Pictured above: David Williams from Ansons
Solicitors
Three Staffordshire law firms have joined forces to raise
awareness of the potential pitfalls of basing a decision to
instruct a residential conveyancing company purely on what would
appear to be the lowest estimate.
Ansons, Dunham Guest & Lyons and Gardner Iliff & Dowding
have got together because they are experiencing an increase in the
number of larger out-of-town conveyancing firms quoting a low
estimate to help gain new business. These estimates often
contain additional charges which when added to the often misleading
headline rate results in the average charges being well above the
costs charged by local firms. They also believe that using a local
solicitor is far more beneficial and not more expensive.
David Williams from Ansons Solicitors commented: "Buying and
selling a property is the biggest transaction that most people are
ever likely to make and so deciding who is going to deal with the
legal element based on what would seem to be the lowest estimate
isn't always the best criteria to use. However many people
do, and some of the out-of-town conveyancing firms know this and
base their marketing and initial estimate of fees on this.
"I have had numerous people come back to me and say that
although our initial estimate appeared to be more than the
out-of-town conveyancing firm they instructed, that actually when
it came down to the bottom line final cost, we were cheaper or
pretty much the same on price."
The three local law firms believe this is because many of the
out-of-town conveyancing firms don't include some of the basic work
within their fee and charge it as an extra. For example they
often charge to pay off the existing mortgage on a house and to
store the conveyancing file after the transaction is finished. Such
costs are part and parcel of a local solicitors charge.
Kevin Sherriff from Gardner Iliff & Dowding commented:
"The work carried out by the larger out-of-town firms is
often not dealt with by a qualified solicitor or legal executive
with the first point of contact being an unqualified staff member
with no local knowledge.
"I urge all house movers to consider the advantages of using a
local firm. You are able to meet with our qualified conveyancers
and you won't deal with unqualified call centre personnel. We
provide a clear, itemised and unambiguous estimate of charges with
no hidden extras and we offer a unique free pre-move face-to-face
consultation."
Allan Binns of Dunham Guest & Lyons concluded: "I believe
you have to go a long way to beat the benefit of using a
conveyancer who has expert local knowledge and experience.
"Over and above our message to support your local law firm, the
most valuable bit of advice I can give when comparing estimates is
to check the total amount quoted and not just what is thought to be
the professional fee."
For more information about Ansons, please visit their website
here: www.ansonsllp.co.uk