|
Good vs Bad Housing Solicitors
Good
solicitors are efficient, move reasonably quickly,
study the lease carefully and alert you to any potential problems.
For
example they'd spot the clause in the lease which says carpets
are compulsory in the upstairs flat - so will you have to
pay extra for them or - if you live below - what action can
you take when your upstairs neighbours go for the pine floorboards
look which makes them sound like a herd of wilderbeest when
they go to the potty late at night. (Their bad solicitor didn't
tell them they had to have carpets).
Good
solicitors are available. They return your calls
and listen to your concerns. (Don't treat them
too much as a therapist though).
When
this writer bought a flat the solicitor we used was a godsend.
She was instrumental in helping to move the deal along and
was very aware of potential issues about the type of place
we were buying (a flat on the middle floor of a city house).
She alerted us to several potential pitfalls. Being based
in the country, she was much cheaper than her city based counterparts.
Bad
solicitors move slowly, possibly jeopardising
your deal if you need to move fast. They don't read the
documents carefully, and will lie that they told you about
the £2,000 annual service charge hidden in the lease
when you're trying to sue them.
Your phone calls won't be returned, your questions won't
be answered and your instructions will be ignored.
They won't alert you to any potential problems and will
probably charge you more as well.
The
third type of solicitor are the mediocre majority,
who are somewhere in between.
To
read more on this subject please see the list below
or your mortgage
guide or your home
buying guide
Read
enough? Just want a quote? To get
your best mortgage quote quickly and easily we can
put you in contact with a recommended mortgage adviser. It's free,
completely confidential and there's no obligation at all. Simply
fill out the form below
Read
on
About Solicitors and Home Buying
Pros
and cons of using a Solicitor for Conveyancing
UK Solicitor
Coneyancing costs
How to find
a UK solicitor
Good and Bad
solicitors
Complaining
about solicitors
Get a Conveyancing
Quote Now
Read
on
About
Conveyancing - General Guide
Basics
of Conveyancing
About the
Local Authority Search
Licensed Conveyancers
Solicitors
DIY Conveyancing
Costs of Conveyancing
How to find
your conveyancer
Read
On /
How to Buy Your Home
The Home Buying Process
Problems When Home Buying
Finding a Property
Making an Offer on a Property
Completion of the Property Deal
Valuations and Surveys
About Conveyancing /
The Legal Stuff
Costs Involved when Buying a Home
Tips for Home Buyers
First
Time Home Buyers Guide
Latest Best
Buy Mortgage Rates
Read
On / Mortgage Guide
What
Mortgage is Best for Me?
UK Mortgage
Calculators
How
to Get a UK Mortgage
Types of Mortgage Deals
Re Mortgages
How to Find A Mortgage
What are Mortgages in Principle
Costs
of a UK Mortgage
UK Mortgage TIPS
Calculators
for UK Mortgages
A
- Z all UK Mortgage Types
Read
On / Related Topics
Home and Mortgage Insurance UK Guides
Life
Insurance UK Guide
Glossary
of Mortgage Terms
Mortgage
News
Important note about your credit rating
Many websites don't make it clear that filling in their mortgage
enquiry form means you might be credit checked.
This
can put you at risk.
UK
Mortgage lenders may assume an enquiry you have aleady
made to another lender means you were turned down - and
not that you are in fact carefully shopping around and
rejecting the bad deals.
The
best way around this significant problem is to ask an
independent mortgage adviser to make
anonymous enquiries for you.
Without
risking your credit score an adviser can find you the
best available mortgage deal. They will also know how
likely you are to be accepted by the lender if you decide
to make a formal application.
If
you would like a recommended adviser to check out the
best deals for you, anonymously, simply fill in the quick
form below.
"
Hmm..." You might think; "Won't I be
hounded by a salesman hungry for my business? "
This
is the most common question we hear from our users.
The
answer is no you won't.
Firstly
your enquiry is only passed to ONE person on a carefully
vetted list of independent advisers.
Secondly,
these mortgage advisers are professionals. Even
when the market is slow they are busy
people. There many people who need to move homes, or get
a remortgage and are looking for advice all the time.
Regardless of the state of the property market, life goes
on.
So the advisers don't have time to hassle people. It just
doesn't work like that. No one is gong to be forced into
taking out a mortgage unless they really need one.
The
advisers are very used to talking with people, perhaps
like yourself, who are only "dipping their toes"
into the water.
Many
people just want an initial quick chat and if they feel
comfortable will ask the advisor to contact them again
later - often in several weeks or months. As a professional,
the adviser will simply diarise this and call back at
the appropriate time. There is no obligation at all.
(In
the unlikely event that you ever feel at all "hassled"
by someone on our list please let us know immediately.
We have never heard of this. But if it happened we would
definitely want to know).
"Thank
you... the form was very quick. After many long
phone calls to various lenders - where I'd go
over the same details again and again - I was
amazed at how easy you made it. You've saved
me £1000's.... "Peter
B, Leeds
Complaining about solicitors
Conveyancing
problems are one of the most common official
complaints made about solicitors. About half
of people who had problems when buying or selling
their home apparently say it was due to unnecessary
delays by their solicitors.
If
you are unhappy with your solicitor's service, you
can challenge their bill with them directly.
The
Law Society is the body to complain to about solicitors.
However,
bear in mind that - like many similar bodies in Britain
- the Law Society is really just a group of professionals
regulating themselves. It's little more than a Trade
Union for solicitors.
It's
certainly a poor regulator of them.
The
reality of making a complaint against a solicitor
is that you're not likely to get very far.
For
example the Law Society will only look into a complaint
if it has already been upheld by another body eg
a small claims court.
The
Law Society may deny this officially, but this writer
has anecdotal evidence that backs this up.
As
a result of general disatisafction with their performance,
the government keeps threatening to take this self
regulation away and put solicitors into the hands
of a genuine independent body. So it might be worth
taking any complaint to your local MP and / or writing
to Tone in Downing Strasse.
The
Law Society has a brochure, Working With Your
Solicitor, which gives information about fees
and protocol and confirms that all firms must have
a complaints procedure.
Law
Society: 113 Chancery Lane, London WC2A 1SX, 020 7242
1222.
Read
on
About Solicitors and Home Buying
Get a Conveyancing
Quote Now
Click
here to see your Latest Best Buy Mortgages
Want a Conveyancing Quote Now?
We
can put you in contact with a recommended conveyancing solicitor
who will give you a free quote.
This simply involves filling in a
brief
application form and they will contact you soon.
Apply
Now
Click here to see your Latest Best Buy Mortgages
Housing Solicitors |
