One solicitor for both buyer and seller?

D

Devilsadvocate

Guest
I have an offer on a property I'm selling thats close to what I want, better again since it's before I put it on the market with an agent so have avoided some costs there but thats been factored (to a degree) into the offer price.

I was considering accepting the offer if the buyer would cover my legal costs and he in turn is going to see if his own solicitor would handle both sides of the transaction.

What are the implications of allowing one solicitor to handle both sides? Would this be allowed under normal legal practise or advised against?

If there's no obvious problems I'm tempted to allow this to go ahead since surely having one solicitor would expedite the process too.

Any advice/cautions greatly appreciated.
 
he in turn is going to see if his own solicitor would handle both sides of the transaction.

I doubt that this is a good idea or that solicitors in general would be willing or allowed to act or both buyer and seller due to the potential for conflicts of interest. Property conveyancing is a serious business involving relatively high value assets and large amounts of money so it is prudent for both parties to protect their own interests by engaging their own legal representation. The costs (particularly if you shop around) in the greater scheme of things are a relatively small price to pay for peace of mind and the knowledge that your interests have been protected. By all means try to get the buyer to pay your legal fees - or, better still, just pay more for the property to avoid the possibility of gift/income tax implications etc. - but choose your own solicitor and be guided by his/her advice.
 
Clubman,

That must be close on a record for a detailed and considered response (7 minutes!) :D

I appreciate your advice, I had a feeling that would be the result but was swayed by the simplicity and potential speed of the deal.

So has anyone personal recommendations for a solicitor?
 
There are several topics in this forum discussing solicitors' conveyancing fees and associated charges in general as well as specific recommendations in particular. If you browse back through the forum contents you will find these.
 
For what it's worth I just came across http://www.emigrant.ie/article.asp?iCategoryID=177&iArticleID=36194 (this Irish Emigrant article) which includes a news report that seems to suggest that using a single solicitor is possible after all even if the caveats that I mention may still hold:
The High Court last week awarded damages of €40,500 against O'Donnell Dalton and Hogan Solicitors, of Henry Street, Limerick, in favour of a young couple who sued the firm for gross negligence. Mr Justice Quirke ruled that the conveyancing of a property deal had been less than satisfactory, with the solicitors failing to take adequate instructions, to keep proper records, and to investigate the title deeds. He also remarked that stricter standards should apply in transactions where the same solicitor acts for both buyer and seller, and suggested that the Law Society might see fit to issue guidelines on such instances.
Click to expand...
 
My interpretation of the above paragraph is that, in the absence of "stricter" legal procedures and Law Society guidelines, using the same solicitor for both buyer and seller is extremely risky and therefore not a good idea, even if it is technically feasible. Having to go to the High Court to enforce one's rights is hardly a satisfactory fallback for any buyer or seller.
 
I have just purchased a house from my parents and we used the same solicitor firm. its something i wouldn't do again. we had a lot of problems with forms being mislaid and paperwork not being completed on time.
I believe that if we had used different solicitors the same would have being completed more quickly and with less hassle. In my opinion if you have 2 different firms wanting to close a sale they will put pressure on each other to get paperwork etc correct and in on time. I found that the particular company i used were very laid back about it all which resulted in the house sale taking 14 weeks to complete, my advice would be to use a different firm and let him foot the bill.
 
I bought a house from my parents recently and my solicitor would not act on both our behalfs, explaining the reasons listed above in the earlier posts. Definitely could be a conflict of interests. If you can get a good deal from the Solicitor it definitely worth the money for a hassle free transaction.
 
when we were buying our house we contacted a local solicitor who told us he was already acting for the sellers. He said it would be up to us to decide if there would be a conflict of interest and if we still wanted to use him. We decided to go ahead and it was the smoothest process ever. Not a single hitch. Seven years on we are selling the house. There are three solicitors involved now, ours, our purchasers and our vendors and its a disaster. Trying to get any information on hold ups etc is impossible. Each solicitor is blaming the others for any problems. Maybe we were just lucky first time round but it definately worked for us
 
I can see why the purchasers and sellers are using the one solicitor because legal fee are so prohibited in Ireland. However, can you use the same solicitor, as this would be a conflict in interest? Contact the law socitity to see if the solicitor can do this?? I feel it you would be better served if you were to do your own conveyancing rather than using the same solicitors.
 
I bought a house recently using the same solicitor as the seller.
I would highly recommend it as it cuts out a lot of wasted time.
 
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