risks, there are emotional costs to the home moving process too.
Buying or selling a home is often based on an emotional, personal decision. Perhaps you have a growing family to accommodate, you’d like to get your children into a school catchment area, you’re investing in your first home or starting a new job. Often, once an offer is accepted via the estate agent, movers expect their lawyer to pretty much guarantee their move. So, understandably, given the emotional implications of a move, in the 37% of cases where transactions fall through, emotional turmoil, stress, and inconvenience can be caused for sellers and buyers.
As people tend move every seven to 12 years, it’s comforting to know what other sellers and buyers are doing in the market. Reassuringly, only 15% tend to gamble on buying the cheapest conveyancing service while 85% buy based on the lawyer’s track record of moving their previous clients. The smart choice, without a doubt, is never to buy on price alone.
3. Look at the conveyancer’s move record
When choosing your conveyancer, look for one that ideally advertises a 5% to 10% abortive rate.
If a conveyancer doesn’t advertise their abortive rate, doesn’t know it or doesn’t tell you, it can mean they either don’t keep records of how many of their clients fail to move or the rate may be high.
If their abortive rate is above 10%, ask yourself if that’s a risk you’re willing to take. Don’t feel pressured to instruct a lawyer with a 15% or above abortive rate, as you can get a lower risk of failing to move by going with someone with a lower rate. AVRillo move 95% of their clients and on their website there’s a host of tips and guides on how they can help you.
4. Ask questions before you instruct
If your prospective conveyancer doesn’t advertise their abortive rate, don’t be embarrassed to ask them for it. Remember, if you choose to instruct them, you’ll be paying for their service so you’re entitled to ask the right questions to help you make your decision. Whether you move or fail to move is down to the lawyer you choose.
5. Work out the timeframe you’d be happy to move in
The conveyancing process doesn’t get completed overnight, so it’s important to keep in mind that once a conveyancer has been instructed, you may not complete your move for another few months.
6. Ask the conveyancer outright if they can move you faster
While the conveyancing process takes times, a good conveyancer will work efficiently and know how to deal with potential issues effectively. During your conversations, ask about the average time it takes them to complete and make sure you’re confident they’ll handle the process well.
7. Look for a conveyancer who can move you in just two to three months
As lawyer delays contribute to the 37% national transaction failure rate, the longer the case goes on, the more risk there is of you failing to move. When you find a legal firm that can move you in two to three months, like AVRillo for example, instruct them early as good lawyers may have a waiting list.
8. Look for a conveyancer with a five-star Google and Trustpilot Excellent rating
Conveyancing is stressful at the best of times. Add in not-so-good service, and conveyancing can become a nightmare. This makes doing your research really important. The easiest thing you can do is check out their Google and Trustpilot reviews.
Try to look at conveyancers with at least 1,000 five-star reviews. This will help give you peace of mind that other buyers and sellers who have come before you trust them enough to leave an excellent review.
For part two of this post, click here.
Content provided by OnTheMarket.com is for information purposes only. Independent and professional advice should be taken before buying, selling, letting or renting property, or buying financial products.
