Should I use the solicitor my estate agent recommends?

Estate agents sometimes have referral arrangements with solicitors who pay them a commission. This doesn't mean the recommended solicitor is bad, but it may mean the recommendation isn't purely in your interest. Always get two or three quotes and make your own assessment.

What is the difference between a solicitor and a licensed conveyancer?

A solicitor is a qualified lawyer who can practise across multiple areas of law. A licensed conveyancer specialises exclusively in property transactions. Both are regulated — solicitors by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), licensed conveyancers by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC). For a standard residential purchase, both work equally well.

Can I use an online conveyancing service?

Online conveyancers handle a high volume of standard cases and can be competitively priced. The risk is that communication is slower and less personal, and on a complex transaction you may not get the individual attention you need. For a straightforward freehold purchase, an online service may be fine. For leasehold or anything complex, local expertise is worth the premium.

How much should I expect to pay for conveyancing?

For a standard freehold purchase at around £250,000, expect £1,000–£1,800 in total, including disbursements (searches, Land Registry fees). Leasehold adds £200–£400. Avoid quotes that look suspiciously cheap — they often exclude disbursements, leading to a higher final bill.

Can I switch conveyancing solicitors mid-transaction?

Yes, though it causes delay and additional cost (usually £200–£500 to transfer the file). It's worth doing if your solicitor is genuinely failing — not responding for days, making errors, or clearly out of their depth. Don't switch over a single slow week; do switch if the pattern persists.

How to Choose a Conveyancing Solicitor

Your conveyancing solicitor handles the legal side of the biggest financial transaction of your life. The quality of your solicitor has a direct impact on how smoothly your purchase runs, and whether it completes at all. Choosing on price alone is a mistake.

What to look for

Conveyancing specialisation

Look for a firm where residential conveyancing is a primary service, not a general practice that does conveyancing alongside wills, divorces, and employment disputes. Specialists are faster, more experienced with common issues, and more likely to have efficient systems.

Signs of genuine specialisation: most fee earners work exclusively on conveyancing, they have a dedicated portal for client updates, and they can give you a realistic timeline at the outset.

Individual caseload

Ask how many active cases your conveyancer typically handles. A realistic figure is 40–70. Over 100 is a clear red flag — it means individual cases receive less attention and responses take longer. Conveyancing at volume is a factory, not a service.

Communication systems

How will they communicate with you? Options:

Portal access: You can log in anytime and see the progress of your case, documents received, and outstanding actions. This is the best option — transparent and efficient.
Email: Most common. Should mean same-day or next-day responses to routine queries.
Phone: Still useful for complex discussions, but a firm that communicates primarily by phone often has poor documentation.

Ask: if I send you an email on a Tuesday, when can I expect a response? The answer should be "same day or next morning." If they hesitate, that's your answer.

Fixed-fee vs estimate

Fixed fee: The firm commits to a set amount for their legal work, regardless of how long it takes. Disbursements (searches, Land Registry, bank transfer) are itemised separately. This is the clearest pricing structure.

Estimate: The firm gives an approximate fee that can increase if the transaction is more complex than expected. This is less transparent and makes budgeting harder.

Always ask: is this the total amount I'll pay, or could there be additional charges? Get it in writing.

Regulatory status

Your solicitor must be regulated by either the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) or the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC). Check their registration number on the relevant regulator's website before instructing. Unregulated conveyancers exist and should be avoided entirely — if something goes wrong, you have no protection.

Questions to ask before instructing

Is your conveyancing fixed fee? What disbursements are not included?
Who will handle my case — a solicitor, a licensed conveyancer, or a paralegal?
How many active cases does my conveyancer typically handle?
How will you communicate with me, and what's your typical response time?
What is your average time from instruction to exchange on a standard purchase?
Are you on the approved panel for [my lender]?

That last question matters. Some solicitors are not on every lender's approved panel. If you've chosen a solicitor and they can't act for your lender, you'll need to find another — or pay for a separate solicitor to act for the lender.

Red flags to avoid

No response to initial enquiry within 2 working days
Unable or unwilling to give a clear fixed fee
Can't say who your conveyancer will be
Not regulated by SRA or CLC
Reviews showing patterns of poor communication or delays
Doesn't ask about the property type or complexity before quoting

When to switch

If your solicitor has gone 5 or more working days without responding to an email or phone call on an outstanding matter, and this has happened more than once — it's worth considering a switch.

The process: write to your current solicitor giving notice, request your file, and instruct a new solicitor to pick it up. There is usually a file transfer fee (£200–£500) and a delay of 1–2 weeks while the file is transferred and reviewed. It's a disruption, but it's better than a slow solicitor costing you a property.

This guide is information only. Dom does not provide financial, mortgage or legal advice. Always consult a qualified adviser for decisions specific to your circumstances.