21/03/2023

Conveyancing is all about collaboration. For a sale or purchase to go smoothly estate agents, solicitors, mortgage providers and, of course, buyers and sellers must all work together.

So, for a different perspective on moving house, we asked a number of estate agents for their experience of conveyancing and have compiled some estate agents’ top tips:

Helen Follwell, Follwells Independent Estate Agents, Newcastle-under-Lyme:

“We quite often get asked to recommend a solicitor to a vendor or purchaser, we always feel reassured if we can guide a transaction to a local, knowledgeable solicitor as we are more confident that the sale will progress to a completion. Buying or selling a property is an extremely emotive process and no matter how seasoned a vendor or purchaser is, no two transactions are going to be the same.

“We all have the same goal, to get the sale to completion as quickly and stress-free as possible. We value communicating with a real person who looks after the transaction from instruction to completion. Being able to pick up the phone or send an email to which we get a detailed response the same day, helps us guide our vendors and purchasers on anything they need to be actioning and helps us manage their expectations in regards to time frames.

“The team at Beswicks treat us as equals and we feel they value our input. The number of solicitors that refuse point blank to communicate with agents is growing, the standard response from a secretary will be ‘send an email’ to which we know there will be no response.

“We value speaking to a solicitor who can solve problems rather than just highlighting them, there is a solution to every problem and a solicitor with experience and working in an experienced team knows how to solve it and ultimately this can save a sale falling through.

“My top five estate agents’ tips when looking to instruct a conveyancer are:

1. Check if your agent receives a referral fee for their ‘recommendations’.  We recommend Beswicks as we know they will do a fantastic job and this means more to us than receiving a financial incentive.
2. Communication – How quickly do you get a response to your initial query? The amount of times I chase for solicitor details from a vendor or purchaser and the response is ‘I’m waiting to hear back….’. If you are waiting to hear back on your initial enquiry this is a good indication of how quickly you will hear back if you instruct them.
3. Use a local solicitor with real local knowledge. Again, this saves time and undue stress. We once had a solicitor who was not local raising an HS2 query for a property in Wolstanton. We know that the conveyancing solicitors at Beswicks have a high level of expertise and are incredibly knowledgeable. They are happy to share their knowledge with us and in turn we feel we have a good understanding of the conveyancing process.
4. Clarity of fees – make sure there are no hidden extras Vendors or buyers frequently comment on additional fees that are added to their final bill.
5. Check out the google reviews. This is a good reflection of how real people have found the company.”

Fiona Morris, OneAgency Estate Agents, Stoke-on-Trent:

 “With regard to what we look for and value when looking at conveyancers, this would certainly be having a dedicated point of contact and good communication. We find this is key to a smooth process together with a high level of expertise to ensure a swift and efficient completion.

“We would advise clients looking to choose a conveyancer to look for a reputable and experienced conveyancer and to always review the google reviews to see what level of service is provided.

“We would advise clients to steer away from the call centre/supermarket conveyancers (as we refer to them) and to look at a local solicitor who would have local knowledge. Online tracking apps are always helpful and, for both ourselves and our clients, we would say communication is key.”

For a comprehensive quote or if you have any questions about our estate agents’ top tips on conveyancing phone our Stoke-on-Trent solicitors on 01782 205000 or our Altrincham solicitors on 0161 929 8446. Alternatively, you can email enquiry@beswicks.com.