Decided to go with our own conveyancing solicitor, mostly to keep a level of independence and we had a solicitor highly recommended. At first our estate agents nodded that’s fine, next they ring back strongly recommending we use theirs otherwise everything will be two weeks slower. That pressure made me feel I’d made the right decision.

Fast forward to today, the estate agents would like us to pay them £49.20. The reason given “as you are now using [an independent conveyancor]”.

What!!!! Is that even legal? I can’t understand the justification given. Ive agreed a marketing fee with the agents for their services, why do they need more? I’ve forwarded on to my solicitor to see what they make of it.

What does it say in the contract you signed with them?

If it’s not in there don’t pay, if it is, suck it up.

Q) What do you call 200 estate agents at the bottom of the ocean?

A) A good start.

EAs and conveyancers often have an ‘arrangement’. Yours are on dodgy ground, ask them for proof of this delay. Actually why not covertly record?

Decided to go with our own conveyancing solicitor,

Isn’t that the norm?

I’d never use one recommended by an EA.

It’s probably in the terms somewhere so gonna have to suck it up. Will dig for it first.

Just needed a rant. Should have used more caps.

Having done it both ways, I’ll not use a EA’s conveyancer again. A good lesson I learnt during our last move, was to keep a close eye on the charges from your own conveyancer, more than any other part of the process. Mine tried to sting me for over £350 of fees that they apparently made up entirely, including charging me for the same thing twice because I used them to buy and sell.

My personal favourites were a £60 charge to use their portal to track progress, which was never updated, and a £72 contribution to their indemnity insurance. In fact I feel angry again just thinking about it, and this was a year ago.

Isn’t the use of Developers’ and Estate Agents’ own conveyancers behind the massive scandal currently unfolding re leasehold houses and selling those leases on?

I think you’ve made the right decision to use your own – and agree with you that if they’re upset that you’re not using theirs, then you’ve weakened their ability to scam you somewhere along the line, which is a GOOD THING!

Correct decision to use your own conveyancers – but what I don’t understand is why anyone uses an estate agent any more given the proliferation of internet sites for selling houses

Definitely the right decision re legals. Estate agents are good for getting your house sold though as they are incentivised financially to get it done asap. I tried to go internet / DIY and wasted so much time. It seemed like most of the people coming direct were bored and out to see houses as some kind of pastime.

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I never understand why people put up with paying all of the extras. We have a fixed fee plus disbursements at cost to us (local searches land reg fees etc). Sometimes there is a policy of defective title insurance to pay for it there’s an issue. No charges for bank transfers etc that’s it – some we win on a fees per time basis and some we loose more time than the quote but it all balances out over the year. People who pull out at the last moment after you’ve done all the work and then think there should be no fee take the **ss a bit.

What stage are you at in the process?